How much do you know about the secret of low feed in CNC machining?

In the CNC machining process, feed is an important factor that affects machining efficiency and machining quality. So, what is low feed? What situations is low feed applicable to?

Feed refers to the distance that the workpiece or tool moves in the main feed direction per unit of time. The size of this distance directly affects important parameters such as cutting force, cutting heat and surface roughness of the workpiece. Generally speaking, the larger the feed, the higher the cutting efficiency, but at the same time may increase the cutting force, generate excessive cutting heat, resulting in accelerated tool wear, and may even cause deformation of the workpiece.

Low feed generally refers to a situation where the feed per revolution or stroke is small. This mode is usually used for precision machining, such as high-precision parts that require guaranteed dimensional, shape and positional accuracy, or materials with high hardness, high material toughness and easy to generate cutting heat, as well as complex curved surfaces and thin-walled parts.

Specifically, low feed is particularly applicable in the following cases:

1. Precision machining: As mentioned earlier, for parts requiring high precision, in order to ensure their dimensional accuracy, shape accuracy and positional accuracy, it is necessary to use small feed CNC machining to avoid deformation of the parts caused by the increase in cutting force.

2. Hard materials: For materials with high hardness and toughness, if a large feed is used, it will increase the cutting force and generate a large amount of cutting heat, which may lead to premature tool wear or even damage. In this case, a small feed should be selected to protect the tool and improve its service life.

3. Complex surfaces: for complex curved parts, due to its complex shape, if the feed is too large, it may lead to uneven cutting, affecting the machining quality. Therefore, a small feed should be selected to ensure machining quality.

4. Thin-walled parts: For thin-walled parts, if the feed is large, it may lead to vibration of the parts, affecting the quality of CNC machining, and even lead to parts scrapped. Therefore, a small feed volume should be selected to reduce vibration and improve machining quality.

Low feed is mainly applicable to those cases that require high machining accuracy, high material hardness, complex shapes or thin walls. In these cases, choosing an appropriate low feed can effectively improve CNC machining quality, protect the tool and improve productivity.