Face milling with a small mill.

Hi Ken,

As you probably know, the specs on your mill say 30mm (1.2”) is the max face milling capacity. Of course, that’s going to depend on DOC, feed rate, HP, ad infinitum, but I suggest you give LMS a call and ask to speak with Chris or Brandon. Both are very knowledgable about what their products are capable of doing and are more than willing to help.

I’m keeping an eye on this thread because I have been wondering the same thing as you about which style of face mill is “best” for what applications and if anybody knows, these guys do. I have a Super Fly that Mikey mentioned and it does a great job on my LMS 5500, but a guy can’t have too many tools.

Tom
 
higgite said:
Hi Ken,

As you probably know, the specs on your mill say 30mm (1.2”) is the max face milling capacity. Of course, that’s going to depend on DOC, feed rate, HP, ad infinitum, but I suggest you give LMS a call and ask to speak with Chris or Brandon. Both are very knowledgable about what their products are capable of doing and are more than willing to help.

I’m keeping an eye on this thread because I have been wondering the same thing as you about which style of face mill is “best” for what applications and if anybody knows, these guys do. I have a Super Fly that Mikey mentioned and it does a great job on my LMS 5500, but a guy can’t have too many tools.

Tom
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Tom,according to the specs I found on the site where I actually bought the mill from, the face mill capacity is 1.3/8" so I'm going to give that 1.5" a try and see for myself,nothing beats the actual experience with the tool/machine.
Here's copy and paste of my Craftex CX612 specs. which is similar to LMS3960:


SPECIFICATIONS

Motor: 500 Watt, 110-V, 60Hz, Brushless
Drilling Capacity: 5/8" (16mm)
End Mill Capacity: 3/4 (20mm)
Face Mill Capacity: 1-3/8 (35mm)
Spindle Taper: R8
Head Tilt: + - 45°
Number of Spindle Speeds: Variable
Range of Spindle Speeds: 100 RPM - 2500 RPM
Table Size: 15-1/2" (390mm) x 3-5/8" (93mm)
Max. Table Longitudinal Travel: 8-3/4 (220mm)
Max. Table Cross Travel: 4 (100mm)
Maximum Spindle Travel: 7" (180mm)
Number of T-Slots: 3
Net Weight (approx): 50 Kg
 
A mini mill is power limited as well as rigidity limited. You will have better results if you spin a single cutter. Multiple cutters multiply the load. You need all the help you can get when trying for maximum performance. A sharp tool will need less power than a dull one. Ditto with a positive rake tool. A 1" single insert or HSS tool is about all you can comfortably run with any real depth of cut. Bigger diameters will require correspondingly shallower cuts, again the power and rigidity sets the maximum. Running at the max possible loads also usually degrades the finish of the work. Nothing will turn a mini mill into a 50 taper machine. To paraphrase Dirty Harry "A man has to know his machines' limitations."
 
Bob Korves said:
A mini mill is power limited as well as rigidity limited. You will have better results if you spin a single cutter. Multiple cutters multiply the load. You need all the help you can get when trying for maximum performance. A sharp tool will need less power than a dull one. Ditto with a positive rake tool. A 1" single insert or HSS tool is about all you can comfortably run with any real depth of cut. Bigger diameters will require correspondingly shallower cuts, again the power and rigidity sets the maximum. Running at the max possible loads also usually degrades the finish of the work. Nothing will turn a mini mill into a 50 taper machine. To paraphrase Dirty Harry "A man has to know his machines' limitations."
Click to expand...

+1
 
My 1300+ pound Millrite knee mill has a 1500 watt motor and I have just about zero interest in acquiring a face mill for it. Fly cutters and normal end mills are perfectly adequate for that machine.
 
The three things you can achieve with milling cutters are deep, wide, and feed. Maximizing any one minimizes the others...
 
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Ken from ontario said:
Your comments(all of them) makes a lot of sense, based on you last one, 3 cutters should minimize the depth of cut and the feed rate, so would it be possible (within limits) to use the 1.5"/3 insert cutter but take shallower cuts at a slower feet rate?
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Sure, Ken. Those three cutters will be working quite lightly, like a flycutter, but with multiple inserts that can lead to worse finishes because the multiple cutters are not always mounted exactly identically on the head. The inserts can also have slight variations between them. Replacing a set of inserts is more expensive than a single cutter. Some of the inserts for face mills are pretty expensive, and are used in multiples. Below certain speeds and feeds, the finish can deteriorate. Face mills are designed for hogging metal off a wider area. If they cannot hog due to power limitations, then they might as well be replaced by a simple $10 or shop made flycutter that only has a single cutter and is easier to get a good surface finish with. Some people take out some of the cutters from big face mills so they can make them work with a less powerful mill. A single HSS cutter, once purchased for a few dollars, will last just about forever in a hobby shop with numerous regrindings possible, and with custom geometry just a bench grinder away. It also will not become obsolete as some inserts do, making the head essentially scrap metal. Just my opinion, and others will have different ideas...
 
Bob, your opinion is what I count on because it is based on experience, thank you ,I'll be looking for a single insert 1" or 3/4" end mill.
Thank you for taking the time to explain.
Ken.
 
Ken from ontario said:
Tom,according to the specs I found on the site where I actually bought the mill from, the face mill capacity is 1.3/8" so I'm going to give that 1.5" a try and see for myself,nothing beats the actual experience with the tool/machine.
Here's copy and paste of my Craftex CX612 specs. which is similar to LMS3960:
Click to expand...

Ken, I was commenting on your post #4 where you said your mill is an LMS 3960. I withdraw my suggestion to call LMS. They may not be too keen on commenting on a Craftex machine. Ha! ;)
Have you decided which insert style you're going to buy?

Tom
 
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