Overview
A wide variety of tools sets are available with different configurations for CNC milling and CNC turning process. This article will talk about commonly applied tools for CNC machining either for mass production or low volume production parts.
Types of tools
- End mills (Flat, Ball, Bull and Chamfer)
- Face mill
- Round cornering tools
- Slot tools
- Hole making tool
End mill tool
End mill cutting tools are generally used for creating shapes, hole making, contours, drilling and reaming operations. They are equipped with cutting edges at the end of the face. End mills can cut a wide range of materials in almost any direction. A tool with two flutes provides more chip removal clearance than a four flute tool. Four flute tools are generally suitable for external surface operations where chip clearance is not a concern. End mills are of two types based on their cutting direction are centre cutting end mill and non-centre end mill tools. Centre cutting tool can directly decent straight into the material while non-centre cannot do that. Non-centre type tool needs a starting hole or a spiral path to sink into the material.
Types of end mill tools
- Flat end – Used to carve out cavities and 2D geometries.
- Ball end – Used for profile or 3D geometries milling
- Bull end – Are used to make corners with a radius at the bottom end of the cavity. They are also used for roughing operations because they are stronger than other end mills
- Chamfer tool – To create a chamfer at the corner edge.
Face mill tool
The face end mill has small inserts that can be mounted on the main tool. They are very strong and rigid and remove material from the stock at a very high rate.