Arceurotrade milling cutter sharpening machine

I have a lifetimes collection of blunt ends mills and slot drills. Being stuck at home and not spending much money, I thought I might treat myself to an Arceurotrade milling cutter sharpening machine.

https://www.arceurotrade.co.uk/Catalogue/Machines-Accessories/End-Mill-Re-Sharpening-Module/EMG-12-End-Mill-Re-Sharpening-Module

Anyone have any experience of using one.

I do have a Chinese cutter grinder but it just doesn’t get used I have not been very successful at sharpening cutters on it.

Edited By Old School on 12/04/2020 07:28:35

I had one to review when ARC first did them, very easy and quick to use, In the interests of doing a thorough test I did about 40 cutters in a couple of hours which included stopping to take photos etc..

Remember that it only does the ends so won't totally sharpen ones that have seen a lot of edge use but you can even sharpen up damaged ones quite quickly by using the offhand grinder to take a few mm off the end or even cut the end off with an angle grinder.

Only comes with metric collets but I just turned up ones in 1/4, 3/8 & 1/2" quite easily as they are not complicated.

I had one to review when ARC first did them,

Personal appraisal or public review? Is it documented anywhere?

Not a review as such, but the late John Stevenson wrote a description of the module in MEW 228. At the end of the article, he briefly gives his impressions of his initial use in regrinding some of his own cutters.

John

I have an MG-12 sharpener and it is very good for sharpening end mills. However, as Jason says they only sharpen the ends of the cutter. I usually use shallow cuts when using my CNC mill so that when the cutter becomes blunt I more or less grind away the short blunt wear of the flutes when re grinding the face of the cutter.

I find that four and two flute cutters are easy to sharpen but the instruction book supplied with the machine leaves a lot to be desired (this may have changed as I bought my sharpener pretty soon after they appeared on the market). and three flute cutters turn out oddly shaped at the end.

I would say if you do most of your milling with HSS cutters and do a lot of milling using the flanks then the cutter might n to be for you.

" John Stevenson wrote a description of the module in MEW 228."

And he was set up at the side of a pillar at the last "Arrowgate" show, sharpening cutters for all and sundry. And there were some horrors, (Cutters that is)

Regards Ian.

Here's a link to a thread discussing the kit:

**LINK**

Not surprisingly the thread took a dive when an ex-member with an inflated ego took a swipe at people. Having tried the kit my conclusion was that I wouldn't buy for the reasons given.

Andrew

John's article can be read on the ARC website by clicking the "more" tab. Mine which also had input from Andrew who tried it after me was in MEW. I've just uploaded my original text and photos here if you want to read.

An idea which has been bubbling away for a while:

Could an end mill be sharpened with a 45 degree chamfer on the end so that it cut on the chamfer, then something like a 4 facet drill grinding attachment could be used to sharpen it. It would also be less prone to going blunt as the corners would be 135 degrees. I've tried this on a cutter which was well broken, I just sharpened one tooth as above, the other 3 were broken well clear. It produced a lovely surface finish, but obviously could only be fed slowly as it effectively had one tooth. It needs someone with 3D CAD skills to work out clearance/relief angles. If I can find it I'll post a photo.

Duncan,

That old dodge has been around for many years in Toolrooms & machine shops, but sharpening all the teeth at 45 degrees, gives an extra bit of life to cutters if you haven't got a T & C grinder.

Tony

I'll second Duncans' post. I regularly sharpen my larger end mills with a corner chamfer. Something around 2-3mm cutting edge at 45 degrees on a 3/4"cutter. As these cutters are usually employed to create flat surfaces the loss of ability to create sharp corners is of no consequence. They produce an excellent finish and because of the 135 degree included cutting angle last much longer beween sharpenings. I use a cutter grinder to do mine but it is feasable to do them freehand with a little care. I have tried it. They are produced commercially and with radiused corners too.

I picked up on this idea when watching one of Fred Dibnah's video's. He was having his steam tractor gears remachined and you could see the profile of one of the 'very' large end mills clearly. It lodged in my mind at the time and got recycled into practice months later when the need surfaced.

regards Martin

I considered buying one of these. First impression was that its a triumph of styling over design, not a good starting point! Having said that reports at that time suggested it did a good job on the ends of the cutter. But what about the sides of the cutter? This machine only does half a job. I was hoping it would replace my Clarkson T&C grinder but, as I mentioned, it doesn't do the complete job.

I've stuck with the Clarkson, its a real pain to use, probably because I have a sharpening session once or twice a year and need to re-learn the machine each time.

John

John Stevenson introduced the machine in MEW 228.

In response to questions on the forum, Jason's review was in MEW 232.

Neil

I think you've said it all there John.

Because it includes all the jigs and guides it does one thing well - grinding the ends of end mills, quickly and simply enough that no theoretical knowledge and only modertate practical ability is needed.

The Clarkson on the other hand can do much more, at the expense of requiring skill and patience.

Whether it suits really depends on how you wear your end mills; many of us put most of the wear on the tips and for those it's ideal - except you do need to sharpen a few dozen end mills to make your money back.

Neil

Hi, the late John Stevenson sharpen five for me the last time he was at the Doncaster MEX, with one of Arc's machines, and it certainly did a very good job of them.

Regards Nick.

I am sure I once saw a picture of that landing on the moon.

Steve.

You did Steve

Thanks for all the comments, it has confirmed what I thought that a tool and cutter grinder is not the easiest of machines to use. And I don’t want to spend my time learning and ruining cutters.
I have ordered one today.