Recommended Speeds (sfpma) Material Drill Lathe Mill Magnesium 300 400-800 200-400 Aluminum 250 350-700 250-500 Brass & Bronze 200 250-500 150-450 Copper 70 100-250 100-200 Cast Iron (soft) 120 100-250 80-120 Cast Iron (hard) 80 50-150 50-100 Mild Steel 110 100-250 70-120 Cast Steel 50 70-150 80-100 Alloy Steels (hard) 60 50-150 30-60 Tool Steel 60 50-150 40-70 Stainless Steel 30 60-180 30-60 Titanium 30 90-200 40-60 High Manganese Steel 15 40-100 20-40 aIn surface feet per minute at the periphery of the tool for HSS (high-speed-steel) tools. For carbide-tipped tools, speeds can be twice those given. Carbide-tipped tools do not operate properly at low speeds; operate at or above the minimum speed if possible.
To calculate rpm from sfpm: 3.8 × speed 4 × speed rpm = ∼ d d where speed is given in sfpm and d is the diameter of the tool (mill or drill) or workpiece (lathe) in inches.
Suggested Depth of Cut in Inches Lathe Mill Material HSS Carbide HSS Carbide Aluminum 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.05 Plain Carbon Steel 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.03 Alloy Steels 0.025 0.045 0.025 0.025 Stainless Steel 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.03 Brass 0.05 0.07 0.05 0.05
1 Recommended Feeds for Turning (lathe) Tool Feed (iprb) Material Rough Cut Finish Cut Magnesium 0.015-0.025 0.005-0.010 Aluminum 0.015-0.025 0.005-0.010 Brass & Bronze 0.015-0.025 0.003-0.010 Copper 0.010-0.020 0.004-0.008 Cast Iron (soft) 0.015-0.025 0.005-0.010 Cast Iron (hard) 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 Mild Steel 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 Cast Steel 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 Alloy Steel (hard) 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 Tool Steel 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 Stainless Steel 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 Titanium 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 High Manganese Steel 0.010-0.020 0.003-0.010 bIn inches per revolution of the spindle.
Recommended Feeds for Milling Tool Feed (iptc) Material Face Mill Side Mill End Mill Magnesium 0.005-0.020 0.004-0.010 0.005-0.010 Aluminum 0.005-0.020 0.004-0.010 0.005-0.010 Brass & Bronze 0.004-0.020 0.004-0.010 0.005-0.010 Copper 0.04-0.010 0.004-0.007 0.004-0.008 Cast Iron (soft) 0.004-0.016 0.004-0.009 0.004-0.008 Cast Iron (hard) 0.004-0.010 0.002-0.006 0.002-0.006 Mild Steel 0.004-0.010 0.002-0.007 0.002-0.010 Alloy Steel (hard) 0.004-0.010 0.002-0.007 0.002-0.006 Tool Steel 0.004-0.008 0.002-0.006 0.002-0.006 Stainless Steel 0.004-0.008 0.002-0.006 0.002-0.006 Titanium 0.004-0.008 0.002-0.006 0.002-0.006 High Manganese Steel 0.004-0.008 0.002-0.006 0.002-0.006 cIn inches per tooth on the tool.
2 Recommended Feeds for Drilling Drill Diameter (inches) Drill Feed (ipr)d <1/8 0.001-0.002 1/8-1/4 0.002-0.004 1/4-1/2 0.004-0.007 1/2-1 0.007-0.015 >1 0.015-0.025 dIn inches per revolution of the drill bit.
This chart is posted on the wall in several places in the Machine Shop in 101 CTB. The original source is unknown. It supersedes drilling speeds from the first page in this section when manually drilling.
[Modified: January 16, 2019]
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