• Shenoy Engg Private Limited

Fly Cutters

Shenoy Engg, a Bangalore based SPM manufacturer, faced a problem while tooling up their floor type plano miller against an export order. Face milling cutters in standard range are generally not available beyond Ø 400 mm. Larger dia cutters are tailor-made by the cutter manufacturers, which makes them unaffordable and with long delivery lead time. Fly cutters are found to be the answer. Fly cutters are far simpler, faster and cheaper to make. Fly cutters can be made for large diameters, say even up to dia 1 mtr or beyond. Of course, a fly cutter cannot compete with a face-milling cutter in material removal capabilities. But it can produce a large width of cut, having uniform surface with mirror finish, which is not possible for a face-milling cutter. Since there are fewer cutting edges in a fly cutter, heat generated during the cutting is less, thus making it the most ideal cutter for machining non-ferrous material like aluminium. Of course, a fly cutter can also be used for machining steel and cast iron for superior finish. In other words, fly cutters can be extensively used with the least tooling cost where the stock material is less and the requirement of finish on the machined surface is high. The construction of a fly cutter is simple and parts are very few. Standard, centre clamping carbide inserts offer all the advantages of inserted carbide like multiple cutting edges, easy availability, heavy material removal, etc.