How to Choose A Milling Cutter?

Milling cutters are rotary tools with one or more teeth for milling. During work, each cutter tooth intermittently cuts off the remainder of the workpiece. The milling cutter is mainly used for milling planes, steps, grooves, forming surfaces and cutting workpieces.

I think that when choosing a milling cutter, pay attention to the milling cutter body and tool holder:

If it is used on CNC machining centers, it should be solid carbide. White steel can be used for ordinary milling machines.

White steel milling cutters are softer than hard alloy milling cutters. High-speed steel cutters are cheap and have good toughness, but the strength is not high. They are easy to make, and the wear resistance and heat hardness are relatively poor. The high-speed steel milling cutter has a heat hardness of about 600 degrees and a hardness of about 65HRC. For harder materials, if the coolant is not in place, it is easy to burn the knife, which is one of the reasons why heat hardness is not high.

Cemented carbide milling cutters have good thermal rigidity and abrasion resistance but have poor impact resistance. The blade will break if they are dropped. Cemented carbide is a material made by powder metallurgy, with a hardness of about 90HRA and a thermal rigidity of About 900-1000 degrees. Therefore, white steel is suitable for ordinary milling machines, and alloy milling cutters are suitable for CNC machining centers.

Selection of milling cutter diameter

The choice of milling cutter diameter varies greatly depending on the product and production batch. The choice of cutter diameter depends mainly on the specifications of the equipment and the processing size of the workpiece.

1.Flat milling cutter

When selecting the diameter of a face milling cutter, it is mainly necessary to consider that the power required by the tool should be within the power range of the machine tool, and the diameter of the machine tool spindle can also be used as a basis for selection. The diameter of the face milling cutter can be selected according to D = 1.5d (d is the spindle diameter). In mass production, the tool diameter can also be selected according to 1.6 times the cutting width of the workpiece.

2.End mill

The choice of end mill diameter should mainly consider the requirements of the workpiece processing size, and ensure that the power required by the tool is within the rated power range of the machine tool. If it is a small-diameter end mill, the main consideration should be whether the maximum number of revolutions of the machine can reach the minimum cutting speed of the tool (60m / min).

3.Slot milling cutter

The diameter and width of the slot milling cutter should be selected according to the size of the workpiece to be processed, and its cutting power should be within the power range allowed by the machine tool.