11-04-2012, 10:48 PM
I don't mean for this to be a tool gloat, but educational.
Many of us find ourselves with the need to remove a lot of metal from workpieces. Sometimes it's a wide, flat face that would take many passes with end mills, or long and slow passes with fly cutters. Other times we need to remove a lot of metal from a surface that intersects with a shoulder. Again, end mills are your go-to tool choice for most applications, though sometimes there's just too mugh to remove or it's taking too long. The answer in both instances would be to use indexable carbide insert cutters.
In true face mills, the increased lead angle of a true face mill cutter can significantly reduce the horsepower requirement to make a cut. This allows you to make bigger cuts on low HP machines, or much heftier cuts when you have power to spare. A 90º shoulder mill can often do the same job, though it may need 2x or more power for an equivalent cut done with a 45º face mill.
In selecting the right tools for your shop, there is the first fundemental consideration. Other factors are insert cost, grade selection, chipbreaker (insert top form geometry) choices, tool quality and source, mount type, diameters, and more.
I have found that the most-often used face mill on our 1HP Bridgeport to be my 2-1/2" 4-insert 45º Widia cutter that uses SEKN43 AFTN inserts. It has a fairly high shear angle along with thick inserts that have proven to be quite sturdy and long-lasting. Second behind that cutter would probably be the 1" 2-insert 90º shoulder mill with 16mm tall inserts for deep shoulder cutting.
Most low-budget home shops might do well to start out with a 1" to 1-1/2" (25mm to 40mm) shoulder milling cutter. I say this because you can mill a face using a shoulder mill, but you can't mill to a shoulder with a lead angle face mill. I do NOT recommend the cheap Chinese-made milling cutters from the likes of Shars or other no-name sources, including Tools4Cheap.net. Those vendors are good for some stuff, but indexable milling cutters isn't on my list. Better to buy a current, name-brand product and know you'll be able to get quality name-brand inserts for it.
Here's some photos of my cutters, let the questions begin!
Face milling cutters, 45º lead angle. From left to right a Walter F2280 4" taking 6 ODHT/ODMT00504ZZN inserts, a 4" Widia and 2-1/2" Widia both using SEKN1204AFTN inserts, and an Iscar F45 1-1/2" cutter taking SEEN1203AFN inserts.
![[Image: IMG_0988-r.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/kenm10759/Dads%20shop/IMG_0988-r.jpg)
Various shoulder mills include Valenite V590, Valenite-Safety V690, Kennametal KD something, a Kyocera that uses TPG 42x inserts and is long gone (not a recommended mill insert geometry), and various others.
![[Image: IMG_0740-r.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/kenm10759/Dads%20shop/IMG_0740-r.jpg)
I'll follow-up amy questions.
Many of us find ourselves with the need to remove a lot of metal from workpieces. Sometimes it's a wide, flat face that would take many passes with end mills, or long and slow passes with fly cutters. Other times we need to remove a lot of metal from a surface that intersects with a shoulder. Again, end mills are your go-to tool choice for most applications, though sometimes there's just too mugh to remove or it's taking too long. The answer in both instances would be to use indexable carbide insert cutters.
In true face mills, the increased lead angle of a true face mill cutter can significantly reduce the horsepower requirement to make a cut. This allows you to make bigger cuts on low HP machines, or much heftier cuts when you have power to spare. A 90º shoulder mill can often do the same job, though it may need 2x or more power for an equivalent cut done with a 45º face mill.
In selecting the right tools for your shop, there is the first fundemental consideration. Other factors are insert cost, grade selection, chipbreaker (insert top form geometry) choices, tool quality and source, mount type, diameters, and more.
I have found that the most-often used face mill on our 1HP Bridgeport to be my 2-1/2" 4-insert 45º Widia cutter that uses SEKN43 AFTN inserts. It has a fairly high shear angle along with thick inserts that have proven to be quite sturdy and long-lasting. Second behind that cutter would probably be the 1" 2-insert 90º shoulder mill with 16mm tall inserts for deep shoulder cutting.
Most low-budget home shops might do well to start out with a 1" to 1-1/2" (25mm to 40mm) shoulder milling cutter. I say this because you can mill a face using a shoulder mill, but you can't mill to a shoulder with a lead angle face mill. I do NOT recommend the cheap Chinese-made milling cutters from the likes of Shars or other no-name sources, including Tools4Cheap.net. Those vendors are good for some stuff, but indexable milling cutters isn't on my list. Better to buy a current, name-brand product and know you'll be able to get quality name-brand inserts for it.
Here's some photos of my cutters, let the questions begin!
Face milling cutters, 45º lead angle. From left to right a Walter F2280 4" taking 6 ODHT/ODMT00504ZZN inserts, a 4" Widia and 2-1/2" Widia both using SEKN1204AFTN inserts, and an Iscar F45 1-1/2" cutter taking SEEN1203AFN inserts.
Various shoulder mills include Valenite V590, Valenite-Safety V690, Kennametal KD something, a Kyocera that uses TPG 42x inserts and is long gone (not a recommended mill insert geometry), and various others.
I'll follow-up amy questions.
