Using End Mill For Side Milling

[mmcmdl]

If you can take a deeper cut to get under that scale with your end mill , you wouldn't be cutting it . You would then be cutting your material and just pushing off that scale as the tool breaks out if that makes sense .

 

[Metal]

Not sure about the climb cut. Is it the same as using a router in woodworking? When cutting along the edge of a work piece, a climb cut would be moving the cutter towards me, if the work piece is on the left side of the cutter (or in the case of milling machine, moving the table to the left with the cutter being on the backside of the work piece). Is that right and if so, should I be using a conventional or climb cut when doing edges?

Its kind of more complicated with a mill, but the same idea.

Basically if you imagine the recoil force being put on the part, if it is pushing backwards against the direction of the mill, that is "conventional" milling, basically if there is any backlash, its being taken up by the mill pushing back against the leadscrew
climb milling is the opposite way, if the mill has backlash and the recoil forces exceed the force it takes to move the table, it will cause the endmill to jump forward and drive into the work, a really bad situation, but otherwise if taking very light cuts, it gives a much nicer finish.

// just imagine the endmill being a wheel and your work being the road, if its going against the direction you are going, that is conventional, if it is "helping" the mill along, that is climb

 

[mmcmdl]

Perhaps this may help if you can see it . You'll get the hang of it with practice . Hmm...........the new Victoria Secret catalog just arrived !!! Good luck .

 

[Bill C.]

Conventional milling the chips will be ahead of the cutter and material. I would use at least a one inch end mill. I agree with the poster get a couple quality end mills. I used to square up a lot of saw cut stock from plate stock. Depending on quality sometimes both methods had to be used under power table feed. Climb milling the cutter tries to climb on top of the stock The table clamps need to be snug,

 

[HBilly1022]

If you can take a deeper cut to get under that scale with your end mill , you wouldn't be cutting it . You would then be cutting your material and just pushing off that scale as the tool breaks out if that makes sense .

That absolutely makes sense. I'm still a little nervous about taking too much DOC but I read somewhere that too little is harder on the cutter than a deeper cut. Part of the learning process I guess.

Its kind of more complicated with a mill, but the same idea.

Basically if you imagine the recoil force being put on the part, if it is pushing backwards against the direction of the mill, that is "conventional" milling, basically if there is any backlash, its being taken up by the mill pushing back against the leadscrew
climb milling is the opposite way, if the mill has backlash and the recoil forces exceed the force it takes to move the table, it will cause the endmill to jump forward and drive into the work, a really bad situation, but otherwise if taking very light cuts, it gives a much nicer finish.

// just imagine the endmill being a wheel and your work being the road, if its going against the direction you are going, that is conventional, if it is "helping" the mill along, that is climb

I don't understand the backlash part but the travel direction sounds like using a router. The simple rule I learned was to take your right hand with index finger pointed up and the thumb extended to the left. Your thumb points to the work piece and your index finger points in the direction of the cut, ie router travel direction. That would be conventional cutting. Does this work with milling or am I still missing something?

 

[Metal]

I don't understand the backlash part but the travel direction sounds like using a router. The simple rule I learned was to take your right hand with index finger pointed up and the thumb extended to the left. Your thumb points to the work piece and your index finger points in the direction of the cut, ie router travel direction. That would be conventional cutting. Does this work with milling or am I still missing something?

Well mills aren't limited to one direction of rotation, so it could be one way or the other depending, which way is your mill spinning?

 

[Steve Shannon]

That absolutely makes sense. I'm still a little nervous about taking too much DOC but I read somewhere that too little is harder on the cutter than a deeper cut. Part of the learning process I guess.



I don't understand the backlash part but the travel direction sounds like using a router. The simple rule I learned was to take your right hand with index finger pointed up and the thumb extended to the left. Your thumb points to the work piece and your index finger points in the direction of the cut, ie router travel direction. That would be conventional cutting. Does this work with milling or am I still missing something?

I just think of it like this: when you're climb milling (or climb cutting with a router) the direction of linear travel is the same direction (but at a lower speed) the cutter would pull your workpiece. In conventional cutting the cutter is being forced against the work.
Mmcmdl's drawing shows it perfectly.


Steve Shannon, P.E.

 

[mmcmdl]

That absolutely makes sense. I'm still a little nervous about taking too much DOC but I read somewhere that too little is harder on the cutter than a deeper cut. Part of the learning process I guess.

As with everything in life , machining comes with a learning process . In time , you will learn to trust your tooling , set-ups and your own judgement as to what the machine is capable of doing . Same as electricity . Be respective of it , but not afraid of it .

 

[HBilly1022]

Metal; unfortunately my mill only rotates clockwise. A reversing switch is an option with this mill. Should make it easier to figure climb cut direction though.

Steve; that is exactly how I envision it, the cutter wants to pull itself along the work or it is being forced into it. I hadn't thought about the lower speed issue though and now that you mention it mill seemed to be happier in a conventional cut than a climb cut. Now I know to slow down when climb cutting.

mmcmdl; I'm in a lenghty learning process as of late. In the last 2 months I bought a metal lathe, metal cutting bandsaw and now a mill. I'm just scratching the surface of the lathe learning process and now starting on the mill. I thought the bandsaw was easy until I ruined a good band by using a blade that was too coarse for the thin wall material I was cutting. Oh well.

 

[TommyD]

Backlash is the slop between the feed screw and the nut that moves it. Move the table in one direction then change to the reverse direction, the amount that the handle/number collar moves before the table moves is backlash.

Feed and speed for cutters can be found on line or Machinery's Handbook. Too fast of cutter speed will spit out hot, blue or brown chips. Too slow cutter speed and DOC will cause you to really have to crank the handle to cut your material and, possibly, break your cutter.