Cutting Tool Technology
A structured course from recognizing a cutting edge, to reading tool catalogs, choosing geometry/substrate/coating, diagnosing wear, designing a tool-life trial, and comparing cost per good part. Built for new machinists and junior manufacturing engineers — not a list of manufacturer SKUs or universal speed tables.
- New here: follow the modules in order, starting with The Cutting Tool as a System.
- At the machine with a problem: start at Wear Diagnosis and work back to the mechanism and setup pages.
- Choosing a tool now: use the selection workflow and the printable tool selection worksheet.
Note: all speeds, feeds, tool lives and costs shown in this course are classroom teaching assumptions unless explicitly tagged as a manufacturer recommendation. Nothing here authorizes running an unvalidated cut on a real machine.
Learning roadmap
The eight modules
M1 — Cutting System & Basics
Material as input, speed/feed/units, chip formation, forces and heat.
M2 — Tool Geometry
Rake, clearance, edge prep, nose radius, chipbreakers, end-mill geometry, insert designations.
M3 — Substrates & Coatings
Material families, carbide grades, ceramics/PCBN/PCD, coatings, selection workflow.
M4 — Setup & Condition
Holders, interfaces, runout, balance, coolant, inspection.
M5 — Applications
End mills, indexable milling, turning, drills, reaming, threading, grooving.
M6 — Wear & Failure
Wear mechanisms, chipping, diagnosis, controlled tool-life trials.
M7 — Economics & Management
Cost per good part, tool records, monitoring, reconditioning.
M8 — Cases & Assessment
Three worked cases, final assessment, glossary.
Practical resources
- Printable Tool Selection Worksheet
- Printable Wear & Trial Log
- Related calculators: Cutting Speed, Feed Rate, MRR.