6 – Spindle and Feed Rate Control

▪ Introduction
▪ Spindle speed functions
▪ Feed rate functions
▪ Cutting Process Parameter Selection for Turning Applications

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 Introduction

▪ Both types of CNC machines, machining centers and lathes, use spindle

rotation when removing excessive material from a part.

▪ Spindle rotation is either the cutting tool (milling) or the part itself

(lathes).

▪ In both cases, activities of machine spindle and working feed rate of the

cutting tool need to be strictly controlled by the program.

▪ These CNC machines require instructions that relate to the selection of a

suitable speed of machine spindle and a cutting feed rate for a given job.

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 Spindle speed functions
▪ This functions specifies the spindle speed.
▪ The letter “S” is followed by the spindle speed in rpm.
▪ The spindle speed is commanded under an S address and is always in
revolution per minute and is defined as:

𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 (𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛) × 1000

𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝜋 × 𝐶𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑚
▪ The following table gives the surface cutting speeds for some common
materials

▪ Example: S2000 represents a spindle speed of 2000 rpm

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 Feed rate functions
▪ This functions specifies the feed rate.
▪ The letter “F” is followed by the feed rate in m/min.
▪ The Feed-Rate is defined by

𝐶ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝐿𝑜𝑎𝑑
𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = × 𝑁𝑜. 𝑜𝑓 𝑇𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ × 𝑆𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑
𝑇𝑜𝑜𝑡ℎ
▪ The following table gives the chip load per tooth of milling cutters cutting some
common materials.

▪ Example: F200 represents a feed rate of 200 mm/min

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 Cutting Process Parameter Selection for Turning Applications

▪ Cutting process parameters for turning applications are: Cutting speed (V);
Feed(F); and Depth of cut (t)
▪ The cutting speed (V) of a tool is the speed at which the metal is removed by
the tool from the particular workpiece.
▪ In lathe machine it is the speed of workpiece past the cutting tool expressed in
mm/min

𝜋𝐷𝑁
𝑉=
1000
▪ Where, D = Diameter of the workpiece, (mm); N=speed of spindle and
workpiece speed, rpm
▪ The feed rate is given by
𝑓𝑚 = 𝑁 × 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑣
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Cutting Process Parameter Selection for Turning Applications

Recommended Values for Cutting process parameters for lathe work

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 Example
Determine the spindle speed (rpm) and the feed rate (mm/min) of the
following shaft machining operation.

Material of workpiece MS (Mild Steel)

Material of cutting tool HSS (High Speed Steel)
Cutting Speed (V) 30 m/min
Feed 0.05 mm/rev
Cutter Diameter 20mm

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I Thank You for Your Kind Attention

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