End mill with a continuous honed corner between peripheral and end cutting edges
A carbide rotary cutting tool (end mill) whose peripheral helical edges and axial end edges are joined by a continuous hone that runs from the helical flute face, through the corner, and onto the end face. The hone has a variable edge radius and defined axial and radial angles intended to strengthen the corner and control edge geometry during milling. Shops and cutters that use solid-carbide end mills for slotting, profiling and pocketing would use this style of tool.
(57) What the patent covered
The main claim covers an end mill having a helical flute and associated helical peripheral cutting edge plus an axial end cutting edge that meet at a corner, where the peripheral edge, the corner and the end edge form one contiguous hone edge with a hone length; the hone edge has a radius that varies along its length and has defined positive axial and radial angles relative to clockwise rotation of the shaft.
The distinctive part: The hone is a single contiguous edge that spans the helical peripheral edge, the corner and the end face, with a deliberately varying radius and specified axial and radial angles.
Novelty 3/5. Corner chamfers, radiused corners and end-face gashing were already common; the patent's novelty is combining those zones into a single continuous hone with a controlled variable radius and specified orientation.
Making it
Sintered carbide blank ground to form helical flutes and cutting edges, precision honing/grinding to form a continuous hone with controlled radius and angles, optional PVD/CVD coating, final inspection.
Materials: Carbide (likely tungsten carbide) for the body, Possible TiN/TiAlN or other CVD/PVD coating (likely), Steel shank or full-carbide blank (depending on size)
Manufacturability 3/5. Requires precision flute grinding and a controlled honing/grinding step to produce the variable-radius contiguous hone; typical for carbide end-mill production but needs CNC grinders or honing fixtures.
Is anyone buying?
We haven't run a demand check on this one yet. Shoppers would likely search for solid carbide end mill honed corner, helical flute end mill radiused edge, end mill corner strengthen hone; the links on the right open those searches.
Who buys it: machine shops, tool rooms and manufacturers using solid-carbide end mills
Before you make it
We didn't find any related continuation or divisional patents still in force, although that doesn't rule out design patents, trademarks or unrelated patents covering the same product.
Practical risk is a crowded market and many vendors already use corner radiuses, chamfers or end-face gashing; the patent focused on a specific continuous hone geometry that may be narrow in scope.
Owners occasionally revive lapsed patents (about 1.5% are), and this page is a research lead rather than legal advice, so get a freedom-to-operate opinion before you manufacture anything.