VIDEO: TOOLING UP: Everything You Need to Know About High Feed Machining

JAY MCCORD: The cutter family itself comes in three different insert sizes. We have a 10 millimeter insert, a 14 millimeter insert, an 18 millimeter insert. Each insert family has an optimized lead angle based on the geometry required for that insert size. But we also have a cutter diameter range that ranges from 1.25 inches to six inches in diameter.

Narrator: This video is brought to you by Seco, made for makers. If you're looking for real world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and welcome to Tooling Up. I'm your host, Toni Neary, and I'm so glad that you're here with us today. And before we get into today's guest, I have a favor to ask. If you are new here, go ahead and click that like and subscribe button. That way you don't miss a single upcoming episode of Tooling Up. Buttons clicked? All right.

Today I'm excited to be talking about the SP High Feed family of cutters, and we've got our guest, Jay McCord, the America's indexable product specialist at Seco Tools. Jay, thanks so much for joining us. And welcome to Tooling Up.

JAY MCCORD: Hi, Toni. Glad to be here. Thanks for having me.

TONI NEARY: Perfect. And before we dive into some tool talk, our regular viewers know I love learning all about how people kind of found their career path. So tell us a little bit about how you ended up in manufacturing.

JAY MCCORD: So I started in the machining world about 20 years ago, where I apprenticed with a local tool and die shop in Southeast Texas, which is actually pretty rare because we don't have a lot of tool and die shops in Southeast Texas. You know, one of the things that I really enjoyed, and I've taken with me to this day, is all the key aspects I learned from that just initial foundational learning of how to make a part from beginning to end in a really hands-on manner.

TONI NEARY: And I love the fact that you started really from scratch, really understanding the process of creating and I know that through your career, you've kind of challenged yourself with new and other roles. How have you ended up kind of the expert in your area?

JAY MCCORD: So I started working at Seco as a corporate application engineer, and I worked with a small team where we really focused on key customers and special projects. Had a great time doing it. We were close knit. We worked in a lot of different applications across market segments and operations and all across the country. Last year I had the opportunity to take the role as a product manager, or product specialist for Seco, and I thought that would be really something fun and interesting to do, as a next step in my career.

TONI NEARY: So I feel like manufacturing is kind of a magnet for those that enjoy problem solving. Obviously, it's a part of your DNA. I know that Seco is always on the cutting edge. And I think in your various roles, you've probably seen a lot of the problems out there on the shop floor that need to be solved. 

What was Seco looking to do, kind of high level, with some of the new products and the new innovations?

JAY MCCORD: Well, I think that we all know that high feed machining as a concept in the milling operations has been around for a long time, and we've generally defined high feed machining as a shallow depth of cut with a very high feed rate to achieve metal removal rates that were faster than other methods of machining.

What we saw was an opportunity to provide that same technology, but increase the maximum depth of cut that was capable, for high speed machining. And that's where it really where the high feed, the Seco SP cutter family came from.

TONI NEARY: And I mean, high speed machining is so prevalent in so many different industries, like you're seeing this in a lot of different shops. Do you want to tell us a little bit about some of the industries where this kind of new and improved, more innovative, more efficient tool is actually going to be seen on the shop floor?

JAY MCCORD: Absolutely. I mean, high feed machining can be applied in all industries and across all material types. We significantly see this being used in the aerospace industry, the automotive industry, of course, the mold and die industry was really one of the initial innovators of high feed machining. And the Seco SP cutter family has proven itself in each one of these industries and across all the different material groups, from steels to stainlesses and even the super alloys, titaniums and inconels.

TONI NEARY: All right, so let's get nerdy because I like to get into some of the technical specs here. So let's, let's kind of get into the nitty gritty. What is so much better about this tool? 

JAY MCCORD: So one of the things that's really interesting about the high feed SP cutter is that we have a square insert with a straight edge line, and this straight edge line really gives us a consistent chip forming operation across all depth of cuts that the cutter is capable of. 

TONI NEARY: Okay, so you're telling me you've got a deeper cut, but can you also remove at a faster rate? How does that look when you're actually looking at an application? 

JAY MCCORD: So with a high feed SP cutter we are looking at a larger depth of cut. In fact, it's actually capable of doing up to a 98,000 step depth cut. The cutter family itself comes in three different insert sizes. We have a 10 millimeter insert, a 14 millimeter insert, an 18 millimeter insert. Each insert family has an optimized lead angle based on the geometry required for that insert size. 

But we also have a cutter diameter range that ranges from 1.25 inches to six inches in diameter. But really focusing in on that depth of cut with a 98, with an up to 98,000 step depth cut compared to some of the older style to really trigon style inserts, where we were may be limited to a 30,000 step depth of cut, we can really maximize material removal rates for our customers to be efficient and to provide them with even more productivity in the machining operations. 

TONI NEARY: So, Jay, are you telling me now that it's cool to be square? 

JAY MCCORD: Sure. You could absolutely say that it is cool to be square. But since you bring up cool, one of the things that is interesting about this cutter family is how we've implemented the coolant channels within the cutter bodies themselves. So the SP cutter family has dual coolant channels, two coolant channels in each pocket. One of the coolant channels is actually directed directly at the insert cutting edge  to cool the insert at the chip formation. The other coolant channel is directed within the pocket in order to help clear the chips out of the pocket to reduce over cutting operations and to maximize and increase tool life.

TONI NEARY: So it sounds like this tool is a real game changer for customers. So one of the things I'm always curious about is is there a learning curve? Are you looking at, you know, a lot of time to get somebody really upskilled on how to efficiently and effectively use this?

JAY MCCORD: Toni that’s one of the great things about the SP cutter is there really is not a learning curve with this cutter family. With the SP cutter family, with the insert, we have a straight edge insert with a continuous chip former that is consistent along the entire edge. What this means is that we get the exact same chip formation across all depths of cuts for the cutter family. 

TONI NEARY: Jay, you are such a great representation of the knowledge base at Seco. Thank you so much for joining us today.

JAY MCCORD: Awesome. Thank you. 

TONI NEARY: It was great hanging out with Jay, and I feel like I learned so much. If you enjoyed our conversation as much as I did, go ahead and click that like and subscribe button so you don't miss any upcoming episodes. To find out more about the SP High Feed family of cutters, go to www.mscdirect.com/seco. Thanks so much and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the Tooling Up Video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level, and subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.