Today’s fast-paced metalworking and machining industry requires manufacturers to keep up with increasing demands to process materials faster, with more precision and efficiency.
When the material being machined is hardened steel—which is tough on tools, sensitive to heat, and demands very precise control to get good finishes without damaging the part—maintaining high-quality standards can be especially difficult. M.A. Ford’s TuffCut XMH end mill series, introduced in September 2025, is designed to meet these challenges head-on, providing machinists with a versatile solution for high-efficiency milling (HEM) and finishing applications of hardened steels.
“We’ve found that 45 to 65 Rockwell in hardness is where this tool really shines.”
Derek Nading,
M.A. Ford
Derek Nading, product development manager with the Davenport, Iowa-based cutting tool manufacturer, says high-performance cutting tools like the XMH series enable shops to decrease their machine cycle times and produce end products faster.
“When we developed the XMH, we were really focused on how we could improve productivity,” he says.
Advanced Features Tailored to Hardened Steel Machining
The TuffCut XMH series is engineered with a nano-grain carbide grade for exceptional hardness and outstanding wear resistance, Nading says, which makes it ideal for demanding applications in hardened steels.
Its negative rake geometry combined with M.A. Ford’s proprietary ALtima® Xtreme silicon-doped coating further enhance performance, providing superior durability and reliability where it counts most.
“The most unique thing about this tool, in comparison to our competitors, is the flute count,” Nading says. “The vast majority of the competitors are running six flutes on this type of tool. We have an eight-flute count, so right off the bat, we’re seeing 25 percent to 35 percent faster feed rates compared with the competitors.”
Meeting the Demands of Diverse Machining Applications
Nading says the XMH series is ideal for a variety of applications including dynamic milling and optimized roughing.
“We’ve found that 45 to 65 Rockwell in hardness is where this tool really shines,” Nading adds.
“You’ll find this tool being used a lot in the die and mold industry, but there’s a lot of hardened steel that’s being machined outside of that industry, including in the aerospace and oil and gas industries,” he says.
The XMH is also being used for tool/fixturing manufacturing, Nading says. “We have customers that are manufacturing workholding solutions such as vises and chucks, and those components are often manufactured in a high-hardened state for durability reasons.”
Nading says the design of the XMH series is optimized for high-dynamic cutting with light stepovers (2 to 3 percent of diameter), at extremely high cutting speeds, producing elevated feed rates and metal removal rates.
“Adding to the XMH’s versatility, it is also capable of flat-face machining, which is extremely beneficial for finishing work after the heat-treating process,” he says.
For even greater versatility, the XMH is available in inch diameters from 1/4″ to 3/4″, while the metric XMHN covers 6mm to 16mm diameter with neck relief.
Customer Feedback: Dramatically Reduced Cycle Times
Nading says the response from customers who are using the XMH series has been extremely positive.
“We have one customer who does a lot of surface grinding on small batch, D2, 60 to 62 Rockwell parts,” he says. “They were roughing them, heat treating them, and then surface grinding them, and the surface grinding applications tended to take a long time, so we ended up trying the XMH and we were able to tremendously cut down the time it took the customer to get those components out the door.”
Finishing 10 parts used to take the manufacturer an entire week, Nading says, but after switching to the XMH, “they were able to finish all 10 parts in just one eight-hour shift.”
High-Performance Cutting Tools Made in the U.S.A.
M.A. Ford, which has been in business since 1919, takes pride in being a U.S. manufacturer, says national accounts manager Kyle Rice.
“Everything is stocked at our headquarters in Davenport, and we can ship anything across the country, usually by the next day, to keep our customers going.”
