An army of GWS Custom Ball Nose End Mills

Welcome to our Custom Tool Spotlight, a series that takes GWS cutting tools and gives them mini biographies. Today, we’re talking about a custom tapered ball nose end mill for Ti-6Al4V.

This is a ⅛” 3FL .75 LOC 6.00 OAL ⅜ Shank 3° Taper per side. While this ball nose endmill isn’t coated now, it will be finished in a TiCN coating. 

What’s it for?

This tool is specifically made for one of our aerospace customers. It is used for finish milling operations of Titanium turbine blades.

What’s cool about it?

The long OAL combined with the 3-degree taper and short length of cut make these tools ideal for reaching deep areas between the blades. The blade shape in combination with a 5-axis machining center toolpath present obvious interference issues when it comes to toolpath. The tapered tool configuration designed below eliminates the alternative solution of longer tools and slow machining speeds. These tools, per request from the customer, will receive Titanium Carbon Nitride (TiCN) coating as a final operation prior to inspection and shipping.

Why custom?

Our customer needed over 2,500 of these tools and they needed them fast. GWS was able to come in and help produce this project in 4 weeks, with partial shipments going out the door in a matter of days. Custom Comes Standard around here, but that’s not simply something we say. It’s something we deliver.