How to Calculate Milling Feed Rate

Machine-cutting parts have different measuring systems to determine their quality and speed. One measurement is the feed rate. It describes the speed at which the cutter on the machine is fed against the work piece. The standard unit for feed rate is the distance per revolution, and is calculated in inches. The feed rate is based on the type of tool; the surface, power, rigidity and strength are among its other characteristics.

Instructions

1. • 1

     Gather the information about your machine including the surface speed, the number of teeth on the cutter and the chip load, which is the size of each tooth on the cutter.

   • 2

     Use this formula to determine feed rate:

     Feed Rate = SFM * T * CL

     SFM is the surface speed, T is the number of teeth and CL is the chip load.

   • 3

     Plug in the numbers you found in the information-gathering step. Complete the multiplication to find the milling feed rate.