Big Kaiser Chip Breaker Inserts Improve Surface Finish

Big Kaiser’s two insert chip-breaker types are designed to improve surface finish in long-chipping materials. Long chips that are difficult to evacuate can lead to poor surface finishes when they are dragged around by the tool. Insert life can be severely reduced if these chips are recut by and, in small-diameter applications, stringy chips can wrap around the tool to the point where a crash occurs.

The company’s FLM 3D chip-breaker design is used on PCD-tipped inserts, which the company says is well-suited for finishing of aluminum components. This compares to traditional flat-top inserts that may produce a large continuous nest of chips that is difficult to remove from the bore and/or tool, even with high-pressure coolant. It comes in three radius options, including .008", 0.016" and 0.031" for the insert TCGT2 (1.5). 

For finishing of mild or construction steels, cermet inserts with a chip-breaker form ELM should be used. Available in 0.008" radius and combined with a light depth of cut, this chip breaker creates a high-shear angle to shorten the cutting chips for better evacuation and is said to give superior surface finishes in these traditionally difficult materials.