Metal cutters can be ground to suit different applications. Shown here are the main categories that are available.

Tungsten Carbide is a very hard material that is routinely used for most general engraving applications for engraving metals & plastics.

High Speed Steel (HSS) cutters are less expensive and can be ground to very sharp edges but they do wear much more quickly than Tungsten.

D Bit cutters are the most common type of cutter for engraving and cutting metals and plastics.
They can be ground as described below to suit different applications and offer great value for money as they can usually be re-sharpened several times. Made from Micrograin carbide and ground to a MicroEdge® finish to produce cleaner cuts and stay sharper longer.

Cutter Profiles (available from stock)

V cutter with tip
Our most frequently used tool for engraving plastics and metals. Standard cutting tools are ground to a 45° side angle for plastics and a 60° side angle for metals. They are available in a variety of tip widths, see the tip size guide for help in specifying the correct tip size for your character size.

V cutter with point
Ideal for customers who have a cutter grinder but want the benefits of the MicroEdge® finish and/or want to save time grinding a D bit cutter to a V.

Parallel cutter
A tool ground parallel will produce a cut with straight edges compared to the "V" or angled cut from the V cutter profile. The smallest tip size available is 1.5mm. When ordering, specify the width of cut (broader is stronger) the depth of the cut required e.g. the material thickness if cutting completely through.

Cutter Profiles (available to order)

Cutter-Bevellers
A Cutter-Beveller has a parallel cutting edge for cutting through the material, while the angled edge produces a 45° bevel for a depth of between 1/3 to 1/2 of the material thickness. Especially useful for cutting out badges or producing discs or odd shaped items, which are difficult or impossible to do with a workshop beveller.These cutters are only available to order

Quarter Ground Cutters
A quarter ground cutter is split perpendicularly to the standard half ground (D bit) tool, to provide greater chip clearance. Especially useful for engraving and cutting soft materials

Ballnose Cutters
A ball nosed cutter produces a rounded cut. The cutter is ideal for reverse engraving and colour filling. Available as a parallel tool (straight sides) or as a conical tool (angled sides). Parallel Ballnose cutters are available from 1.5mm radius to the full diameter. Conical Ballnose (ground are available from .005" to half the shank diameter

Extra Wide Cutters
Extra wide cutters cut wider than their shank diameter. 1/8" and 11/64" cutters can cut up to .250" wide, 1/4" cutters up to .500" wide. Extra wide cutters are ideal for the rapid skimming of the sacrificial covering fitted to Suregrave T Slot tables. Must be loaded from the bottom of the spindle.

P.O.A.

Ordering D Bit V Cutters
When ordering cutters the following information is required.

A Cutter Length: This is the overall length of the cutter
B Shank Diameter: This is the diameter of the cutter that passes through the spindle
C Tip Diameter: This is the diameter of the cutter tip
D Included Angle: This is the angle that the cutter will leave in the material
E Tip Size: This is the width of the cut at the base of the engraving

When Using 1/4” Shank cutters always use a tipped cutter where possible as they are lighter and less expensive.

Tipped cutters are made by inserting a tungsten tip into a steel shank.
Straight Cutters are made of solid tungsten and can have larger tip sizes between 4.5mm and 6mm.

To assist in selecting widths the following common sizes are available to choose from:

Guide to Cutter Tip Size Selection
Selecting the cutter tip right will give a balanced and attractive look to your engraving and will prevent characters from merging together. As a general rule when engraving using single stroke or pre made multi stroke characters, the tip width required is approximately 12% of the character height.
For example: Character Height 6mm x 12% = Tip width (0.72mm)

Character Height (mm)

1.4

2

3

4

6

8

10

12

15

Preferred tip width (mm)

0.16

0.24

0.36

0.48

0.72

0.96

1.2

1.44

1.8

Use tip reference

A

A

B

C

C

D

D

E

F

Illustration of Effect of Tip Width on Stroke Width

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