How to Calculate Scallop Height

The term "scallop height" is often used by machinists to describe a certain section of an axial feed mill. Specifically, it expresses the size of the semicircular grooves found in the feed mill's applicator. For anyone who regularly uses such a device, being able to to calculate the height of a scallop is an essential skill. This is because scallop height is one of the most important factors in determining the amount of feed that the machine processes.

Instructions

1. Gather the necessary information. You will need to know the tool path stepover and the cutter diameter of the machine. The tool path stepover is the distance from one end of a scallop to the other. The cutter diameter is the length of a straight line that passes through the middle of the circular cutter and connects two points on the cutter's circumference.

2. Divide the cutter diameter by two. For example, if you had a cutter diameter of 10, you would divide 10 by two to get five.

3. Square the result. Using our example this would give us five times five, or 25. Write the result of this step down and label it "A."

4. Divide the stepover by two. For example, if you had a stepover of six you would divide six by two to get three.

5. Square the result. Using our example, this would give us three times three, or nine. Write the result of this step down and label it "B."

6. Subtract "B" from "A." Using our example this would give us 25 minus nine, or 16. We will call the difference "C."

7. Subtract "C" from "A". Using our example, this would give us 25 minus 16, or nine. The difference is the scallop height.

References

• Tyson Tool: Cutting Data