Poorly Cut Surface

"We cut "Fe"... " Is this the key material? If yes, are you cutting steel keys? If not, more information about what you are doing will probably help.

"...cutting tool "P40"." Is this the machine, or the particular cutter/wheel? This number does not cross over into anything I have.

Yes... this is the key material and yes we are cuttins steel keys, but exact structure I don`t know yet. I ask our distributor for properties of the material.

We are cutting the permutation "combination" on the key. "P40" is a tool for cut the combination on key (carbide material for cutting). It has a diameter of 130mm, widht is 8mm and the teeth are in pyramid shape (more like the symbol of citroen; this is one analogy)

P40? Is that the ISO carbide grade of the tool? If it is. Then you are using a roughing grade of carbide. Not knowing what you are cutting with it. It's hard to make a recommendation. P10 is a finish grade you may want to try to use it.

Good call ozzb. I had not considered the callout as the carbide grade. That would go together with steel keys.

If you are correct, your recommendation of P10 carbide is spot on, especially if the "difficult to reconfigure" equipment is being used at a high cutting speed.

This tool P10 it also leaves any scratches? because we cut 2mm of thicknes and the problem are those scratches. We have on machine some extra tool which are dedicated to remove this scrathes, but they are so strong, that they can not completly remove.

Well I will take in consider this tool P10

By scratches are we talking about the grooves left in the surface as the tool moves across. If you are the slow down the feed rate or increase rotational speed for the same feed rate.

If possable you will want to add some coolant or cutting fluid. Even if you have to use an oil can to squirt oil on it. That will help with your scratching (tool marks) problem.

No this is not possible because then we must put exttra operation to wash this key... this can not do. It is possible to do quality keys without any scratcehs on it, but I don`t know the exact combination of parameters and which cutting tool to choose.

When I get a key made at a hardware store, they always finish the key on a wire wheel. That removes any burrs or sharp edges. Is that done in your operation? A ceramic tumbler might be used for deburring.

Yes we have this wire wheel but this sharp edges are very strong and this wheel can not remove it. We have also the "cutting knifes" which are made to remove this scratches or just to move scratches is another direction so then they can easily brake down, but it doenst help very much.

I think that I just need the right tool to cut this keys and the proper parameters about the speed etc.

Ive seen these key cutting tools. It seems to me that they are really setup to cut mostly brass or aluminium key blanks. Maybe a different cutter will improve the finish, as others have suggested.

Also the wire wheel to dress the finished key is also designed for soft metals such as brass and aluminium. Steel keys may require a more robust dressing technique such as a sanding disc as used on small angle grinders.

Tony

hmmm... interesting hypotheses to use a sanding disc. When I will have more time, I will try some of these disc. But first I have to do some research, so that I can be at least 90% certain that it will work.

Thanks all for the comments. Hear you in another discussion :)