Premium» HSS-AL End Mills
TiAlN Coated and Uncoated
The ARC Premium branded range of end mills are made from a traceable grade of material. They are precision manufactured for consistency, quality and accuracy.
HSS-AL
HSS-AL is a specific grade of high speed steel with high carbon content (1.05-1.20%) and a small amount of aluminium (0.80-1.20%) as part of its chemical composition. The carbon in the material gives it its hardness (HRC66~68), and the addition of aluminium increases ductility as well as aiding heat dissipation.
HSS-AL end mills are suitable for cutting copper, brass, iron, aluminium, hard steel and stainless steel at higher cutting rates compared to more conventional high speed steels. They also stay sharp longer and are suitable for general or heavy duty production applications.
Uncoated HSS-AL End Mills
Sharper cutting edges are possible with uncoated end mills and these are recommended for machining aluminum, copper, brass, plastics and other non-ferrous materials.
TiAlN Coated HSS-AL End Mills
Arc Premium TiAlN coated end mills are coated with the highly regarded Balzers Balinit® Futura Nano TiAlN (titanium aluminium nitride) coating offering high-performance machining and long tool life. Depending upon machine limitations, TiAlN coated end mills can operate at speeds up to 100% higher than uncoated end mills. Arc Premium TiAlN coated end mills are recommended for machining steel, cast iron and stainless steel.
In general, TiAlN is a high-performance coating of about same hardness as TiCN but will maintain it's hardness at much higher cutting temperatures.
When the cutter is working hard, the aluminium content in the coating forms a gaseous aluminium oxide layer at the cutting edge where the temperature could reach more than 800°C. This helps to protect the HSS-AL substrate from the damaging effects of heat and is what makes this coating ideal for high speed machining, especially when dry cutting. Depending upon the limitations of your machine, TiAlN coated end mills can be operated at speeds up to 100% higher than uncoated end mills.
The Balzers Balinit® Futura Nano coating offers outstanding properties enabling high-performance machining and long tool life. In fact Balzers Balinit® Futura Nano not only out-performs uncoated cutters, TiN and TiCN coated cutters but also many other TiAlN coated cutters as well.
| TiAlN Coating | Balzers BALINIT® FUTURA NANO |
|---|---|
| Colour | Violet-Grey |
| Microhardness | 3,300 HV 0.05 |
| Coefficient of Friction against steel |
0.30 – 0.35 (dry cutting) |
| Compressive Stress | - 1.3 / - 1.5GPa |
| Maximum Service Temperature | 900°C |
| Coating Structure | Nano Structured |
Greater wear resistance
- Lower tooling costs
- Higher service life
- Fewer tool changes
- Extra regrinding cycles
Better coefficient of friction due to higher surface quality
- Improved chip flow
- Lower susceptibility to cold welding
- Surface quality
Greater thermal and chemical resistance
- Dry machining
- MQL machining (minimum quantity lubrication)
- Higher cutting speeds
- Less cratering
Optimised hardness:residual compressive stress ratio
- Outstanding fidelity of edge geometry
- Excellent coating adhesion
- Uniform wear behaviour