WO2008110499A1

WO2008110499A1 - Cutting tool for wood panels

Info

Publication number: WO2008110499A1
Application number: PCT/EP2008/052733
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gianpaolo Pozzo
Original assignee: Casals Herramientas Electricas S.L.
Priority date: 2007-03-09
Filing date: 2008-03-06
Publication date: 2008-09-18
Also published as: ES2340894A1; ES2340894B1

Abstract

The present invention refers to a cutting tool for wood panels, in particular a shank cutter for use with CNC machines, which comprises a shaft (2) for connection to a spindle of a machine tool, and a cutting body (3) extending from the shaft (2) and provided with one or more cutting means (4, 5) which longitudinally extends along the cutting body (3); the cutting means (4, 5) includes a cutting edge (6, 7) and a front surface (8, 9) adapted to engage the surface of the wood panel to be cut; the front surface (8, 9) is provided with a recess (10, 11) which longitudinally extends along at least a portion of said front surface (8, 9). The purpose of the recess or recesses (10, 11) is to act as a chip breaker and to facilitate the removal of the wooden chip from the working area.

Description

"CUTTING TOOL FOR WOOD PANELS"

Φ * * * *

SCOPE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cutting tool, particularly to a shank cutter, for drilling, grooving or routing panels made of wood, including natural or solid wood, composite wood or laminated wood; the use of a cutting tool according to the present invention is particularly addressed to numerically controlled machine tools, briefly called hereinafter CNC machines.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, cutting tools, and in particular shank cutters for use in CNC machines for drilling or grooving or routing a surface of a panel made of wood or its derivatives such as composite or laminated wood, are generally formed by a shaft for connection to the spindle of a machine tool and by a cutting body comprising one or more cutting edges. A drawback of the known solutions discussed above resides in the fact that, during cutting operations, the removal of the wooden chip from the working area is not easy due to the discontinuous, or worse continuous, length dimension of the wooden chip; in some cases the wooden chip can roll up around the cutting body, causing a decrease in the efficiency of the cutting operation and a reduction in the average life of the cutting edge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the aim of the present invention is to provide a cutting tool for wood panels, and in particular a shank cutter for use with CNC machines, which overcomes the drawbacks and the limitations involved in the solutions known from the prior art.

Within the aim cited above, a purpose of the present invention is to provide a cutting tool which is able to considerably reduce the length dimension of the wooden chip, thus increasing the performance of the cutting operation.

Another purpose of the present invention is to provide a cutting tool which is able to improve the removal of the wooden chip from the working area, thus increasing the average life of the cutting edge.

A further purpose of the present invention is to provide a cutting tool capable of being manufactured by using generally known and readily available tools, machinery and equipment.

These aims and purposes are achieved by a cutting tool as defined in claim 1. Further features and advantages of the present invention may be readily understood from the following description of a preferred, although not sole, embodiment illustrated by way of a non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a side view of a cutting tool according to the present invention where a cutting means is viewed from the side. Figure 2 is a another side view of the cutting tool of figure 1 rotated of 90° in respect to figure 1 , where the cutting means is viewed from the front.

Figure 3 is a view from the above of the cutting tool shown in the previous figures, wherein the cutting means are evidenced by diagonal lines.

Figure 4 is a detailed view of figure 1 showing a particular of a cutting means. DESCRIPTION OF A FORM OF EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the above mentioned figures, a cutting tool 1 according to the present invention comprises a shaft 2 for connection to the spindle of a machine tool and a cutting body 3 provided with one or more cutting means extending along the longitudinal axis A of the cutting body 3, each cutting means comprising a cutting edge; in a preferred embodiment, as shown in the appended drawings, the cutting body 3 comprises two cutting means 4, 5 each having a cutting edge 6, respectively 7; the cutting means 4, 5 are arranged at opposite sides of the cutting body 3 and mutually staggered so as to form a hook angle α of 30°; as is known from the literature, the hook angle is the angle formed between the line connecting the two cutting edges 6, 7 and the line that is in the same plane as the front surface 8 or 9 of one of the cutting means 4, 5 defined by the inclination of the transverse section of the front surface of one of the cutting means 4, 5.

Each cutting means 4, 5 has a front surface 8, respectively 9, adapted to engage the surface of the wood panel to be cut; the front surfaces are attached at one side at the cutting body 3 and form, at the other side, the cutting edge 6, respectively

7; a recess 10, respectively 11 longitudinally extends along at least a portion of the front surfaces 8, 9; as shown in figure 4, the recess 10, respectively 11, preferably extends from the free end of the front surface 8, respectively 9, up to the other end facing the shaft 2; the end portion of the recesses 10, 11 facing the shaft 2 is directed outwardly towards the cutting edge 6, respectively 7.

The purpose of such recesses 10, 11 is to act as a chipbreaker and to facilitate the removal of the wooden chip from the working area; in fact, during the cutting operation, the wooden chip cut by the cutting edges 6, 7 abuts against the bottom of the recesses 10, 11; such abutment, to which follows a sudden change of direction of the chip along the front surfaces 8, 9, is able to break the chip pieces in a very small dimension, even up to pulverization; then the smaller, or pulverized, chip pieces are driven by the recesses 10, 11 longitudinally along the front surfaces 8, 9 so as to be removed from the working area and the cutting tool thanks to the outward direction of the recesses 10, 11.

From the above description it has been demonstrated how the cutting tool according to the present invention achieves the aims and purposes mentioned above: in fact, it has been provided a cutting tool for wood panels, particularly a shank cutter for use with CNC machines, which overcomes the drawbacks and the limitations involved in the solutions known from the prior art; in fact the cutting tool described above, thanks to the provision of the recesses 10, 11, is able to considerably reduce the length dimension of the wooden chip up to pulverization, thus increasing the performance of the cutting operation.

Further, the cutting tool according to the present invention considerably improves the removal of the wooden chip from the working area and the tool itself, thanks to the driving imposed by the outward direction of the recesses 10, 11, thus increasing the average life of the cutting edge. It will be readily appreciated that the cutting tool described above by mere way of example may be the subject of a number of modifications and different embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. It should further be noticed that the materials used, as well as the shape and dimension of the individual component parts, may be the most appropriate according to the desired requirement, without this implying any departure from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. Cutting tool for wood panels comprising a shaft (2) for connection to a spindle of a machine tool and a cutting body (3) extending from said shaft (2), said cutting body (3) being provided with one or more cutting means (4, 5) longitudinally extending along said cutting body (3), said cutting means (4, 5) including a cutting edge (6, 7) and a front surface (8, 9) adapted to engage the surface of the wood panel to be cut, characterized in that said front surface (8, 9) is provided with a recess (10, 11) longitudinally extending along at least a portion of said front surface (8, 9).

2. A cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein said front surface (6, 7) is attached at one side at said cutting body (3) and form, at the other side, said cutting edge (6, 7), the end portion of said recess (10, 11) facing said shaft (2) being directed outwardly towards said cutting edge (6, 7).

3. A cutting tool according to claim 2, wherein said recess (10, 11) extends from a free end of said front surface (8, 9) up to the other end of said front surface (8,

9) facing said shaft (2).

4. A cutting tool according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said cutting body (3) comprises a first cutting means (4) and a second cutting means (5) each having a respective cutting edge (6, 7).

5. A cutting tool according to claim 4, wherein said first and second cutting means (4, 5) are arranged at opposite sides in respect to said cutting body (3), said first and second cutting means (4, 5) being mutually staggered so as to form a hook angle (α) of 30°.

6. Cutting tool according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said cutting tool is a shank cutter for use with CNC machines.