Interchangeable Milling Tool Cassettes Without Weakening the Tool Body
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Solution Overview
Problem
Milling tools with cassettes for chip removing machining face challenges in cost efficiency and tool body strength, particularly when using wiper inserts or cutting edges made of cubic boron nitride (CBN) or polycrystalline diamond (PCD), as they require more material and reduce the number of index positions, leading to increased costs and potential tool body weakening.
Innovation Solution
A kit comprising a tool body and a cassette that allows detachable mounting of cassettes and cutting inserts in identical insert seats, enabling the same tool body to be used for various milling operations without compromising strength, with cassettes supporting different types of cutting inserts, including wiper and ramping inserts, and reducing material usage by allowing smaller, more cost-effective inserts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If wiper inserts or CBN/PCD cutting edges are used, then surface finishing quality and machining precision are improved, but material costs and insert size increase while index positions decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The tool system is segmented into a reusable tool body and replaceable cassettes with different insert types. This allows the expensive wiper inserts and CBN/PCD inserts to be contained in separate cassettes that can be individually replaced, while the tool body remains intact for continued use.
Solution Approach 2:
The cassette design provides universality by allowing the same tool body to accommodate multiple types of cassettes (chip removing, wiper, CBN/PCD) through standardized mounting interfaces. This multi-functional capability enables a single tool body to perform various machining operations with different insert types.
2Adaptability or versatility
If cassettes are provided for mounting in cassette seats of the tool body, then versatility and adjustability are improved, but tool body strength is reduced due to additional spacious seats
Solution Approach 1:
The insert seats are designed with universal support surfaces that can accommodate both direct cutting inserts and cassettes. The side support surfaces and bottom support surfaces provide standardized interfaces that work with either type of component, eliminating the need for separate specialized cassette seats.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the functionality of dedicated cassette seats with standard insert seats by providing unified support surfaces. This consolidation eliminates the need for additional spacious seats, maintaining tool body strength while preserving cassette compatibility.
3Manufacturing precision
If the number of index positions is reduced for wiper inserts and CBN/PCD inserts, then each insert can be optimized for specific functions, but productivity decreases due to more frequent insert replacements
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces dynamic reconfigurability through interchangeable cassettes. When a wiper insert or CBN/PCD insert becomes dull, the entire cassette can be quickly swapped out and replaced with a fresh cassette, enabling rapid replacement that maintains high productivity despite reduced index positions per insert.
Solution Approach 2:
The cassette design facilitates discarding worn inserts or entire cassettes and recovering the reusable tool body and cassette housing. This allows efficient disposal of consumable inserts while retaining the valuable tool body and cassette structure for continued use.
Data Source
AI summary
A tool body and at least one cassette for a milling tool. The tool body includes at least two identical insert seats, each insert seat being configured to support a cutting insert arranged to be mounted therein. At least one side contact surface is provided in each insert seat for supporting a bottom support surface and at least one side support surface of the cutting insert. The cassette has a peripheral side surface including at least one side support surface and at least one insert seat configured to support a cutting insert. The at least one side support surface and a bottom support surface of the cassette are configured to be supported by the at least one contact surface of any one of the insert seats of the tool body, the cassette being configured to be detachably mounted in any one of the identical insert seats of the tool body.