There are different types of end mills.
- Click below to read more about each type!
Solid end mills
Solid end mills are end mills whose cutting edge and shank are made of the same material, either cemented carbide or high-speed steel. End mills made of high-speed steel are high-speed steel end mills. Whereas end mills made of cemented carbide are carbide end mills.
High-speed steel end mills are widely used as they are inexpensive and difficult to fracture due to high toughness compared to carbide end mills. However there are two main downfalls of high-speed steel end mills, one being that they are less efficient than carbide end mills and the other being that high-speed steel end mills can not be used to machine hardened materials.
Solid carbide end mills are more efficient than high-speed steel end mills as the cutting conditions can be increased. They can also be used for the machining of hardened materials. With the use of high-speed machining centres becoming more popular and development of coating technology, the use of solid carbide end mills is increasing.
Square
Ball nose
Brazed end mills
Brazed end mills are end mills that have either cemented carbide inserts, c-BN or PCD cutting edges brazed onto the body of the end mill. Brazed type end mills were developed so as to reduce the cost of making large diameter solid carbide end mills.
Indexable end mills
Indexable end mills are end mills that use indexable inserts as the cutting edge.
These inserts are located using clamp screws or clamp bridges. Indexable end mills are economical as the customer need only change the worn inserts.
Features of Indexable end mills
IIndexable end mills include square type and ball nose type.
Compared to solid end mills, indexable end mills are more often used for roughing and semi-finishing. Other features are as follow.
- Eliminate regrinding. (Some inserts can be reground.)
- Can choose an insert grade and a chip breaker according to a material, without the need to change the body.
- Indexable end mills have coolant holes in the body to increase chip disposal properties.
There are various geometries of indexable end mills according to applications, including long cutting edge type enabling cavity and pocket milling, and multi functional milling type that uses a bottom centre cutting edge allowing vertical feed milling.
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