Technical background

The present invention relates to a tool for rotary, cutting machining, including a tool body, a cutting portion and means for fastening. The tool body has a front surface and the cutting portion has a support surface provided to dismountably abut against each other, substantially in a radial plane. The invention also relates to a separate tool tip, a cutting portion, a tool body as well as to a method for manufacturing a tool tip or a cutting portion.

It is previously known to use interchangeable cutting edges on different types of tool for cutting machining. This technique has however its practical limitation because of strength technical reasons when it comes to milling- and drilling tools rotating around its longitudinal axis.

Through US-A-4,684,298 is previously known a drill with a dismountable cutting portion secured in a drill body by two screws, which are provided opposite on each side of a central line of the drill. In the known drill, screws transfer torsion which is created during drilling, to the drill body. Such a drill suffer from a number of drawbacks, partly that it becomes statically over determined, which is solved by resilient sleeves around the screws, partly that the cutting portion is forced to contain less amount of cemented carbide since the screws need space why the propensity for crack formation increases. In addition the screws are submitted to shear forces and exchange of the cutting portion becomes troublesome.

Furthermore, it is previously through EP-B1-0 358 901 to provide a drill with a dismountable cutting portion secured in a drill body by means of at least one screw, which is eccentrically positioned relative to the rotational axis of the drill. The cutting portion carries two indexable cutting inserts and a pilot drill extends

centrally therethrough. This known drill has the same drawbacks as mentioned above.

Objects of the invention The present invention has as one object to provide an embodiment of milling or drilling tools with interchangeable cutting edges, whereby said embodiment eliminates the problems of prior art tools.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rigid tool, preferably for drilling or milling, where the cutting portion wedgingly cooperates with the tool body such that the clamping force increases with increasing feed force.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tool, preferably for drilling or milling, where the cutting portion is firmly held by a central fastening means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a rigid tool, preferably for drilling or milling, where the cutting portion easily can be exchanged.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tool and a cutting portion where the advantage with grooves is combined with the production of injection moulded cemented carbide.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tool and a cutting portion in which the cutting portion can not be positioned obliquely even if one of the cooperating grooved surfaces is worn.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tool and a cutting portion where axial or tangential cutting forces are distributed on a large surface such that the risk for breaking the cutting portion, is reduced.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tool and a cutting portion where the relative movement between the cutting portion and the tool body is negligible even after wear of the tool body.

Still another method object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing a cutting portion or tool tip whereby the degree of freedom for geometrical appearance is substantially unlimited.

These and other objects have been achieved by a tool, a tool tip and a cutting portion as defined in the appended claims with reference to the drawings.

Description of the drawings

Fig. 1 shows a drilling tool according to the present invention, in a partly sectioned, perspective view. Fig. 2 shows a cutting portion according to the present invention in a perspective view. Fig. 3 shows the cutting portion in a side view. Fig. 4 shows the cutting portion in a top view. Fig. 5 shows the cutting portion in a bottom view. Fig. 6 and 7 show cross sections according to lines A-A and B-B in Fig. 4. Fig. 8 shows the drill tip according to Fig. 1 in magnification. Figs. 9, 10 and 1 1 show enlarged cross sections of cooperating support surfaces in Fig. 8. Figs. 12 and 1 3 show an alternative embodiment of a tool according to the invention.

Detailed description of the Invention

The embodiment of a tool according to the invention shown in Fig. 1 is a so called helix drill, which comprises a tool tip or a cutting portion 10, a pull rod

1 1 , a drill body 12 and a nut 13.

The cutting portion 10 is provided with at least one cutting edge 19 at the end facing away from the drill body 12, which edge is given a design depending on the area of application. Thus the cutting edge is or the cutting edges are substantially straight and parallel to the longitudinal center axis of the cutting

portion when it is an end mill, while the cutting edges are circular when it is a ball nose end mill. The forward end of the cutting portion 10 shows an edge 19 for drilling in the figures. The appearance and the area of application of the tool may vary in several ways.

The cutting portion 10 is made in hard material, preferably cemented carbide and most preferably in injection moulded cemented carbide and comprises two upper clearance surfaces 15, a support surface 16 and these connecting first 1 7 and second 18 curved surfaces. All these surfaces and connected edges are made in the same material, i.e. preferably in injection moulded cemented carbide. Lines of intersection between the second curved surfaces or the chip flutes 18 and the clearance surfaces 1 5 form main cutting edges 19, preferably via reinforcing chamfers, not shown. Lines of intersection between the first curved the surfaces 17 and the chip flutes 18 form secondary cutting edges 20. The chip flute can alternatively be adapted for a drill body with straight chip flutes. The cutting portion preferably also comprises a coring-out surface 21 , which reaches the center of the cutting portion and which forms an angle δ, Fig. 6, with the rotational axis 22 of the tool. The angle δ lies within the interval of 40 to 50°, preferably 45°. The biggest diameter of the cutting portion is the diametrical distance D between the radial extreme points of the secondary cutting edges 20.

The height Y of the cutting portion is substantially the same as the distance D, in order to minimize the wear from chips on the joint between the cutting portion and the drill body. The biggest diameter d of the support surface 1 6 is preferably less than diameter D, in order to obtain clearance at machining. The flushing ^" hole 23, being substantially parallel with the rotational axis 22, runs through the cutting portion from the support surface 1 6 to the orifice in respective upper clearance surface 1 5. The flushing holes are provided on a line 1, on each side of the axis 22.

The support surface 16 is provided with a number of separate, substantially identical and parallel grooves or ridges 30. The ridges form a substantially

sinusoidal curve in the cross section according to Fig. 8, which curve travels about a line which substantially lies in the planar the surfaces 29A, 29B, described below with reference to Fig. 9. The ridges are elongated and extend along the support surface 16. The ridge 30 further has two flanks 32A, 32B, which touchingly connect to the bottom 31 . The bottom can be described by a radius of about 0,2 to 0,4 mm. The flanks form an acute angle ε with each other. The angle ε lies within the interval of 40° to 80°, preferably between 55° and 60° . A crest or a curved surface 33A, 33B is provided on each side of the ridge 30. Each surface touchingly connects to the associated flank via a soft transition. Each ridge may be substantially parallel with the line I or form an acute angle with the line I. Each ridge forms an angle φ with a line K, intersecting the radial extreme points of the chip flutes on the side of the cutting edge in the support surface 16. The angle φ is about 0° to 90°, preferably 30° to 60° . The ridge has a height h and a largest width w. The number of ridges 30 depends indirectly of the diameter D of the cutting portion and the number of ridges varies between 2 to 20 and for example can be mentioned that about 9 ridges is provided on a drill of the diameter 18 mm.

The cutting portion is provided with the support surface 16 at the end facing the drill body 12, which surface is provided with a first means for engagement 14, which in the shown embodiment comprises a threaded recess and a truncated, conical guiding surface 35.

The other end of the pull rod 1 1 facing towards the cutting portion, is provided with an additional, externally threaded part 36, which is followed axially rearwards by a conical widening 37, which are intended to cooperate with the first means for engagement 14. In an operative situation the threaded recess 34 cooperates with the other threaded part 36.

In the other end of the pull rod 1 1 is provided a further external threaded part, which cooperates with a cylindrical nut 13 provided with a key grip 38. The nut

is inserted in a boring 39 in the shank portion 40 of the drill body, wherein the nut and the shank portion include cooperating, radial contact surfaces at 41 . The contact surface 41 gives axial support for the nut at tightening. The boring connects concentrically to a central, smaller channel in the drill body, said channel extending forwards to and terminating centrally in the front surface 24 of the drill body. The drill body is provided with flush channels 23A, which follow protruding lands of the drill, along a helical path on substantially constant distance from the rotational axis 22. The drill body has screw shaped chip flutes 18A or straight chip flutes and these may extend through the body or through of a part thereof.

The drill body 12 is provided with a front surface 24 at the end facing towards the cutting portion 10, which surface is provided to abut against the support surface of the cutting portion 10. The largest diameter of the front surface is smaller than the largest diameter D of the cutting portion but preferably the same as the smallest diameter d of the cutting portion.

The front surface is provided with a number of separate, identical recesses or grooves 26, which in cross section describe a substantially trapezoidal path. The grooves are elongated and extend along essentially the entire front surface. Each groove may be substantially parallel with the line I or form an acute angle with the line I. Each groove form an angle φ with a line K, which intersects the radial extreme points of the chip flutes on the cutting edge side in the front surface 24. The angle φ is about 0° to 90° and preferably 30° to 60°. Each groove 26 has two flanks 28A, 28B, which connect to the bottom 27, via a sharp or rounded transition. The flanks form an acute angle α with each other. The angle α lies within the interval of 40° to 80°, preferably 55° to 60°. A planar surface 29A, 29B is provided on each side of the groove 26. Each surface is preferably planarly shaped and connects to the associated flank via an obtuse inner, soft or sharp, transition. The number of grooves 26, which depends of how the support surface of the cutting portion is formed, is consequently the same as the number of ridges

which the support surface has, why the number is chosen in the interval of 2 to 20 grooves. The groove has a depth d, and a largest width z. The bottom can alternatively be described by a radius of about 0,2 to 0,4 mm.

The height of the ridge is 50 % to 95 % of the groove 26 depth and the largest width w of the ridge is bigger than the biggest width z of the groove. This results at mounting in that a gap p arises between the crest 33A and the bottom 27 when mounting the cutting insert in the holder. The gap makes sure that the flanks engage with each other and that the bottom does not support the cutting insert, and therefore tilting is avoided. A corresponding gap arises also above the planar surfaces 29A, 29B. The ridges and the grooves form, in mounted condition, a joint with a number of wedgingly effective connections which entail an increase in the frictional force with increasing feed force. Another advantage with said wedging effect is that it allows a certain oblique positioning of the ridges and the groove relative to each other in connection with the initial stage of mounting, wherein these are guided correctly by its geometry at continuing compression. The joint is placed such that it usually will be situated in the drill hole during the drilling. The ridges and the grooves should be placed on respective surface such that the result will be as many long ridges and grooves as possible. The ends of a ridge or a groove should be as far from each other as possible for best moment transfer.

Mounting of the cutting portion 10 on the drill body 12 takes place as follows. The pull rod is brought into in the boring 39 and through the central hole of the drill body 12 until nut 13, which is connected to the axially rear end of the pull rod, abuts against the contact surface 41. The forward part 36 of the pull rod and the conical widening 37 thereby project centrally from the front surface 24. Then the threaded part 36 is brought into in the recess 14 and the cutting portion is rotated and is threaded onto the pull rod until the surfaces 35 and 37 abut against each other. Then the support surface 16 of the cutting portion is brought by hand in contact with the front surface. At rotation of the nut 13 via a key which is in

engagement with the key grip 38, the cutting portion 10 is drawn firmly against the front surface, i.e. the position according to Fig. 1 has been achieved. The cutting portion 10 is now anchored in a satisfactorily manner in the drill body 12. The pull rod is in this position substantially intended to retain the cutting portion at extraction of the tool from the machined hole, i.e. the pull rod transfers the feed forces substantially alone, while the ridges and the grooves receive the forces and momentum which are created by the cutting machining. However, the force from the pull rod is large enough on the joint between the cutting portion and the body to avoid loose fit at extraction. The ridges and the grooves intersect the chip flutes 18, 18A in a essentially common radial segment or radial plane and the chip flutes extend axially on both sides if said radial segment.

In this connection shall be pointed out that the threaded connection between the cutting portion and the pull rod serves two purposes, namely to place the cutting portion 10 in a fixed position in the drill body at mounting, and to ensure that the cutting portion 10 during use of the cutting tool, is always retrained in its fixed position.

By the cooperating ridges and grooves an interaction of the forces at each contact surface or line of contact can be derived, where cooperation of the flanks takes place, according to

T' = P/n[sin(α/2)/μ - cos(α/2)]

^" where T' is the shear force acting on one flank 28A or 28B of n pieces of grooves, μ is the coefficient of friction and P is the resultant force which arises from the feed. From the formula one can construe that a smaller flank angle gives a higher shear force T' which counteracts "cogging over" caused by the drilling moment. A drill according to the present invention becomes statically definite and contains much cemented carbide as well as it unloads the pull rod both radially and axially.

By spreading the cutting forces on a larger surface the risk for splitting the support surface 16 of the cutting portion is diminished. After the mounting the ridges 30 and the grooves 26 will have contact surfaces, which intersect the radial plane R, Fig. 1 1 , a number of times, preferably at least four times, radially outside the end

36 of the pull rod. The contact surfaces of the ridges and of the grooves lie substantially in the radial plane R, i.e. they oscillate about the radial plane R with an amplitude if maximal half the height h of the profile. The height of the profile is maximum 20 % of the cutting portion height Y. The total contact surface becomes 5 to 10 % larger than conventional planar contact surfaces. The cutting portion 10 can thus be dismountably connected or removed from the front surface 24 when of the pull rod 1 1 end 36 is unscrewed, i.e. is activated from a first axially forward position to a second axially rearward position.

When the cutting portion 10 shall be exchanged the mounting is done in the inverted manner, and the cutting portion 10 can be removed from the drill body 12 and be exchanged.

In Figs. 12 and 13 is shown an alternative embodiment of a tool according to the invention, which comprises a tool tip or a cutting portion 10', a pull rod 1 1 ', a drill body 12', an adjustment screw 50', a spring 51 ' and a stop screw 52'. With this tool it is possible to unload and exchange the cutting portion although the drill body is fixed in the machine.

The cutting portion 10' and the drill body 12' are substantially identical to the ones described above. However the drill body has an obliquely inwardly and rearwardly directed, threaded boring 53', in the transition between the securing end and the chip flutes, and an axially rearwards thread 54' in the boring 39'.

The axially forward end of the pull rod 1 1 ' comprises a concentrically widened guiding surface 55' and the earlier in connection with Fig. 8 described parts 36'

and 37'. The axially rearward end of the pull rod has a conical widening 56', which surpasses rearwardly into a cylindrical guiding surface 57', wherein the diameter of said guiding surface is somewhat less than the diameter of the boring 39'.

The drilling tool is mounted by bringing the pull rod into the boring 39' and through the central hole of the drill body 12'. Then the spring 51 ' is inserted into the boring 39', whereafter the external threaded stop screw 52' is screwed into the thread 54', and thereby the spring is compressed and forces the pull rod ahead to a stop. The pull rod thereby assume an axially forward position, and the threads in the cutting portion and on the pull rod can cooperate and the cutting portion can be screwed firmly onto the pull rod, such that the adjustment screw 50' via the thread 53' can press against the widening 56' and push the pull rod rearwardly. Exchange of the cutting portion takes place as follows. The adjustment screw 52' is first unloaded on the side of the drill shank, and the pull rod 1 1 ' is pushed ahead, about 2 mm, due to the stored elastic energy in the spring 51 '. The spent cutting portion is threaded off, preferably by hand, and a new cutting portion is threaded firmly on the pull rod until the conical part of the recess abuts against the forward conical part of the pull rod. Then one can continue in two different ways. Either the cutting portion is brought against the front surface of the drill body by hand, such that the ridges and the groove comes in engagement with each other, whereafter the adjustment screw 52' is tightened and the cutting portion is fixed in operative position. The other way is to let the screw 52' alone push the pull rod inclusive the cutting portion upwardly such that the ridges and the groove comes into engagement with each other, such that the cutting portion is fixed in operative position. The conical surface 56' can abut against a corresponding surface in the forward end of the boring 39' when the screw 50' is unscrewed. Thereby the friction between the conical surfaces counteracts rotation of the pull rod during unscrewing of the cutting portion. If friction is too low the screw 50' can be screwn in towards the cylindrical surface

56' and thus further lock the pull rod against rotation.

SIBSTITUTE SHEET (RULE 26)

For both the above described embodiments applies that the cutting portion has a wedgingly cooperation with the tool body, such that the clamping force or the frictional force, i.e. the resistance against radial displacement of the portion 5 relative to the body, increases with increasing feed force. In addition, the means for fastening are provided to influence the cutting portion in the same direction as the feed force during drilling i.e. the pull rod draws the cutting portion axially rearwardly substantially in the same direction in which the feed force acts.

10 It is understood that the geometries of the cooperating ridges and grooves can be varied within the spirit of the present invention without departing from the scope of the claims. Consequently the geometries can assume most thread cross sections (however with a degree of overlap of max 95%), trapezoidal on both cooperating the surfaces, for example. The invention could be used also for

15 milling cutters. The cutting portion is preferably coated with layers of for example

Al ₂ 0 ₃ ,TiN and/or TiCN. In certain cases it can be advantageous with brazed on super hard materials such as CBN or PCD on the cutting edges.

Likewise it is possible to utilize other clamping means than a central pull rod; for 20 example it is possible to maintain the cutting portion by a wedge, movable perpendicularly to the rotational axis.

Furthermore shall be pointed out that the above described embodiments relate to tools which rotate relative to its longitudinal axis or to the center axis of the 25. workpiece and that the means for retention rotates with the tool. The embodiments can be used also as stationary but then in combination with a rotary work piece.

An independent claira relates to a tool tip, which in its entirety consists of hard 30 material such as injection moulded cemented carbide, wherein it is possible to apply the invention on turning, milling, drilling or broaching inserts for metal

machining or on cutting or percussive inserts for rock drilling or mineral milling. At utilization of the invention for metal machining, the tool tip or the cutting insert comprises a central, through going or not through going recess 14 for a fastening device, wherein the recess has a thread 34 integral with the cutting insert. By that is intended that cutting inserts can be clamped from the lower side of the cutting inserts by for example a screw, such that a large upper surface becomes amenable for cutting edges or chip formers, which earlier were not possible to use. The thread is then chosen such that it does not become loose during machining.

The tool tip or the cutting portion is made as follows. Cemented carbide and a bearer, plastics for example, is mixed and is shaped to pellets or granulate whereafter the mixture is inserted in a moulding machine after preheating to a suitable temperature for the mixture, whereafter the mixture under high pressure and high temperature, about 180 °C, is injected into an accurately shaped mould arranged with a certain configuration, corresponding to the design of the cutting portion or of the tool tip. The mould therefore contains parts in order to directly or indirectly create prerequisites for at least one cutting edge, at least one clearance surfaces and a non-planar support surface and one or more cores for threads and flush channels, with the intention to convey the design to the cutting portion or the tool tip, whereafter the injection moulded cemented carbide portion or tip may solidify in the mould and is subsequently is plucked out. The tip or portion is then sintered and possibly machining can be performed, such as grinding of the clearance surfaces. With the aid of this method the geometry of ^" the portion or of the tip can be chosen regardless of the limitations of the conventional method for injection moulding. For example, chip breakers can be shaped on surfaces which until now only been able to be ground.

The invention is in no way limited to the above described embodiments but can be varied freely within the scope of the appended claims.