Speeds and feeds 1

Speeds and feeds

The phrase speeds and feeds (or feeds and speeds) refers to two separate velocities in machine tool practice,
cutting speed and feed rate. They are often considered as a pair because of their combined effect on the cutting
process. Each, however, can also be considered and analyzed in its own right.
Cutting speed is the speed difference (relative velocity) between the cutting tool and the surface of the workpiece it
is operating on. It is expressed in units of distance along the workpiece surface per time, typically surface feet per
minute (sfm) or meters per minute (m/min).[1] Feed rate (also often styled as a solid compound, feedrate) is the
relative velocity at which the cutter is advanced along the workpiece; its vector is perpendicular to the vector of
cutting speed. Feed rate units depend on the motion of the tool and workpiece; in rotating systems (e.g., turning and
boring), the units are almost always distance per spindle revolution (inches per revolution [in/rev or ipr] or
millimeters per revolution [mm/rev]).[2] In linear systems (e.g., milling), the units are typically distance per time
(inches per minute [in/min or ipm] or millimeters per minute [mm/min]), although distance per revolution or per
cutter tooth are also sometimes used.[2]
If variables such as cutter geometry and the rigidity of the machine tool and its tooling setup could be ideally
maximized (and reduced to negligible constants), then only a lack of power (that is, kilowatts or horsepower)
available to the spindle would prevent the use of the maximum possible speeds and feeds for any given workpiece
material and cutter material. Of course, in reality those other variables are dynamic and not negligible; but there is
still a correlation between power available and feeds and speeds employed. In practice, lack of rigidity is usually the
limiting constraint.
Speed-and-feed selection is analogous to other examples of applied science, such as meteorology or pharmacology,
in that the theoretical modeling is necessary and useful but can never fully predict the reality of specific cases
because of the massively multivariate environment. Just as weather forecasts or drug dosages can be modeled with
fair accuracy, but never with complete certainty, machinists can predict with charts and formulas approximately
which speed and feed values will work best on a particular job, but cannot know the exact optimal values until
running the job. In CNC machining, usually the programmer programs speeds and feedrates that are as maximally
tuned as calculations and general guidelines can supply. The operator then fine-tunes the values while running the
machine, based on sights, sounds, smells, temperatures, tolerance holding, and tool tip lifespan. Under proper
management, the revised values are captured for future use, so that when a program is run again later, this work need
not be duplicated.
The phrases "speeds and feeds" or "feeds and speeds" have sometimes been used metaphorically to refer to the
execution details of a plan, which only skilled technicians (as opposed to designers or managers) would know.

Cutting speed
Cutting speed may be defined as the rate (or speed) that the material moves past the cutting edge of the tool ,
irrespective of the machining operation used — the surface speed. A cutting speed for mild steel, of 100 ft/min (or
approx 30 meters/min) is the same whether it is the speed of the (stationary) cutter passing over the (moving)
workpiece, such as in a turning operation, or the speed of the (rotating) cutter moving past a (stationary) workpiece,
such as in a milling operation. What will affect the value of this surface speed for mild steel, is the cutting
conditions:
For a given material there will be an optimum cutting speed for a certain set of machining conditions, and from this
speed the spindle speed (RPM) can be calculated. Factors affecting the calculation of cutting speed are:
• The material being machined (steel, brass, tool steel, plastic, wood) (see table below)
• The material the cutter is made from (Carbon steel, high speed steel (HSS), carbide, ceramics)
• The economical life of the cutter (the cost to regrind or purchase new, compared to the quantity of parts produced)
Speeds and feeds 2

Cutting speeds are calculated on the assumption that optimum cutting conditions exist, these include:
• Metal removal rate (finishing cuts that remove a small amount of material may be run at increased speeds)
• Full and constant flow of cutting fluid (adequate cooling and chip flushing)
• Rigidity of the machine and tooling setup (reduction in vibration or chatter)
• Continuity of cut (as compared to an interrupted cut, such as machining square section material in a lathe)
• Condition of material (mill scale, hard spots due to white cast iron forming in castings)
The cutting speed is given as a set of constants that are available from the material manufacturer or supplier, the
most common materials are available in reference books, or charts but will always be subject to adjustment
depending on the cutting conditions. The following table gives the cutting speeds for a selection of common
materials under one set of conditions. The conditions are a tool life of 1 hour, dry cutting (no coolant) and at medium
feeds so they may appear to be incorrect depending on circumstances. These cutting speeds may change if, for
instance, adequate coolant is available or an improved grade of HSS is used (such as one that includes cobalt).

Cutting speeds for various materials using a plain high speed steel cutter
Material type Meters per min (MPM) Surface feet per min (SFM)

Steel (tough) 15–18 50–60

Mild steel 30–38 100–125

Cast iron (medium) 18–24 60–80

Alloy steels (1320–9262) – [3]

65–120

Carbon steels (C1008-C1095) – [4]

70–130

Free cutting steels (B1111-B1113 & C1108-C1213) – [4]

115–225

Stainless steels (300 & 400 series) – [5]

75–130

Bronzes 24–45 80–150

Leaded steel (Leadloy 12L14) – [6]

300

Aluminium 75–105 250–350

Brass – [7]
600+ (Use the maximum spindle speed)

Machinability rating
The machinability rating of a material attempts to quantify the machinability of various materials. It is expressed as a
percentage or a normalized value. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) determined machinability ratings for
a wide variety of materials by running turning tests at 180 surface feet per minute (sfpm). It then arbitrarily assigned
160 Brinell B1112 steel a machinability rating of 100%. The machinability rating is determined by measuring the
weighed averages of the normal cutting speed, surface finish, and tool life for each material. Note that a material
with a machinability rating less than 100% would be more difficult to machine than B1112 and material with a value
more than 100% easier.
Machinability ratings can be used in conjunction with the Taylor tool life equation, , in order to
determine cutting speeds or tool life. It is known that B1112 has a tool life of 60 minutes at a cutting speed of 100
sfpm. If a material has a machinability rating of 70%, it can be determined, with the above knowns, that in order to
maintain the same tool life (60 minutes) the cutting speed must be 70 sfpm (assuming the same tooling is used).
When calculating for other copper alloys the machine rating is arrived at by assuming the 100 rating of 600 SFM.
For example, phosphorus bronze (grades A–D) has a machinability rating of 20. This means that phosphor bronze
Speeds and feeds 3

runs at 20% the speed of 600 SFM or 120 SFM. However, 165 SFM is generally accepted as the basic 100% rating
for "grading steels".[8]

Spindle speed
The spindle speed is the rotational frequency of the spindle of the machine, measured in revolutions per minute
(RPM). The preferred speed is determined by working backward from the desired surface speed (sfm or m/min) and
incorporating the diameter (of workpiece or cutter).
The spindle may hold the:
• Material (as in a screw machine)
• Drill bit in a drill
• Milling cutter in a milling machine
• Router bit in a wood router
• Shaper cutter or knife in a wood shaper or spindle moulder
• Grinding wheel on a grinding machine.
• Or it may hold the chuck which then holds the workpiece in a lathe. In these cases the tool bit remains stationery
although exceptions may be found such as in thread milling.
Excessive spindle speed will cause premature tool wear, breakages, and can cause tool chatter, all of which can lead
to potentially dangerous conditions. Using the correct spindle speed for the material and tools will greatly affect tool
life and the quality of the surface finish.
For a given machining operation, the cutting speed will remain constant for most situations; therefore the spindle
speed will also remain constant. However, facing, forming, parting off, and recess operations on a lathe or screw
machine involve the machining of a constantly changing diameter. Ideally this means changing the spindle speed as
the cut advances across the face of the workpiece, producing constant surface speed (CSS). Mechanical
arrangements to effect CSS have existed for centuries, but they were never applied commonly to machine tool
control. In the pre-CNC era, the ideal of CSS was ignored for most work. For unusual work that demanded it, special
pains were taken to achieve it. The introduction of CNC-controlled lathes has provided a practical, everyday solution
via automated CSS. By means of the machine's software and variable speed electric motors, the lathe can increase
the RPM of the spindle as the cutter gets closer to the center of the part.
Grinding wheels are designed to be run at a maximum safe speed, the spindle speed of the grinding machine may be
variable but this should only be changed with due attention to the safe working speed of the wheel. As a wheel wears
it will decrease in diameter, and its effective cutting speed will be reduced. Some grinders have the provision to
increase the spindle speed which corrects for this loss of cutting ability, however increasing the speed beyond the
wheels rating will destroy the wheel and create a serious hazard to life and limb.
Generally speaking, spindle speeds and feed rates are less critical in woodworking than metalworking. Most
woodworking machines including power saws such as circular saws and band saws, jointers, Thickness planers
rotate at a fixed RPM. In those machines, cutting speed is regulated through the feed rate. The required feed rate can
be extremely variable depending on the power of the motor, the hardness of the wood or other material being
machined, and the sharpness of the cutting tool.
In woodworking, the ideal feed rate is one that is slow enough not to bog down the motor, yet fast enough to avoid
burning the material. Certain woods, such as black cherry and maple are more prone to burning than others. The
right feed rate is usually obtained by "feel" if the material is hand fed, or by trial and error if a power feeder is used.
In thicknessers (planers), the wood is usually fed automatically through rubber or corrugated steel rollers. Some of
these machines allow varying the feed rate, usually by changing pulleys. A slower feed rate usually results in a finer
surface as more cuts are made for any length of wood.
Speeds and feeds 4

Spindle speed becomes important in the operation of routers, spindle moulders or shapers, and drills. Older and
smaller routers often rotate at a fixed spindle speed, usually between 20,000 and 25,000 rpm. While these speeds are
fine for small router bits, using larger bits, say more than 1-inch (25 mm) or 25 millimeters in diameter, can be
dangerous and can lead to chatter. Larger routers now have variable speeds and larger bits require slower speed.
Drilling wood generally uses higher spindle speeds than metal, and the speed is not as critical. However, larger
diameter drill bits do require slower speeds to avoid burning.
Cutting feeds and speeds, and the spindle speeds that are derived from them, are the ideal cutting conditions for a
tool. If the conditions are less than ideal then adjustments are made to the spindle's speed, this adjustment is usually a
reduction in RPM to the closest available speed, or one that is deemed (through knowledge and experience) to be
correct.
Some materials, such as machinable wax, can be cut at a wide variety of spindle speeds, while others, such as
stainless steel require much more careful control as the cutting speed is critical, to avoid overheating both the cutter
and workpiece. Stainless steel is one material that work hardens very easily, therefore insufficient feed rate or
incorrect spindle speed can lead to less than ideal cutting conditions as the work piece will quickly harden and resist
the tool's cutting action. The liberal application of cutting fluid can improve these cutting conditions however the
correct selection of speeds is the critical factor.

Spindle speed calculations

Most metalworking books have nomograms or tables of spindle speeds and feed rates for different cutters and
workpiece materials; similar tables are also likely available from the manufacturer of the cutter used.
The spindle speeds may be calculated for all machining operations once the SFM or MPM is known. In most cases
we are dealing with a cylindrical object such as a milling cutter or a workpiece turning in a lathe so we need to
determine the speed at the periphery of this round object. This speed at the periphery (of a point on the
circumference, moving past a stationary point) will depend on the rotational speed (RPM) and diameter of the object.
One analogy would be a skateboard rider and a bicycle rider travelling side by side along the road. For a given
surface speed (the speed of this pair along the road) the rotational speed (RPM) of their wheels (large for the skater
and small for the bicycle rider) will be different. This rotational speed (RPM) is what we are calculating, given a
fixed surface speed (speed along the road) and known values for their wheel sizes (cutter or workpiece).
The following formulae[9] may be used to estimate this value.

Approximation
The exact RPM is not always needed, a close approximation will work.
When using Imperial units, the following formula uses a constant of 4 to replace the 12⁄pi part of the calculation, so
that the arithmetic can be quickly and simply performed. Speed is in feet per minute, diameter is in inches.

e.g. for a cutting speed of 100 ft/min (a plain HSS steel cutter on mild steel) and diameter of 10 inches (the cutter or
the work piece)

When using Metric units, the following formula uses a constant of 320 to replace the part of the
calculation. Speed is in meters per minute and the diameter is in millimeters.
e.g. for a cutting speed of 22 m/min and diameter of 10 mm,
Speeds and feeds 5

Accuracy
However for more accurate calculations, and at the expense of simplicity, this formula can be used:

and using the same example as above

and using the same example as above

where:
• RPM is the rotational speed of the cutter or workpiece.
• k is a constant, (320 for metric units, 4 for imperial unit units, 3.82 can be used in place of 4 for greater accuracy)
• Speed is the recommended cutting speed of the material (depending on k) in meters/minute or feet/min
• Diameter (again, depending on k) in millimeters or inches
• ≈ 3.1416
• Circumference of the workpiece measured in meters or feet
1
• ⁄12 conversion of inches to feet
1
• ⁄1000 convsersion of meters to millimeters

Feed rate
Feed rate is the velocity at which the cutter is fed, that is, advanced against the workpiece. It is expressed in units of
distance per revolution for turning and boring (typically inches per revolution [ipr] or millimeters per revolution). It
can be expressed thus for milling also, but it is often expressed in units of distance per time for milling (typically
inches per minute [ipm] or millimeters per minute), with considerations of how many teeth (or flutes) the cutter has
then determining what that means for each tooth.
Feedrate is dependent on the:
• Type of tool (a small drill or a large drill, high speed or carbide, a boxtool or recess, a thin form tool or wide form
tool, a slide knurl or a turret straddle knurl).
• Surface finish desired.
• Power available at the spindle (to prevent stalling of the cutter or workpiece).
• Rigidity of the machine and tooling setup (ability to withstand vibration or chatter).
• Strength of the workpiece (high feed rates will collapse thin wall tubing)
• Characteristics of the material being cut, chip flow depends on material type and feed rate. The ideal chip shape is
small and breaks free early, carrying heat away from the tool and work.
• Threads per inch (TPI) for taps, die heads and threading tools.
When deciding what feed rate to use for a certain cutting operation, the calculation is fairly straightforward for
single-point cutting tools, because all of the cutting work is done at one point (done by "one tooth", as it were). With
a milling machine or jointer, where multi-tipped/multi-fluted cutting tools are involved, then the desirable feed rate
becomes dependent on the number of teeth on the cutter, as well as the desired amount of material per tooth to cut
(expressed as chip load). The greater the number of cutting edges, the higher the feed rate permissible: for a cutting
edge to work efficiently it must remove sufficient material to cut rather than rub; it also must do its fair share of
work.
Speeds and feeds 6

The ratio of the spindle speed and the feed rate controls how aggressive the cut is, and the nature of the swarf
formed.

Formula to determine feed rate

This formula[10] can be used to figure out the feed rate that the cutter travels into or around the work. This would
apply to cutters on a milling machine, drill press and a number of other machine tools. This is not to be used on the
lathe for turning operations, as the feed rate on a lathe is given as inches per revolution.

Where:
• FR = the calculated feed rate in inches per minute or mm per minute.
• RPM = is the calculated speed for the cutter.
• T = Number of teeth on the cutter.
• CL = The chip load or feed per tooth. This is the size of chip that each tooth of the cutter takes.

Depth of cut
Cutting speed and feed rate come together with depth of cut to determine the material removal rate, which is the
volume of workpiece material (metal, wood, plastic, etc.) that can be removed per time unit.

Bibliography
• Smid, Peter (2008), CNC Programming Handbook (3 ed.), New York, NY, USA: Industrial Press,
LCCN 2007-045901, ISBN 9780831133474

Further reading
• Groover, Mikell P. (2007). "Theory of Metal Machining". Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing (3rd ed.). John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.. pp. 491–504. ISBN 0471744859.

External links
• Basic Speeds and Feeds Calculator [11]
• Illustrated Speed and feed calculator [12]

References
[1] Smid 2008, pp. 74,85-90
[2] Smid 2008, pp. 74,91-92
[3] Brown & Sharpe, Automatic Screw Machine Handbook: Brown and Sharpe Speeds and Feeds Chart, p. 222 & 223
[4] Brown & Sharpe, Automatic Screw Machine Handbook: Brown and Sharpe Speeds and Feeds Chart, p. 222
[5] Brown & Sharpe, Automatic Screw Machine Handbook: Brown and Sharpe Speeds and Feeds Chart, p. 224
[6] Brown & Sharpe, Cam & Tool Design: Surface Cutting Speeds Chart, p. 5
[7] Brown & Sharpe, Automatic Screw Machine Handbook: Brown and Sharpe Speeds and Feeds Chart, p. 226
[8] Brown & Sharpe, Automatic Screw Machine Handbook: Machinebility of Materials, Composition and Machinability Chart, p. 120 & 224 –
225
[9] Culley, Ron (1988, 1989, 1991, 1994, 1996, 1997). isbn = 0724138196 Fitting and machining (http:/ / rmitpublishing. com. au/ ). PO Box
12477, Melbourne, Victoria: RMIT Publications. isbn = 0724138196.
[10] Google Books: Feed Rate Equation (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=JNnQ8r5merMC& pg=PA90& lpg=PA90& dq=feed+ rate+
equation& source=bl& ots=PXPHJN2WyK& sig=fvMans7EM2OOUfeCyhY_HfAq-wA& hl=en& ei=Uwu9ScvWFZGksQO4ntQu& sa=X&
oi=book_result& resnum=4& ct=result)
[11] http:/ / www. cncreport. com/ feeds_and_speeds_calculator. html
[12] http:/ / www. custompartnet. com/ calculator/ milling-speed-and-feed
Article Sources and Contributors 7

Article Sources and Contributors

Speeds and feeds  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=376665235  Contributors: Advocate4you, Alansohn, Bushytails, Chai Pui, DerrickOswald, Dpv, Epeefleche, Ewen,
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