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• The OP machine looks too lightly made to run a 3/8' endmill in steel except by taking many.005 deep cuts. By the way, there are specially designed endmills for doing keyways. They have two straight flutes and are a couple of thousandths undersize to allow for the cutter always cutting a slot wider than the cutter diameter.
• Anyone cut internal key slots with a Milling machine Im in need of cutting a key slot in a future aluminum gear, however I dont have a true broaching set. Anyone found a way to use a milling machine to do such.

Electronic key cutting machines: Keyline realizes electronic key cutting machines and key copy machine for flat keys, laser keys, car keys, punched keys and map keys. The deeper either slot, the further the key enters axially. Excessive keyslot or keyway depth might let a Gib-head taper key slide so far into the slot that it contacts the face of the component.

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In this article we will see the basic difference between slot , holes, groove, and keyways.

1. Hole: circular cutout, either through the material or to a blind depth.

Ok, The Roughing Cutter The cutter most used and abused, while cutting key way slots, is the” roughing cutter” It’s not too big, I call these roughing cutters “beavers”.

Types of Hole :

They are different types of holes that are mentioned below.

1.Simple Hole
2.Counter board
3.counter sunk
4.Tapered
5.counter drilled.

2. Slot or Slotted Holes: an elongated hole. It is stretched in one direction but still has full radii on the ends. A slot is cut into a flat plate or normal to the axis of a cylinder.

Slot Hole Design Consideration :

Slotted holes are widely used in most sorts of mechanical design. Apply mainly in precisely fine-tuning for uncontrollable dimensions beforehand, alignment accuracy, fixation in certain direction meanwhile keeping slipping free in other directions, and so on. Such as tension device of belt pulley, thermal stress protection for slender bar structural parts or long spindle shafts, alignment accuracy in complex dimension chain, a mechanism for enhancing tolerance, and eliminating accumulated error.

In mechanical design, some principles and factors we should take into account include the shape and travel of the slotted holes, the structural strength affected by the holes, and so on. In actual application, they can be classified into the following types: singleton slotted holes, coupled slotted holes.

Slotted Holes Slotted holes can be dimensioned in several different ways.

a. Center points on the longitudinal axis are located and the radii are indicated with a note.
b. Linear measurements indicate the overall size of the slot and the radii are specified.
c. A note indicates the two linear dimensions of the slot and another note specifies the radii.
Choose the most appropriate technique for sizing the slotted hole. The technique used for sizing the slot determines how the slot is located.

See Also: What is Slotting Machine- Principal parts of Slotter Machine

3. Groove:a groove is a cylindrical slot. Grooves are cut around the OD or ID of a cylinder and do not pass through the axis of the cylinder.

You can simply understand that a slot can be through or blind but a groove is always blind.

In manufacturing or mechanical engineering a groove is a long and narrow indentation built into a material, generally for the purpose of allowing another material or part to move within the groove and be guided by it.

Examples include:

• A canal cut in a hard material, usually metal. This canal can be round, oval or an arc in order to receive another component such as a boss, a tongue or a gasket. It can also be on the circumference of a dowel, a bolt, an axle or on the outside or inside of a tube or pipe etc. This canal may receive a circlip an o-ring or a gasket.
• A depression on the entire circumference of a cast or machined wheel, a pulley or sheave. This depression may receive a cable, a rope or a belt.
• A longitudinal channel formed in a hot rolled rail profile such as a grooved rail. This groove is for the flange on a train wheel.

4. Keyway:

In mechanical engineering, a key is a machine element used to connect a rotating machine element to a shaft. The key prevents relative rotation between the two parts and may enable torque transmission. For a key to function, the shaft and rotating machine element must have a keyway and a keyseat, which is a slot and pocket in which the key fits. The whole system is called a keyed joint.

Read More: Types Of Mechanical Keys- Design Of Keys.

When manufacturers want to attach a gear, pulley hub, or coupling to the shafts of driving equipment, they generally use a keyway locking method. With this method, a key blocks shaft rotation and helps transfer torque. For this to work, different types of keyway cutting options are used to make a keyway in the shaft and coupling hub. This article will examine the most popular keyway cutting technologies used today.

Get Started with the Hansford Davis Keyseater

1. Keyseating (for Large & Specialty Keyways)

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Keyway cutting with a keyseater machine (or internal keyway slotting machine) removes material through a series of tooth cutting strokes. Some keyseaters only feature a single tooth cutter, while other machines (like the Davis Keyseater) use a multiple tooth cutter to achieve cutting speeds as fast as broaching.

Here’s how it works: The cutter on the keyseater slowly advances outward with each consecutive cut. This subtle movement allows each stroke to remove a little bit more material. The process repeats until the cut is deep enough to meet the specifications of the coupling hub print drawing.

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The primary benefit of keyseating is that it offers great flexibility for large and specialty keyways. Custom sized tooth cutters are easy to obtain, and can also be quickly modified at an onsite tool room to meet unique specifications. However, depending on the type of your machine and cutting tool, keyseating may require a longer cycle time than traditional broaching. To get an idea of cycle time, view our chart that illustrates keyseater cutting times for various keyways and materials.

2. Keyway Broaching (for Speed)

Keyway cutting with a broaching machine is similar to keyseating. However, it’s more common for a broaching machine to feature a cutter with multiple teeth. Again, the cutter on the broaching machine is pushed through a hub and removes more material with each tooth the further it advances. Due to the multiple teeth, more material can be removed faster. Keyway broaching can usually cut a keyway in 1-3 strokes.

One important characteristic to note is that broach cutting teeth, like other cutting tools, need to be sharpened when dulled. For more information on this, read our article on broach sharpening. Another characteristic is that broaching machines can be aligned horizontally or vertically to push or pull a broach through a part.

One problem with broaching is the upfront cost of the broaches. They can cost up to tens of thousands of dollars and will require regular maintenance. Another issue is time. If a custom broach isn’t readily available, it can take weeks to months to manufacture the broach.

3. Wire EDM (for Small, Specialty Runs)

Keyway cutting with wire EDM (electric discharge machining) is generally used for small quantity runs that require precision or other specific cutting options. Tool and die builders use wire EDM to remove material through a method that might be described as “shock” or “evaporation.” In this method, a spooling copper wire is brought up close to cut a target with electrical sparks (but doesn’t directly touch the component).

If you’re looking for speed, wire EDM is probably not your best keyway cutting option. A standard machine might operate at 12 square inches per hour. As an example, if your part is 6” thick, a wire EDM machine will cut 2” deep per hour. However, one redeeming factor to this is that wire EDM machines can run without an active operator. With that said, some applications best suited for wire EDM include: prototype parts, rush orders, and one-off requests.

4. Shaping (for Blind Keyways)

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Shaping is a good option for cutting blind keyways. “Blind” refers to keyways that don’t go through the entire length of the part. Some of the above keyway cutting options, such as broaching and wire EDM, aren’t designed to handle blind keyways.

As with some keyseaters, shaping uses a single tooth cutting tool. Unlike keyseaters, shapers aren’t guided down through the cut on a fixed post. As a result, shaper cuts can’t achieve the same level of accuracy as keyseater cuts due to unguided deflection. This increases the need for proper tolerance inspection.

In order to cut blind keyways, shapers require users to pre-cut a “relief” at the end of the soon-to-be cut keyway. The relief allows metal chips to break. They can be formed by cutting an internal groove on the inside diameter for hubs or by pre-drilling a hole.

5. Milling (for Shaft-Only Keyways)

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Much like shaping, milling allows users to cut partial length, tapered, or straight keyways. Milling is popular for cutting external shaft keyways. However, milling inside diameter keyways on hubs isn’t common because the other side of the coupling gets in the way (with traditional straight milling techniques). But if needed, an internal hub keyway could be milled with a special 90º angular milling head.

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Like shaping, quality is an important factor to consider when milling keyways (due to lack of unguided cuts). Tolerances, such as corner radius quality, need special attention in order to ensure correct spec. Otherwise, problems could arise such as an imbalance to the power transmission system or a key that doesn’t fit.

Ready to Start Keyway Cutting?

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We hope this guide has given you a clearer understanding of your keyway cutting options. If you’re ready to start keyway cutting, or looking for a way to reduce cycle time and manufacturing cost on your current keyway cutting process, contact us. During our conversation we can discuss which keyway cutting option is best for your application.