The Samurai series of end mills from Union Tool SA has been extended; the new additions to the range include four-flute tools with a corner radius, as well as a line of two-, three- or four-flute ball nose-cutters.
Samurai coated end mills — available from St Helens-based Rainford Precision Machines Ltd (
www.rainfordprecision.com) — were introduced for machining a range of materials, including aluminium, carbon steel, stainless steel,
titanium alloys and difficult-to-machine materials up to 55HRC.
With the latest tools, Union Tool SA has introduced a corner radius range to further improve tool life and machining performance, while the ball-nosed tools have been developed for five-axis machining and cavity machining while maintaining good tool life.
Originally consisting of 34 variants, the range has now been extended to 59 tool types with diameters from 1 to 12mm. Samurai end mills are now available in five series: the GB ball-nose with two, three or four flutes; the four-flute GCR Series of corner-radius cutters; and the four-flute GS series of square-end cutters.
The two-flute GB cutters are available with diameters from 1 to 10mm, while the three- and four-flute cutters have diameters of 2, 3, 4 or 6mm; they feature the manufacturer’s Samurai coating.
For rapid material removal and high-feed machining, the GCR series of four-flute corner-radius cutters have a 45deg helix angle to improve swarf removal and dissipate heat from the cutting edge.
They are available in diameters from 3 to 12mm. Moreover, all Samurai end mills have precision-ground shanks and are manufactured from high-grade tungsten carbide.