Products
LMT-Fette is pleased to announce the introduction of our new solid carbide PL SERIES End Mills for plastics. This line of tools is designed to cut both hard and soft plastics leaving superior surface finishes. The unique design allows for high chip loads and therefore high production rates, while leaving superior surface finishes.

Application Area
The single edge PL SERIES End Mills are designed for production roughing and finishing of plastics. Target applications are sheet, stacked sheets, slab cutting, slotting, and nested parts. The series is best in smaller diameter machining applications where good finish is important on the work piece. Machining plastic is easy when using the right tool with the right geometry, applied with the right methods. As a result of the PL SERIES geometry for plastic, there is no melting, chipping, or burrs, keeping productivity high. And LMT-Fette’s super-fine grain grade substrate provides unmatched, economical removal rates on specific plastics (see materials).

Materials
PL SERIES End Mills are designed specifically for the following plastics: Hard Plastics: acrylic, nylon, PVC, polycarbonate and solid surface

Soft Plastics: HDPE, HIPS, UHMW, ABS, polycarbonate, PE, polystyrene, polypropylene, acetal, acrylic, PET and solid surface (Corian)

Softer plastics can be challenging materials to cut cleanly with a smooth surface finish. The PL SERIES will out-perform all multi-fluted tools when cutting these softer plastics.

Advantages
The primary advantage of the PL SERIES End Mills is their ability to take higher chip loads (faster feed rates) and deeper cuts with smaller diameters. This means you get more work done with smaller diameter tools in less time. Therefore, if getting the job done faster through less machining passes is important, the PL SERIES is the solution.

A key feature of the PL SERIES is their extremely sharp edge. The polished flutes and clearance create a razor-sharp edge essential for cutting plastics. The PL SERIES tools start out sharper and last longer in the cut.

Another key feature is getting the heat out in the chip, allowing the tool to run at cooler temperatures. Plastics are very sensitive to heat. Having only a single-flute, the PL SERIES tools cut 180° per revolution generating less heat. The geometry allows larger chips to evacuate through the open flute. Most multi-fluted tools can take large chips, but there is no place for them to go.

Lastly, the PL SERIES exhibits low cutting forces during the cut. The forces are half that of a 2-flute tool and a third of a 3-flute tool. This allows the tools to feed faster and deeper, leading to shorter machining times.

The tools have a 20°+ helix and a wide open flute design for chip flow, making them excellent performers from low to extremely high (60,000+ RPM) spindle speed applications.