What are the applications of high-speed steel single angle milling cutters in the aerospace industry
In the aerospace industry, high-speed steel (HSS) single angle milling cutters are mainly used for cutting low to medium hardness materials in aerospace components, rough machining of complex structures, and forming with moderate precision requirements due to their excellent toughness, impact resistance, and moderate cutting hardness (especially suitable for processing tough materials), as well as lower cost compared to hard alloy cutting tools and easy edge grinding. The specific application scenarios are as follows:Sources：www.tabletalktaboos.com | PublishDate：2025.09.16
1、 Forming and processing of key components of aircraft engines
The core components of aircraft engines, such as the casing, blade tenons, and bearing seats, are mostly made of aluminum alloy, titanium alloy (annealed state, hardness ≤ 30HRC), or high-temperature alloy (low-temperature processing). The "single angle cutting edge+side edge/end edge synergy" characteristic of high-speed steel single angle milling cutters can be used for targeted processing, including:
1. Processing of angle grooves on the flange surface of the casing
The flange connection surface of engine casings (such as compressor casings and combustion chamber casings) needs to be provided with "V-shaped grooves" and "45 °/60 ° positioning grooves" for seal installation or bolt positioning. The high-speed steel single angle milling cutter (with a top angle of mostly 45 ° -90 °) can mill the inclined surface of the groove through the "main angle cutting edge", and the side edge ensures the perpendicularity of the groove wall. Due to the good toughness of high-speed steel, it can avoid the "sticking" of aluminum alloy/titanium alloy during cutting, which can cause rough groove wall and meet the sealing accuracy requirements of flange connection (groove width tolerance ± 0.05mm).
2. Rough machining of blade tenon teeth
Aircraft engine blades (fan blades, compressor blades) and connecting "tenons" (such as fir tree shaped and dovetail shaped tenons) need to be milled with preliminary tooth profiles first. Annealed titanium alloys (such as TC4) have strong toughness, and hard alloy cutting tools are prone to chipping. High speed steel single angle milling cutters (with coatings such as TiN and TiAlN to improve wear resistance) can quickly remove excess material from the tenon tooth shape through "single angle cutting+end cutting" collaborative cutting, completing rough machining of the wheel profile (leaving 0.1-0.2mm finishing allowance), and then precision milling with hard alloy cutting tools to balance machining efficiency and tool cost.
2、 Processing of angle characteristics of aircraft fuselage structural components
The frame, beams, ribs and other structural components of the aircraft fuselage are mostly made of 7-series aluminum alloy (such as 7075-T6, with a hardness of about 150-180HB) or magnesium alloy, which requires processing a large number of features such as "angled slopes", "chamfers" and "wedge-shaped notches". High speed steel single angle milling cutters have significant advantages in such processing:
1. Processing of wedge-shaped weight reduction grooves on the fuselage beam
To reduce weight, the main beams of the fuselage (such as wing main beams and fuselage reinforcement beams) will have "wedge-shaped weight reduction grooves" (with a slope angle of 15 ° -30 °) opened on the belly plate. The high-speed steel single angle milling cutter can adjust the angle of the tool holder to make the single angle edge fit the inclined surface of the wedge-shaped groove and mill along the length direction of the main beam. Its toughness can withstand the vibration during continuous cutting of aluminum alloy (the length of the main beam can reach several meters, which is prone to vibration during processing), avoiding edge collapse at the transition between the groove bottom and the inclined surface.
2. Right angle/oblique chamfer of fuselage ribs
The edges and openings of the fuselage ribs (supporting components that separate the fuselage cabin sections) need to be chamfered at a 45 ° angle or a 30 ° angle to prevent stress concentration (aviation structural components need to avoid fatigue cracks caused by sharp edges). High speed steel single angle milling cutter (top angle 90 °) can quickly complete chamfering of holes and edges, and due to the ease of maintaining the sharpness of the high-speed steel cutting edge, it can avoid "burrs" during aluminum alloy chamfering and reduce subsequent deburring processes (aviation parts have high requirements for burrs, which should be ≤ 0.02mm).
3、 Cutting of low hardness materials for spacecraft structural components
The rocket body structure of space rockets and satellites (such as rocket body skin, instrument cabin support), and satellite frames are mostly made of aluminum alloy (such as 2A12), pure titanium (TA2), or resin based composite materials (surface metal inserts). High speed steel single angle milling cutters are suitable for processing such low hardness, high toughness materials:
1. Milling of angle reinforcement ribs for arrow body skin
To enhance the structural strength of the rocket body skin (thickness 2-5mm), "triangular reinforcement ribs" (inclined angle 60 °) need to be milled on the inner wall. High speed steel single angle milling cutter (small diameter, such as φ 6- φ 12mm) can mill thin-walled ribs by high-speed rotation (linear speed 80-120m/min), and its toughness can avoid "over cutting" during thin-walled machining (hard alloy cutting tools have strong rigidity and are prone to deformation of ribs due to vibration), ensuring a rib height tolerance of ± 0.03mm.
2. Positioning slope processing of satellite instrument cabin bracket
The bracket inside the satellite instrument cabin (used to fix gyroscopes and navigation equipment) needs to be processed with a "positioning slope" (such as a 10 ° -15 ° slope, used for equipment leveling). High speed steel single angle milling cutters can mill inclined surfaces, and due to the low cost and easy grinding of high-speed steel cutting tools, they are suitable for the production needs of "small batches and multiple varieties" of satellite components (satellite components are mostly customized, with a single batch output of 10-50 pieces), reducing tool replacement costs.
4、 Angle feature processing of aerospace standard parts
Although standard components in the aerospace industry, such as connectors, fasteners, and locating pins, require high precision, some angular features can be machined using high-speed steel single angle milling cutters, balancing accuracy and cost
Processing of head angle groove for aviation bolts: Some aviation specific bolts (such as titanium alloy bolts) require a "60 ° hexagonal groove" or "V-shaped anti slip groove" on the head. High speed steel single angle milling cutters (top angle 60 °) can mill the inclined surface of the groove, and the side blades ensure the parallelism of the groove wall, meeting the tool fitting accuracy during bolt assembly.
Cone end face machining of positioning pin: The positioning pin (used for component docking positioning) end face of aerospace equipment needs to be machined with a "15 ° -30 ° cone face". The high-speed steel single angle milling cutter can mill the cone end face through the cooperation of the end blade and the single angle blade, ensuring the fit between the positioning pin and the pin hole (cone tolerance ≤ 0.01mm/m).