Cutting edge measurement of an insert

Everything is possible with the S neox Five Axis. Steep angles and very small cutting-edge measurements of a few micrometers are no longer a problem for 3D optical profiling

Whirling inserts are used to produce threads. The whirling process is complex, that’s why there are many different angles (lead angle, angle of rake, clearance angle) on an insert (Figure 1a). In addition, there are inserts with up to 3 teeth on them. This makes it very difficult the measurement of an insert.

For previous quality assessments, one had to rely on simple optical devices for assessing the dimensional accuracy and on stylus devices for measuring roughness. The informative value of these measurements, however, is very limited. In addition, the parts often had to be destroyed so that the desired size could be measured. In order to constantly improve the quality of our tools, there is a need for a flexible device to measure and assess both critical dimensions and surface roughness of cutting tools.

The purpose of this case study is to measure the cutting-edge radius of an insert with a 3D optical profiler and also extract the roughness parameters along the edge of the cutting tool. A schematic drawing of the insert to be measured is shown in Figure 1b.

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Cutting edge measurement

On top, we see the 3D topography of a rounded cutting edge measured with 100X Ai Focus Variation HDR. The transversal profile is shown at the bottom and the top-view on the right-hand side.