Precision Mould Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel

🕜 Efficiency - 5.5x higher | ⚙️ Tool Life - 5x longer | 📈 Workpiece Quality - Prevention of excessive burrs around workpiece

What makes STAVAX Mould Steel difficult to machine?


STAVAX mould steel, produced by Sweden Uddeholm as part of their stainless steel series STAVAX ESR, is a high-quality stainless plastic mould steel with excellent corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and machinability.  This material is widely applied across various high-precision industries, mainly for mould-making applications, such as plastic moulds (optical lenses, cosmetic packaging), medical device moulds (syringes, artificial joints), and automotive part moulds (light housings, trims).

However, STAVAX has high hardness and toughness, which can increase tool wear during cutting operations.  Furthermore, during high-temperature processing, residual stress can cause material deformation, affecting machining precision.

 
 

☑️ Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Machining Information

 
    Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Machining Information          
  Material   STAVAX mould steel
  *Material hardness around HRC52
  *Workpiece size: 50*30*20mm
  Feature   hit Profile Milling (rough milling)
  Ultrasonic Machining Process & Parameters   Vc 50m/min _ S 3,285rpm _ F 475mm/min _ 
  Ap 6mm _ Ae 0.7mm _ Ultrasonic Power Level 100%
  *Process time: 9 minutes /per workpiece
  Ultrasonic Tool Holder        HSKA63-R30-06
  Tool Selection   OSG Φ4mm _ 4-flute carbide end mill for high-hardness steels

 
HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module was used on profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel
(Figure 1. HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module was used on profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel)



 

HIT's Goal in Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel


The goal is to enhance machining efficiency and reduce tool wear while maintaining great workpiece quality under low rotation speed with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module.




 

Ultrasonic-Assisted Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Machining Results

 

Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Machining Efficiency

with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, total process time can be reduced by increasing radial depth of cut under low rotation speed compared to the original process
(Figure 2. with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, total process time can be reduced by increasing radial depth of cut under low rotation speed compared to the original process)

 
  • To optimize the profile milling (roughing) process of STAVAX mould steel with HIT ultrasonic, the high frequency micro-vibration helped reduce cutting force and cutting heat under low rotation speed.
  • The radial depth of cut (Ae) can be enhanced compared to the original process.  This effectively shortened the total process time (from 50 minutes to 9 minutes in completing one workpiece), bringing a 5.5x higher machining efficiency.


with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, machining efficiency can be 5.5x higher compared to the original process
(Figure 3. with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, machining efficiency can be 5.5x higher compared to the original process)



 

Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Tool Life

with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, cutting tool only had mild wear after completed 5 workpieces by using optimized parameters
(Figure 4. with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, cutting tool only had mild wear after completed 5 workpieces by using optimized parameters)


with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, the width of flank wear was much smaller than that without ultrasonic after completed 5 workpieces by using optimized parameters
(Figure 5. with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, the width of flank wear was much smaller than that without ultrasonic after completed 5 workpieces by using optimized parameters)

 
  • To optimize the profile milling (roughing) process of STAVAX mould steel with HIT ultrasonic, it helped reduce cutting force/heat under low rotation speed, bringing a 5x longer tool life.
  • Under the same (optimized) parameters, 5 workpieces can be completed per tool with ultrasonic.  The tool only had mild wear with much smaller width of flank wear (VB).  Whereas the tool can only complete 1 workpiece without ultrasonic, and it had serious wear with massive built-up edge (BUE) and breakage on the edge.


with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, tool life can be 5x longer by using optimized parameters
(Figure 6. with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, tool life can be 5x longer by using optimized parameters)



 

Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Workpiece Quality

with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, it effectively prevented excessive burrs around the edge workpiece by using optimized parameters
(Figure 7. with HIT HSKA63-R30 ultrasonic machining module in profile milling - roughing of STAVAX mould steel, it effectively prevented excessive burrs around the edge workpiece by using optimized parameters)

 
  • To optimize the profile milling (roughing) process of STAVAX mould steel with HIT ultrasonic, the reduction in cutting force/heat brought an increase in machining efficiency and a decrease in tool wear.
  • Due to serious wear on the edge of tool blade without ultrasonic, the increase of cutting force caused plastic deformation in the material, which generated massive burrs around the edge of workpiece.




 

HIT Ultrasonic Machining Technology Achievements in Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel



🕜 Efficiency - 5.5x higher, reduced total process time
⚙️ Tool Life - 5x longer, reduced tool wear
📈 Workpiece Quality - Prevention of excessive burrs around workpiece


 

Profile Milling (Roughing) of STAVAX Mould Steel: Industry Application



Profile milling (roughing) of STAVAX mould steel is often applied in the Precision Mould industry, especially for the mould-making of plastic, medical devices, and automotive parts.


STAVAX mould steel, produced by Sweden Uddeholm as part of their stainless steel series STAVAX ESR, is a high-quality stainless plastic mould steel with excellent corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and machinability.

Due to its unique material properties, STAVAX is suitable for special environments that demand high wear resistance or require molds with a long lifespan.  Additionally, its outstanding polishability makes it widely used for moulds in optical product manufacturing.

This material is widely applied across various high-precision industries, mainly for mould-making applications, such as plastic moulds (optical lenses, cosmetic packaging), medical device moulds (syringes, artificial joints), and automotive part moulds (light housings, trims).

However, STAVAX has high hardness and toughness, which can increase tool wear during cutting operations.  Furthermore, during high-temperature processing, residual stress can cause material deformation, affecting machining precision.


HIT's Ultrasonic Machining Module offers a comprehensive solution in machining these difficult-to-cut materials.  With the assistance of HIT's Ultrasonic Machining Technology, it helps effectively remove cutting force/heat under low rotation speed cutting operation.  This brings higher machining efficiency and reduces tool wear.  HIT assures its clients of matching up with their requirements and achieving even better outcomes!




💡 Learn more about HIT ultrasonic-assisted machining of other metal, heat-resistant alloy, and hardened steel case studies


💡 Introduction on HIT ultrasonic-assisted machining of other metal, heat-resistant alloy, and hardened steel