The manufacture of medical implants such as bone plates places the highest demands on materials, precision, and process reliability. Using the example of a demo component for a bone plate, we show you how Spinworx® — a copy milling cutter with self-rotating cutting inserts—can be used to efficiently machine even tough, biocompatible materials for medical technology.
11. March 2026
Efficient manufacturing and machining of bone plates
Spinworx®: the productive milling system for medical technology
Bone plates are indispensable tools in modern medical technology. They fix fractures and stabilize the skeletal system until the natural healing process is complete. Due to their biocompatibility, bone plates are often made of austenitic stainless steels or titanium alloys. However, these material groups are considered challenging to machine: To prevent tool wear and dimensional deviations, it is important to ensure a suitable cutting speed, sufficient cooling, and stable clamping conditions when machining steel.
Pokolm premiumtools make the machining of stainless steel and titanium more efficient and economical for companies.
The challenge
Tough, hard, biocompatible
The manufacture of bone plates from austenitic stainless steel 1.4301 (V2A) poses many challenges for production:
- Difficult to machine: Stainless steel tends to work harden and is very tough. This leads to high thermal stress on the cutting edges and rapid tool wear.
- High surface quality requirements: To minimize the risk of infection and increase wear resistance, the surface of the material must be absolutely precise and free of residues or microcracks.
- Complex geometries: The anatomical shape of the plate and the recesses for the bone screws require high-precision machining strategies in a very confined space.
- Process reliability: In medical technology, complete documentation and absolutely consistent manufacturing quality are essential. An unstable process leads to scrap, which is extremely costly with these materials.
The solution
Spinworx® for economical, controlled roughing of complex contours
To efficiently machine our demo component, a bone plate, from solid stock, we rely on the highly productive, time-saving Spinworx® milling system for roughing and high-precision solid carbide end mills for finishing.
Efficient roughing with Spinworx®
The Spinworx® system (DR07) was used to remove the main volume. The special feature: the freely rotating cutting inserts use the entire circumference of the cutting edge, which significantly increases the service life in tough stainless steel and optimizes heat dissipation. Spinworx® ensures a high metal removal rate with maximum process stability for both face milling and contour-parallel roughing.
The stable roughing process keeps dimensions, allowances, and surfaces controllable, and less rework is required due to burr formation and surface imperfections. This allows finishing, the machining of holes/countersinks, and deburring to be carried out reliably and with consistently high quality.
High-precision drilling with Helix
Drill holes in implants must be precisely positioned and burr-free. At Pokolm, we rely on the helix strategy with a specialized solid carbide end mill. This prevents burr formation and ensures that the geometry of the countersinks precisely meets medical specifications.
Finish with high-end solid carbide end mills
The complex, often 3D-shaped surfaces of a bone plate are finished using our ball nose end mill cutters. Thanks to variable Z feed and optimized axis parallel strategies, we achieve surfaces that require hardly any reworking. This saves time in production and ensures the required wear resistance of the implant.
Selected working parameters
Metric sizes
| Tool / System | Strategy | Vc (m/min) | fz (mm) | ae (mm) | ap (mm) | rotational speed (n) | Vf (mm/min) |
| Spinworx® DR07 | Roughing (helical/face/Z-constant) | 140 | 0,35 | 14,0 | 0,7 | 2.228 | 3899 |
| VHM 164388 | Helical drill mill | 37,5 | 0,005 | 0,8 | 0,02 | 15.000 | 150 |
| VHM 161369 | Finishing (Parallel axis/Z variant) | 85 | 0,05 | 0,1 | 0,1 | 9.019 | 902 |
| VHM 163238 | Roughing (Adaptive) | 65 | 0,05 | 0,2 | 0,5 | 6.897 | 900 |
| VHM 162976 | Curve milling (lateral) | 70,7 | 0,01 | 0,1 | 0,1 | 15.000 | 300 |
Imperial sizes
| Tool / System | Strategy | SFM (feet/min) | IPT (inch) | WOC (inch) | DOC (inch) | rotational speed (n) | IPM (inch/min) |
| Spinworx® DR07 | Roughing (helical/face/Z-constant) | 459 | 0.0138 | 0.5512 | 0.0276 | 2,228 | 153.5 |
| VHM 164388 | Helical drill mill | 123 | 0.0002 | 0.0315 | 0.0008 | 15,000 | 5.9 |
| VHM 161369 | Finishing (Parallel axis/Z variant) | 279 | 0.0019 | 0.0039 | 0.0039 | 9,019 | 35.5 |
| VHM 163238 | Roughing (Adaptive) | 213 | 0.0019 | 0.0079 | 0.0197 | 6,897 | 35.4 |
| VHM 162976 | Curve milling (lateral) | 232 | 0.0002 | 0.0039 | 0.0039 | 15,000 | 11.8 |
The result
Cost-effectiveness combined with the highest medical standards
Thanks to Spinworx® self-turning cutting inserts, tool wear during the production of bone plates is reduced by around 30% compared to conventional methods. In combination with the ball nose end mill cutters used, we achieve an excellent surface quality that fully meets the strict requirements for biocompatibility and function.
By combining adaptive roughing and highly efficient finishing cycles with our Pokolm premiumtools, we were able to significantly reduce the overall throughput time of our demo bone plate component.
Would you like to optimize your manufacturing processes in medical technology?
Do you manufacture medical components from titanium or stainless steel and want to increase service life, reduce cycle times, or improve process reliability for complex contours? Then get in touch with us: Together, we will develop the right tool and strategy design—from prototype to series production.
Pokolm stands for practical machining solutions and high-performance milling tools.
Our application engineers will advise you individually on your project — for a no-obligation strategy consultation.