​+86-185-6162-1213  info@bestglasstools.com
You are here: Home » News and Events » The characteristics of a milling cutter

The characteristics of a milling cutter

Views: 206     Author: zhongle     Publish Time: 2023-05-12      Origin: Site

Inquire

facebook sharing button
twitter sharing button
line sharing button
wechat sharing button
linkedin sharing button
pinterest sharing button
whatsapp sharing button
sharethis sharing button
The characteristics of a milling cutter

Full-Automatic Glass Lifting Clamp Milling cutters are cutting tools that are typically used in milling machines or machining centers to perform milling operations (and occasionally in other machine tools). They remove material by moving within the machine (e.g., a ball nose mill) or directly from the shape of the cutter (e.g., a form tool such as a hobbing cutter).


Milling cutters come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Coatings, rake angles, and cutting surfaces are also available.


Shape: 

Several standard shapes of milling cutters are used in industry today, which are explained in more detail below.


Flutes and teeth: 

The flutes of a milling bit are the deep helical grooves that run up the cutter, while the tooth is the sharp blade along the edge of the flute. The tooth slices the material, and the spinning of the cutter pulls chips of this material up the flute. Most cutters have one tooth per flute; however, others have two teeth per flute.[1] The terms flute and teeth are frequently used interchangeably. Milling cutters can have one to several teeth, with the most frequent being two, three, and four. In general, the more teeth a cutter has, the faster it can remove material. As a result, a 4-tooth cutter may remove material twice as fast as a 2-tooth cutter.


Helix angle: 

Milling cutter flutes are almost always helical. If the flutes were straight, the entire tooth would impact the material at the same time, causing vibration and decreasing accuracy and surface quality. When the flutes are set at an angle, the tooth enters the material gradually, reducing vibration. Finishing cutters typically have a higher rake angle (tighter helix) to provide a better finish.


Center cutting: 

Some milling cutters can drill straight through the material (plunge), while others cannot. This is because the teeth of some cutters do not extend to the center of the end face. These cutters, on the other hand, can cut downward at an angle of 45 degrees or so.


Roughing vs. Finishing: 

Different cutters are available for removing large amounts of material while leaving a poor surface finish (roughing) or removing a smaller amount of material while leaving a good surface finish (finishing). Serrated teeth on a roughing cutter may be used to break material chips into smaller pieces. These teeth leave a rough surface in their wake. A finishing cutter may have a large number of teeth (four or more) for delicately removing material. However, because of the large number of flutes, there is little room for efficient swarf removal, making them less suitable for removing large amounts of material.


Coatings: 

The correct tool coatings can have a significant impact on the cutting process by boosting cutting speed, tool life, and surface polish. Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) is a very strong coating that is used on cutters that must survive abrasive wear. A PCD-coated tool can outlast an uncoated tool by up to 100 times. The coating, however, cannot be employed at temperatures above 600 °C or on ferrous metals. TiAlN is sometimes used to coat aluminum machining tools. Aluminum is a relatively sticky metal that can fuse to tool teeth, making them appear blunt. However, it does not adhere to TiAlN, allowing the tool to be used in aluminum for much longer. Click here for CNC wheels for CNC.


The shank is the cylindrical (non-fluted) part of the tool used to hold it and locate it in the tool holder. A shank can be perfectly round and held by friction, or it can have a Weldon flat, where a set screw, also known as a grub screw, can make contact for increased torque without slipping the tool. The diameter may differ from the diameter of the tool's cutting part for it to be held by a standard tool holder. The length of the shank may also vary, with relatively short shanks (about 1.5x diameter) known as "stubs," long (5x diameter), extra long (8x diameter), and extra long (12x diameter) available.

Content Menu