The latest product catalogue from Tamworth-based Industrial Tooling Corporation Ltd (www.itc-ltd.co.uk) has a section dedicated to trochoidal milling, and leading this chapter is the enhanced range of 5021-series solid-carbide end mills.

Previously available with square-end geometry in diameters from 3 to 25mm, ITC’s 5021 five-flute solid-carbide end mills are now offered with a complete range of corner radii: 0.25 and 0.5mm on the smallest 3, 4 and 5mm diameter tools; while the 6mm-diameter cutter also offers radii of 0.75 and 1mm.

The 8, 10, 12, 16 and 20mm-diameter cutters all include the 0.25mm increment corner radii up to 1.25mm, with radii above 1.5mm stepping up in 0.5mm increments. This gives the 20mm cutter 10 radius options as standard.

Incorporating a harmonic flute design for reduced noise and vibration, 5021 cutters are designed to improve tool life and surface finish on a variety of steels and exotic alloys.

Temperature in the cutting zone is minimised by creating a consistent chip thickness, along with optimised swarf evacuation.

This smooth machining capability allows the end user to reduce the engagement angle when trochoidal cutting, while at the same time maximising the use of the full flute length to reduce cutting-edge loads, as well as torque and power requirements on the machine tool.

The 5021 series of cutters is available with overall lengths from 58 to 150mm, and flute lengths from 9 to 40mm.