Milling elastomers with high surface quality
Elastomers are plastics that are characterized by their elasticity. Their glass transition point is below the operating temperature. They are therefore dimensionally stable, but can deform elastically under load and return to their original shape after deformation.
Elastomers include rubber, latex or caoutchouc. Their machining is very demanding, especially with regard to the surface quality and the cutting edge retention of the tools used. The Sharp-Line tools are ideal for the special requirements of milling and drilling elastomers. The tools from the Universal Line are suitable for processing hard rubber. It is important that when processing elastomers, mainly sliding tools, i.e. left-hand twisted tools, are used in order to avoid burrs forming on the upper edge of the cut.
Low deformation and no smearing
The sharp cutting edges of the tools from the Sharp-Line cause low cutting pressure and thus low deformation of the elastomer. The polished guide chamfers and the large back clearance prevent the elastomer from smearing on the back of the tool. Hufschmied offers a large selection of suitable pushing geometries in Z1, Z2 and Z3 end mills.
Layered structures made of thermoplastics and duroplastics
(skin/foam/backing, metal-plastic (dibond))
Burr-free milling of interior components: Material combinations of duroplastics and thermoplastics are also used in many areas. Examples of this are e.g. B. instrument panels in automotive interiors. Here the structure consists of a mostly fibre-reinforced carrier made of a duroplast with glass fiber reinforcement to absorb the force, then a soft foam to improve the haptics and over that a thermoplastic film, such as TPO or TPO2 for the look and feel of the dashboard. Here, of course, the best possible compromise in the cutting edge geometry must be found during processing between high stability for fibre-free processing of the carrier and the best possible cutting edge retention for the foam and the skin. In addition to the geometries from the Universal Line and the Sharp Line, mixed geometries such as the NC geometry are also used, which have a main cutting edge, e.g. in Universal Line geometry, and a trailing secondary cutting edge in Sharp Line geometry or "PerPlex" Geometry united on one tool. We also refer to such tools as "TWISTER" tools.