MXPA97003261A - Multiple rotating direction metal rotating cutter with graduated wedges and insert - Google Patents

Abstract

A rotary cutter (1) of metal or milling cutter is provided for cutting a workpiece in both a right-hand and a left-hand rotary direction consisting of a body (3) rotary cutter having at least one pair of seats ( 10 a) for inserts to the right and to the left, placed on its periphery, a wedge (20) graduated for each pair of inserts on the right and left, and a mounting screw (22) for each of the wedges for securing the wedges in a grasping position with respect to an insert seat to the right (12) or to an insert seat to the left (14). Each of the wedges can be used to secure an insert in the seat to the right or left of the respective seat pair when loosening or removing the mounting screw, and by turning the wedge 180 °. Each wedge (20) includes a forward end (44) for wedge-shaped engagement to an insert or in the right-hand or left-hand seat, and a rear end (48) for wedge-shaped grasping to an opposite surface of an unused seat of an insert in order to more securely hold the insert in place. The rear end of each wedge includes a shoulder portion (52) that can be received into the wedge, and is partially complementary in shape with respect to the unused seat of an insert to achieve greater stability.

Description

"MULTIPLE ROTARY STEERING ROTARY STEERING CUTTER WITH GRADUATED WEDGES AND INSERTS" BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to rotary metal cutters, or milling cutters, and specifically refers to a rotary metal cutter capable of cutting a workpiece in both the right-hand and the left-hand rotary direction. Mills for cutting and molding metal workpieces have been known in the prior art for many years. Such cutters generally consist of a cylindrical cutter body having a plurality of insert seats spaced around its outer periphery. The cutter inserts can be mounted inside the insert seats by means of metal wedges, which are often secured to the cutter body by means of screws. In most rotary metal cutters of the prior art, the seats of the inserts are oriented so that the inserts mounted therein effectively cut a workpiece when the cutter body is rotated in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. counterclockwise, as seen from the cutter end of the cutter. This inclination towards the right hand of most of the cutters derives from the fact that most of the driving trains for these cutters are designed to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. Most manufacturing entities have traditionally preferred the use of right-hand rotary metal cutters to carry out their particular workpiece molding operations, but there has been an increasing demand for rotary cutters to the left. For example, in some of the milling operations currently used in the manufacture of engine blocks in the automotive industry, it is desirable that two or more cutters simultaneously cut and mold the opposite ends of the metal forming the block. It is also desirable that the cutter insert mounted on both cutters cut the metal in what is known in the art as a "scaling milling" orientation, where the metal chips are cut to the maximum thickness at the time the edge is cut. The insert cutter initially engages the workpiece, in contrast to a "conventional milling" orientation, where there is a chip thickness of zero when the cutting edges of each insert are initially engaged with the work piece. Such scaling milling orientation is preferred as it reduces the friction associated with the cutting operation, and extends the service life of the inserts mounted on the cutter body. However, if two right-hand rotary metal cutters are used simultaneously to mill opposite ends of, for example, a piece of metal being molded as an engine block, one of the cutters will have to engage the metal workpiece in a conventional milling orientation which is presented as disadvantageous. Since a right hand cutter can not rotate efficiently in a rotary direction to the left hand due to the very negative inclination angles that cutter inserts would present to the work surface, rotary metal cutters have been developed to the left allow metal manufacturers to carry out such milling operations of opposite ends. However, due to the limited production runs of cutters to the left, they are generally more expensive at the time of purchase or replacement than strawberries to the right. The manufacturer who buys several cutters to the left to carry out a specialized milling operation may not use such cutters after the production runs that made the purchase of these items necessary. So, the conventional solution of buying and using cutters to the left every time it is necessary is always expensive, and often inefficient, since it results in the existence of an inventory of strawberries in the left hand that almost There is a clear need for a rotary metal cutter to both hands that is able to cut metal easily and conveniently in both a right and a left rotary direction, such a cutter should be able to secure easily and easily. Efficient to the orientation cutter inserts both to the right and to the left around the periphery of the cutter body Finally, some type of mechanism must be provided to easily and conveniently change the inserts from a right orientation to an orientation to the left, and vice versa, on the cutter body with a maximum amount of mechanical safety, and a minimum expenditure of time, effort and spare parts. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Generally speaking, the invention is a rotary metal milling machine capable of milling a workpiece in both the right hand and the left hand direction, which solves the aforementioned problems associated with the prior art. The rotary cutter consists of a rotating cutter body having at least one pair of adjacent seats for the inserts, including a first and a second seat for receiving inserts in right hand and left hand cutter orientations respectively; a wedge for securing an insert in any of said first or second seats of said pair of insert seats, and a mechanism for removably mounting the wedge to the cutter body in a wedge position with respect to an insert received in any of the first or second seat of the pair. In the preferred embodiment, the rotary cutter body has a cylindrical shape that includes a plurality of pairs of adjacent insert seats on the right and left hand spaced around the periphery. A wedge is provided that is graduated for each pair of insert seats, i.e., capable of wedging an insert into any of the seats to the right or left of its respective pair of seats when it is turned by 180 °. The preferred mounting mechanism for each of the wedges is a single screw having screw threads to the right and left hand at either end to engage in a threaded hole in the wedge and an opposite hand threaded hole provided in the body of the strawberry in the space between the insert to the right and left of each pair. Each wedge includes a front end for wedge-like grasping an insert into one of the two insert seats, and a rear end that grips, in the manner of a wedge, an opposite side of the insert seat that is not used. Preferably, the rear end of each wedge includes a boss portion to increase the area of surface contact with surface between the wedge and the opposite side of the unused seat of the insert. The resulting wide contact area increases the mechanical stability of the wedge and of the insert gripped by the leading end of the wedge. In the preferred embodiment, the right and left insert seats of each pair are tilted at equivalent and opposite angles with respect to a line intersecting the axis of rotation and forming the centerline of a wedge mounting screw. so that the engaging surface of the rib portion of the corresponding wedge makes flat contact with the opposite side of the unused seat of the insert at the same extent in any wedging orientation. The rotary metal cutter of the invention provides a cutter whose inserts can be changed rapidly from a right-hand to left-hand orientation by the simple act of loosening and removing wedges that exert a grasping effect around the periphery of the cutter body, changing the Insert the opposite seat of each pair of seats, turn the wedges 180 °, and then move the wedges over the cutter body by tightening them on the mounting screw or other mechanism used to hold the wedge in place. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIFFERENT FIGURES Figure 1 is a perspective side view of a preferred embodiment of the metallurgical rotary cutter of the invention; Figure 2 is a plan view of the lower part of the rotary milling cutter illustrated in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a partial perspective view of an exploded side view of the drill of Figure 1 illustrating two of the eight pairs of insert seats of the cutter and how the graduated wedges of the invention are received between each pair of insert seats. to secure an insert in either a right hand or left hand cutter orientation; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the pair of insert seats illustrated in Figure 3 with their respective wedge and insert assembled therein; and Figures 5A, 5B and 5C illustrate how the wedges of each of the pairs of the seat inserts can be loosened, removed, and rotated 180 ° and then reassembled to change the insert associated with each pair of seats. seats from one cutting direction on the right to one on the left. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED INCORPORATION Referring to Figures 1 and 2 where equal numbers designate equal components in all the various figures, the rotary cutter 1 of the invention generally comprises a rotatable annular body 3, which has a circular opening 5 concentrically positioned along its axis of rotation A to receive a driving shaft (not shown). An annular flange 7 having driving grooves (not shown) is provided to secure the rotating body 3 to the driving shaft. The rotary body 3 of the milling cutter 1 is preferably formed of steel 4140, although various grades of steel can also be used satisfactorily. The cutter 1 of the invention includes at least one, and preferably several pairs 10 a-h of insert seats as shown. While the rotary cutter 1 of the example presented includes eight such pairs of seats, the cutter of the invention can include from a pair and up to 36 or more pairs depending on the diameter of the rotary annular body 3. Placed 11 on each side of each pair 10 a-h of insert seats are the chip channels 11. The channels 11 increase the cutting efficiency of the rotary metal cutter 1 by providing a radially waved surface adjacent to the inserts mounted on the pairs 10 to the insert seats that directly and radially eject the metal chips created by the deviation surfaces of the vertical of the inserts. Now, with reference to Figures 1 and 3, each of the pairs 10 to 9 of insert seats includes a right-handed orientation insert seat 12 and a left-hand orientation insert seat 14 for receiving an insert 15. in an orientation to the right and to the left, respectively. The seats 12, 14 to the right and left of each pair 10 a-h of seats are separated by a recess 18 to receive a graduated wedge 20. In the preferred embodiment, each of the wedges 20 is an octagonal prism, and each of the recesses 18 for receiving the wedges of the pairs 10 of seats has an annular shape that is partially complementary to the shape of the lower portion. of each wedge 20. Each of the wedges 20 is held firmly in place between the seats 12, 14 on the right and left hand of each pair 10 of seats by means of a mounting screw 22. Figures 3 and 4 show the specific manner in which the wedge 20 of each of the pairs 10 of inserts seats operates to wedge an insert 15 in any of the seats 12, 14 on the right or hand side left. As best seen in Figure 4, each insert includes a rear surface 28 and a front surface 30 that are interconnected by a tapered side surface 32. A cutting edge 34 for cutting metal is defined at the intersection between the edge of the front surface 30, and the tapered side surfaces 32. In the preferred embodiment, all the inserts 15 are of the same lengths, widths and heights, so that the cutting edges 34 of the various inserts 15 will mesh with a metal work piece in a substantially uniform manner. Said uniform cutting action advantageously causes the edges 34 of the various inserts to wear evenly. Each of the seats 12, 14 of each pair 10 a-h of seats includes a grasping surface 38. As is the case between the seats 12, 14 on the right and left of each pair 10 a. Of seats, the grasping surfaces 38 are inclined at the angles a and 2 equivalents but arranged opposite, with respect to a line X which preferably intersects with, or is parallel to, the axis A of rotation of the cutter 1, and forms the center line of the mounting screw 22 of the wedge. As will be explained in more detail hereafter, the congruence of the angles α and α2 is one of the structural features of the invention that contributes to the graduation of the wedge 20 associated with each of the pairs 10 ah of the inserts Each of the wedges 20 includes a front end 44 having a flat surface 45, of grasping and wedging, and a rear end 48, which also has a flat surface 50 of grasping and wedging. Preferably, the rear end 48 of the wedge 20 includes a shoulder portion 52 whose rear portion terminates at the flat, grasping and wedging surface. Each wedge 20 also includes a hole 54 having a left hand thread, while the surface 16 associated with the recess 18 between each pair of seats 10 a-h of inserts has an orifice 56 having a thread on the right. The mounting screw 22 securing the wedge 20 in the recess 18 between the seats 12, 14 of each pair 10 of insert seats includes at its distal end a thread 58 on the right, and at its proximal end a thread 60 by left hand. The proximal end of the mounting screw 22 may terminate in a head cap 62 as shown, or any other mechanical drive coupling. The operation of the wedge 20 can be better appreciated with respect to Figure 4. In this Figure, an insert 15 is placed within the insert seat 12 on the right hand side of a pair 10 a of insert seats, with its front surface 30 in grasping flat against the grasping surface and a flat side surface 32 engaged against a portion 40 of the cutter body 3. The inclined orientation of the grasping surface 38 with respect to the line X imparts a positive angle of deviation from the vertical to the cutter edge 34 of the insert 15, thereby allowing it to cut more efficiently than if the angle of deviation of the resulting vertical out of zero or negative. When the mounting screw 22 is turned clockwise, the threads 58 on the right hand side on the distal end of the screw 22 screw the screw 22 into the body 3 of the rotary metal cutter 1, while the threads 60 a left hand pull hard on the wedge 20 within the recess 18 to receive the wedge, between the insert seats 12, 14. This action, in turn, approaches in wedging the front and rear surfaces 46 and 50 of the wedge 20 against the rear surface 28 of the insert 15 and the clamp 38 of the unused seat 14 of the insert, respectively. Therefore, the wedge 20 is able to compress the insert 15 tightly between its front surface and the clamp surface 38 of the insert seat 12 to the right hand. This arrangement allows most of the force created on the insert 15 so that a milling operation is transmitted to the gripping surface 38 of the unused seat 14 of the insert to the left and is not transmitted to the axis of the screw 22. It should be made Note that the shape of the bay portion 52 located at the rear end 48 of the wedge 20 allows a wider interface between the rear end of the wedge 20 and the opposite clamp surface 38 of the unused seat 14 of the insert. The operation towards several directions of the rotary metal cutter 1 of the invention is better appreciated with respect to Figures 5A to 5C. In Figure 5A, the inserts 15 are secured in the seat 12 of the insert to the right of each of the pairs 10 to 9 of insert seats by means of the wedges 20 operating in the same way as described with respect to the Figure 4. In Figure 5B, the mounting screws 22 of each of the wedges 20 are turned counterclockwise to remove the wedges 20 from the recess 18 receiving the wedge placed between the seats in each of the seats. the pa-res 10 ah of insert seats. After each of the mounting screws 22 has been unscrewed a sufficient distance, each of the graduated wedges 20 is turned 180 °, and each of the inserts 15 is removed from the seat 12 to the right of each of the pa-res 10 of inserts and inserted inside seat 14 on the left side of each pair. While this operation can be carried out by unscrewing the mounting screws 22 until they are fully disengaged from the threaded holes 56 in the body 3 cutter, the distal end of the mounting screws 22 can alternatively be made long enough so that the 180 ° wedge rotation operations and the change of inserts are carried out without fully disengaging the body mounting screws 22. 3 cutter. After the positions of the inserts 15 have been changed and the wedges 22 have been changed as indicated in part by Figure 5B, the mounting screws 22 are again turned clockwise to seating the wedges 20 within the recesses 18 of the wedge receptacle, which in turn has the effect of securing by wedging each of the inserts 15 into the insert seats on the left hand side, as shown. The equivalent but opposite orientation of the clamp surfaces 38 of the seats 12, 14 to the right and left of each pair 10 ah allows the wedge 20 to be rotated and meshed by grasping and by wedging to each of the inserts 15 on the seats 14 of the left-hand inserts in exactly the same way as they were engaged within the right-hand insert seats 12. In both cases, the grasping and wedging surface 50 located on the overhang portion 52 of the rear end 48 of the wedge 20 pushes out the gripping surface 38 of the unused insert seat of each pair to secure an insert with force in its place in the opposite seat.

It should be understood that each mounting screw 22 must "secure a wedge 20 to the body 3 of the rotary cutter. Therefore, at a minimum, each mounting screw 22 must capture a wedge 20 and force the wedge 20 towards the surface 16 of the cutter body 3. To accomplish this, although not illustrated, the screw 22 could have a screw head that would mesh with the wedge 20 and an axis that could be screwed into the surface 16. In this way, there would be no need to have a hole threaded inside the wedge 20. In addition, there would be no need to use a screw with double thread. However, some mechanism would be required to disengage the wedge 20 from the body 3 of the cutter. Through this exposure, the wedge 20 has been used to secure an insert 15 in any of the seats 12, 14 of inserts on the right or on the left. As an alternative, it is possible to place an insert within a reservoir and secure the insert / reservoir combination against the seat 12, 14 on the right or left using the wedge 20. While this invention has been described with respect to a single Preferred embodiment, there are numerous variations, modifications and improvements that a person with normal skill in the art could come up with. All of these variations, modifications and improvements are incorporated within the scope of this invention, which is only limited by the clauses that are appended here.

Claims (20)

1. NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION Having described the invention, it is considered as a novelty and, therefore, the content of the following clauses is claimed as property. CLAUSES 1. A rotary metal cutter for cutting a workpiece in both the right and left hand rotary directions comprising a rotating body of the cutter having at least a pair of adjacent seats of inserts, including a first seat for receiving an insert in a right hand cutter orientation and a second seat for receiving an insert in a left hand cutter orientation; a wedge for wedging an insert into any of said first or second seats of said pair of insert seats; and mechanisms for detachably mounting said wedge on said cutter body in a grasping position with respect to an insert received in either said first or second seat of said pair.
2. 2. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 1, wherein said wedge is graded, and said mounting mechanisms mount said wedge on said cutter body in a position between said first and second seats of the insert.
3. 3. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 2, wherein said mounting mechanisms mount said wedge in a first position to wedge an insert within said first seat, and in a second position to wedge an insert within said insert. said second seat. .
4. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 1, wherein said wedge includes a first end for grasping by wedging an insert into any of said first or second seat of each pair, and a second end for grasping by wedging with an opposite surface of said other seat.
5. 5. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 4, wherein said second end of said wedge includes a gripping surface for gripping most of said opposite surface of said other seat in a surface to surface contact.
6. 6. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 1, wherein said assembly includes a single screw mechanism engageable in a threaded hole located on said body of the cutter between said first and second seats of the insert.
7. 7. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 1, wherein said cutter body has a generally circular periphery that includes a plurality of pairs of insert seats, each of which includes a first and a second seat for orienting an insert in a cutter orientation to the right or to the left, respectively.
8. 8. The rotary metal cutter defined in the Clause 5, wherein said opposite surfaces of said first and said second seats are inclined at equivalent and opposite angles with respect to a line that intersects or that is parallel to an axis of rotation of said cutter body, and said surface of said wedge gear is inclined at the same angle as said opposite surface of said first seat when said wedge grasps an insert in said second seat, and is inclined at the same angle a2 as said opposite surface of said second seat when said wedge is rotated 180 ° to grip an insert in said first seat and is received inside said second seat.
9. 9. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 4, wherein said second end includes a projection portion that is partially complementary in shape with both said first and said second insert seats.
10. 10. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 1, which also consists of inserts in which all are placed against any of said first or said second seats of said pair of seats of the insert.
11. 11. A rotary metal cutter for cutting a workpiece in both right-hand and left-hand rotational directions, comprising: a rotating cutter body having a generally circular periphery and a plurality of pairs of adjacent seats of inserts, each pair includes a first seat for receiving an insert in a right-handed cutting orientation and a second seat for receiving an insert in a left-hand cutting orientation.; a plurality of wedges graduated to grasp an insert in any one of said first or second seats of each said pair of seats, wherein each of said wedges grasps an insert within said first seat of its respective pair of seats when oriented in a first position, and within said second seat of its respective pair of seats when rotated 180 ° to a second position; and mechanisms for releasably mounting each of said wedges to said cutting body in said first and second grasping positions.
12. 12. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 11, wherein each of said wedges includes a first end to engage wedge-like to an insert in any one of said first or second seats of said pair, and a second end to wedge-like a surface of said other seat.
13. 13. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 12, wherein the second end of each of said wedges includes a span portion that is partially complementary in shape with both said first and second seats of said pair.
14. 14. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 12, wherein said second end of said wedges includes a gear surface for engaging most of said opposing surface of said other seat in a surface to surface contact.
15. 15. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 14, wherein said opposing surfaces of said first and second seats are inclined at angles a, a2, equivalent and opposite with respect to a line intersecting or which is parallel to a rotational axis A of said cutter body, and said engagement surface of said wedges is inclined at the same angle as is said opposite surface of said first seat when said wedge grasps an insert in said second seat, and is inclined at the same angle a2 as is said opposite surface of said second seat when said wedge is rotated by 180 ° to grip an insert in said first seat and is received inside said second seat.
16. 16. A rotary metal cutter for cutting a workpiece in both a right-hand and a left-hand rotary direction, comprising: a rotating cutter body having a generally circular periphery and a plurality of pairs of adjacent seats of inserts, each pair includes a first seat for receiving an insert in a right-handed cutting orientation and a second seat for receiving an insert in a left-hand cutting orientation; graded wedges for each of said pairs of insert seats, wherein each of said wedges grasps an insert within a first of said pair of seats when mounted in a first position between said seats, and embraces an insert within a second of said pair of seats when it is reassembled with 180 ° of difference with respect to said first position; a screw associated with each of said wedges to removably mount each of said wedges on said cutter body in said first and second grasping positions.
17. 17. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 16, wherein said second end of said wedge includes a gear surface for engaging the greater part of an opposite surface of said other seat in a surface to surface contact.
18. 18. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 17, wherein said second end of each of said wedges includes a portion partially complementary in shape with, and that can be received in said first and second seats of said pair of seats .
19. 19. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 17, wherein said opposing surfaces of said first and second seats are inclined at the angles to the, a2, equivalents and opposites with respect to a rotation axis A of said cutter body, and said engagement surface of said wedge is inclined at the same angle as said opposite surface of said first seat when said wedge holds an insert in said second seat, and is inclined at the same angle a2 as is said opposite surface of said second seat when said wedge is rotated by 180 ° to grip an insert in said first seat and is received inside said second seat.
20. 20. The rotary metal cutter defined in Clause 16, wherein said assembly includes a single screw mechanism for each pair of insert seats having a first threaded end engaging within a threaded hole located in said cutter body between said seats, and a second hand threaded end opposite said first threaded end and engaging within a threaded hole located in said wedge such that said wedge is pulled toward or pushed out of said cutting body depending on a broken direction -ing of said screw.