Work out the feed per tooth fz from the feed rate you run, or the feed rate vf from the chip load your tool maker recommends. Give the spindle speed as rpm, or as cutting speed and cutter diameter. Metric or inch. Runs entirely in your browser.
Enter ae to check for chip thinning. Below 50% of D the maximum chip thickness is smaller than the fz shown, so use the chip thinning calculator to get the adjusted feed per tooth.
Chip load is the feed each tooth advances per revolution. The spindle turns n times a minute, each turn advances z teeth through the cut, so the table feed is the chip load times both:
fz is the feed per tooth along the toolpath. The maximum thickness of the chip equals fz only when the radial engagement ae reaches half the cutter diameter. At lighter engagement the cutter leaves the cut early and the chip is thinner than fz, which is what the chip thinning factor corrects: RCTF = 1 / √(1 − (1 − 2·ae/D)²).
Chip load (feed per tooth) is fz = vf / (n × z): the feed rate vf divided by the spindle speed n in rpm and the number of teeth z. At 1000 rpm, 4 teeth and 400 mm/min the chip load is 0.1 mm per tooth. The same relation solved for feed rate is vf = fz × z × n.
n = 1000 × vc / (π × D) with vc in m/min and D in mm, or n = 12 × SFM / (π × D) with D in inches. A 50 mm cutter at 200 m/min runs at about 1273 rpm. Enter vc and D in this calculator and it fills the spindle speed for you.
Yes. When the radial width of cut ae is below half the cutter diameter, the maximum chip thickness is smaller than fz, so the programmed fz can be raised to keep the intended chip. Enter ae here for the engagement check, then use the chip thinning calculator for the adjusted feed per tooth including lead angle.
This page converts between chip load, feed rate and rpm. Which fz your cutter and material call for is the advisor's job, grounded in catalog data and brand-neutral.
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