Patent ID: 6508612
Filing Date: 2003-01-21
Classification: B23C,Y10T

Abstract:
A milling cutter capable of universally accepting indexable cutting inserts of various geometrical shapes, said milling cutter comprising:a plurality of pockets positioned around an outer periphery of said cutter, each pocket including a bottom, a first generally radially extending shoulder, and a second generally axially extending shoulder; an indexable cutting insert positioned within each of said pockets, each insert including a front face and a generally parallel rear face, the front face defining a polygonal cutting geometry and the rear face defining a generally round seating geometry, a leading and circumferentially facing cutting face and a plurality of clearance faces extending between the front and rear faces, the cutting edges of each insert being defined as an intersection of one of the plurality of clearance faces with the cutting face, each insert further including a generally frustoconical transition face extending between the clearance faces and the rear face for providing a transition area between the polygonal cutting geometry and the seating geometry of said insert; and means for securing each insert in its respective pocket and selectively releasable to permit indexing of each insert in its respective pocket to bring a selected one of said cutting edges into an active cutting position, wherein the rear face of each insert is seated against the bottom of its respective pocket and two orthogonal clearance faces of each insert engage the shoulders of its respective pocket when each insert is positioned within its respective pocket.