b'A ceramic button cutter is shown.ABOUT FACEMILLINGNTK Cutting Tools USAAdvancements in materials and machines further facemilling.By Frank Burke even more so with achieving a precise cut and high-quality finish.H istorically, facemilling has been consideredAnothermajorconsiderationimpacting one of the most basic machining functions. Amanufacturers and tooling suppliers involves typical trade show demonstration would featureemployees.a cutter in a deep depth of cut slowly advancingIn the past, major manufacturing facilities had through a workpiece in a shower of chips. Today,a qualified manufacturing engineer in charge of thanks to harder, more expensive materials andevery major line, Andersson said. It was the en-lighter, more agile machining centers, the equa- gineers responsibility to specify the tooling to be tion has changed, and toolmakers are responding. used for specific workpieces. Also, individuals op-erating the machines were skilled machinists orNew Tools for New Machines for the more complex partsqualified tool and One of the primary factors driving the changedie makers. At present, there might be one manu-in facemilling tooling has been the machinesfacturing engineer for an entire plant, and machine themselves, said Jan Andersson, director of prod- operators have taken the place of the machinists, uct management for indexable inserts at YG-1so both shops and plants are more dependent Tool (USA) Co. in Vernon Hills, Illinois. Formerly,on recommendations from tooling manufacturers low-speed, high-torque machining centers werewith regard to tool specification. Because of this, capable of high metal removal rates at moder- we have to add value to our tooling and change ate speed. At present, a new generation of ma- how we think about and design tools so that they chining centers are operated at lower torque butare capable of simultaneously roughing and finish-higher speeds, and manufacturers are not onlying and to match the appropriate tool to the mate-concerned with higher removal rates but mayberial being facemilled.28AUGUST 2021 Facemilling.indd 28 7/19/21 11:22 AM'