Face Mill Next To Ledge

CrossSlide

CrossSlide

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
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May 19, 2014
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Is there such a thing as a face mill that can face against a 90deg wall? I need to face a surface that meets a ledge. Facing with a normal end mill leaves a pretty poor finish compared to a face mill. I have a Tormach SuperFly face mill but you can’t get within a ¼” of the side wall.
 
My 90* 3" face mill dose it well, why can't you get within 1/4" of the side wall , what happens
 
CrossSlide said:
Is there such a thing as a face mill that can face against a 90deg wall? I need to face a surface that meets a ledge. Facing with a normal end mill leaves a pretty poor finish compared to a face mill. I have a Tormach SuperFly face mill but you can’t get within a ¼” of the side wall.
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Yes, there is. As a matter of fact, Tormach makes one. As do other manufacturers.

http://www.tormach.com/store/index.php?app=ecom&ns=catshow&ref=multicat_modinsert_facemill_38mm

If your Superfly is what I think it is, it isn't really a face mill but an indexable fly cutter with a 45 degree cutting edge. Without getting too far off topic, how do you like the Superfly and what machine do you use it on?

Tom
 
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Tom,
I love the SuperFly. It works very well on my Grizzly G0704 mill.
That Tormach face mill looks like what I need. They also sell it at LittleMachineShop. Thanks
 
Normally, an end mill will leave a nice finish on a shoulder. Have you examined your cutting parameters and setup to eliminate possible causes? One problem inherent in cutting up to a shoulder with face mill is the max DoC being relatively low, resulting in a series of steps as the overall depth increases. How deep, or how "tall" is the shoulder you are creating? There can be some tricky geometry to the pocket and the insert in a face mill to get a true 90° shoulder, and more often than not, it is actually cutting a slightly concave surface. Several passes of different depths can result in a scalloped surface instead of a flat, square shoulder.
 
I'm still curious about the end mill, and why you aren't getting a good surface with it. Obviously, if you can get a face mill in there, a larger end mill should be no problem. One shallow clean up pass, climb cutting, should get a nice finish and will be pretty square to the world.
 
Tony Wells said:
I'm still curious about the end mill, and why you aren't getting a good surface with it. Obviously, if you can get a face mill in there, a larger end mill should be no problem. One shallow clean up pass, climb cutting, should get a nice finish and will be pretty square to the world.
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With a 1/2" or larger end mill I would need to make four of five passes (on this part) which leaves rows of tooling marks. My SuperFly puts a near mirror finish on my aluminum part and I'm hoping a face mill will do the same.
 
On the end of an end mill, no it will not leave a mirror finish most of the time. The cutting speed, no matter what the spindle speed, is zero at the center of the cutter, and that always is a hindrance. I don't believe a face mill will leave an acceptable finish on the shoulder. Of course, you're welcome to try it, but my recommendation would to cut up to the shoulder with a face mill, then use an end mill to clean up the shoulder. I really think you will be disappointed with the shoulder finish. That's not really what they are made for.

If you can cut the bottom of the recess, or slot, or whatever feature it is, then flip the part 90° so that you are actually facing the shoulder (the reason they are called face mills), just kissing the previously cut surface, you might get by. Then your obstacle will be chip control as you get close to the finished surface.
 
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