Articles, Case Studies & Troubleshooting

Aerospace · Composites

Trimming Carbon Fiber Aircraft Skins

An aircraft manufacturer cut CFRP skin trimming from three operations to one — saving $216,000 a year and quadrupling capacity.

Aerospace · Composites

Carbon Fiber in Aircraft: Clean Holes, Shredded Competition

A PCD-tipped Single Shot drill cut 4,000+ clean holes in CFRP wing spars where competitors managed 160 — saving $548,290 a year.

Mold & Die

Increased Die/Mold Tool Life in Hardened Steel

Tested in D2 at 58 HRc, the DM/MDM end mill lasted 450% longer with 909% less wear than comparable hard-milling tools.

Automotive & EV

Aluminum in Automotive: One Tool Where 20+ Failed

An automaker doubled feed rates and halved cycle times for aluminum — after 20+ toolmakers failed, the A1-303 was the only one that delivered.

Aluminum

An End Mill Designed to Control Chatter

RobbJack's Mirror Edge™ geometry keeps a flute in contact with the work until the next one engages — synchronizing vibration to kill chatter and unlock a fivefold jump in metal removal.

Aluminum

The Allure of Aluminum: Removing Metal Faster Without Chatter

Aluminum is easy to cut — which is exactly why the competition is won on cubic inches per minute. RobbJack's AL3 series takes 8×D-deep cuts in a single pass without chatter.

Titanium · Hardened Steel

Advanced Tool Paths Improve Cutter Performance in Difficult Materials

Trochoidal tool paths control heat by controlling the arc of engagement — letting you run difficult alloys faster, deeper, and with longer tool life. Here's how to set them up.

Mold & Die

Choosing the Right Cutting Tool for the Mold Making Industry

Mold work splits into three jobs — pre-hard, annealed, and graphite — each with a right tool and a right tool path. A field guide to picking the cutter that pays dividends in finish and tool life.

Mold & Die · Aerospace

The Common Ground Between Moldmaking and Aerospace

The techniques that conquer hardened mold steel transfer almost directly to difficult aerospace alloys — heat control, the right coating, and smart entry moves. Here's the crossover playbook.

Titanium · Aerospace

A Practical Approach to Milling Titanium

Titanium rewards rigidity and torque over speed. The practical path is the right machine, the right toolholder, and tool geometry built to shed heat — not heroics at the spindle.

Aerospace · Composites

New Aerospace Materials Require New Cutting Tools

CFRP-reinforced airframes broke the old hole-making playbook. RobbJack's answer is a solid-diamond 'W'-tipped drill — ground like carbide, but in 100% polycrystalline diamond.

Micro-Machining · Medical · Electronics

Big Difference in Micro-Machining: SS & SR Miniature End Mills

Edge geometries you can't see with the naked eye decide whether a 0.005" cutter holds size. RobbJack's SS and SR Series miniatures cut to micron tolerances — when nothing less will do.

Tool Modifications

Coolant Grooves: Through-Spindle Cooling Without Through-Tool Holes

A lower-cost way to get coolant to the cut: ground grooves route through-spindle coolant around the outside of the tool. Add -CG to any RobbJack end mill part number.

Chatter When Milling: Causes and How to Stop It

Chatter wrecks finish, chips edges, and shortens tool life. Here's the cause-by-cause checklist RobbJack's engineers use to make the cut quiet again.

Poor Tool Life: Why Your End Mill Wears Out Too Fast

Burning through end mills? Most premature wear comes from too much surface speed, too little chip, or not enough coolant. Here's how to diagnose and fix it.

Poor Surface Finish: Diagnose and Fix It

A rough wall or floor usually comes down to coolant, chip load, or a missing corner radius. Here's the quick diagnostic to get back to a clean finish.

Part Dimensional Inaccuracy: Beating Tool Deflection

Parts drifting out of tolerance? It's almost always deflection. Shorten the tool, lighten the cut, and hold size — here's how RobbJack engineers diagnose it.

Cutting-Edge Chipping: Causes and Fixes

A chipping edge looks like wear but isn't — it's overload or vibration. Here's how to tell the difference and protect the edge with the right prep and corner radius.

Chip Welding & Built-Up Edge: How to Stop It

Material welding to the flutes ruins finish and breaks tools. The fix is coolant, the right coating, and giving chips room to escape. Here's the full checklist.

Burrs on Your Parts: Causes and How to Cut Cleaner

Burrs mean secondary deburring, and that's lost money. They come from dull edges, gummy material, weak backing, and light feeds — here's how to cut clean the first time.