Hero Emerges in Oilfield Product Machining

Raised Eyebrows: Even with HEM toolpaths, success in machining at Kline Oilfield Equipment still turns on a general purpose end mill.

When two things combine to create something greater than the sum of its parts, the result is typically a welcome surprise. In the case of Kline Oilfield Equipment, Inc. (Tulsa, OK), Jake Aasness combined new high-efficiency machining software with a general-purpose end mill. The results not only raised eyebrows – a 500 percent increase in tool life and an 86 percent reduction in cycle time – they also ended up on YouTube.

Aasness handles programming and technical applications for Kline. While testing new high-efficiency tool path software, an order for ball valves in 718 Inconel came in. Kline gets this order one-two times a year and, Aasness says, “It is an absolute nightmare every time. Most of the time it took two tools to get through one part. Cycle time was two hours. Even with the new software, we still had a hard time cutting one whole part.”

Aasness tried a “fancy” high-performance end mill, betting the tool and the new toolpath together would make a big difference, but the results were disappointing. “It didn’t even make it through a second part,” recalls Aasness. So he tried the only other tool he had: a 3/8 in 4-flute Everyday Advantage end mill with AlTiN (Spector) coating from IMCO Carbide Tool Inc. (Perryburg, OH). “I like these end mills,” he says. “I just think they’re really good tools.”

Chris Cooper has been Kline’s IMCO representative for more than eight years. He says Aasness has been using these general-purpose end mills that entire time, but never in Inconel. Aasness also likes IMCO high-performance POW∙R∙FEED® and enDURO® end mills, but that day there were none on hand.

FROM TWO HOURS TO 16 MINUTES
Aasness ran the end mill wet at 4,074 rpm and 50 ipm to 60 ipm. He was so impressed that he took video of the tool pocketing the ball valve and asked Cooper to post it on Facebook with several other videos using IMCO tools. “In the video, we cut a 2½ in diameter pocket in Inconel .486 in deep in one pass,” he says. “And Inconel’s not even listed in the application chart!”

Aasness can be heard over the sound of the tool running in the video, saying: “If I hadn’t run this myself, I would probably tell you it was impossible to run these feeds and speeds . . . this is pretty wild.” During the test, the end mill completed two parts without a hitch. Then Aasness used it to run 12 parts in 4140 heat-treated stainless steel. “It probably could have run 10 more,” he adds.

Now he gets five parts per tool (compared with less than two in the previous application, at most). He pushed the speed and feed to 6,000 rpm and 100 ipm, with great results. And the part that used to take two hours to make now takes just 16 minutes – an 86 percent drop in cycle time. “Everyone was very impressed,” Cooper says, “. . . very impressed.”

The overall results included a 500 percent increase in parts per tool (one vs. five) in Inconel, an 86 percent cut in cycle time (two hours vs. 16 minutes) in Inconel, and cut pocket and finished corners and walls in 4140 HT in under three minutes. The lesson here is this: Whatever machining method you use – traditional or high-efficiency machining – it still takes a well-made cutting tool to get the best results.

To see the video, click here. To watch the exact same end mill pocket in 4140 heat-treated stainless steel, click here.