CNC milling is a metalworking process in which materials are removed by a milling cutter that rotates at high speed, resulting in the desired shape and size. This machining method is widely used in the production of customized precision parts and mold manufacturing in various industries.
Milling process
1. Milling basic processing
Including: surface milling, groove milling, side milling and copy milling.
2. Advanced milling processing
Includes: slope milling, thread interpolation, cycloidal milling, push-pull copying milling, insert milling, contour milling and drilling.
Definition of milling strategy
General processing
It is a general purpose processing strategy. The ratio of cutting width to cutting depth can vary depending on the type of process.
1) Tool characteristics: The tool has a relatively long cutting edge and a small core diameter, and there is no high requirement in accuracy.
2) Machine requirements: need to have high precision, high stiffness and good stability.
3) Application field: with basic CNC technology, difficult advanced processing methods are not feasible; The metal removal rate can only reach the average level; Applications typically include small batch sizes as well as a wide range of materials.
2, high-speed processing:
It is a machining strategy combining small radial cutting depth, high cutting speed and feed speed. Depending on the method used, high material removal rates and low Ra values can be achieved. The typical characteristics of this strategy are low cutting force, less heat transferred to the tool and workpiece, less burr formation and high dimensional accuracy of the workpiece. Under high speed machining, using faster cutting speed than ordinary machining, high metal removal rate and good surface roughness can be achieved.
1) Tool characteristics: stable (large core diameter and short cutting length), clear and well-formed chip space, conducive to good chip removal and coating.
Machine requirements: high-speed CNC control, high speed, table feed speed. 3) Application field: semi-finishing and finishing of hardened steel (48~62 HRC) in mold industry, with short delivery time. When the right tools and advanced machining methods are used, this technology can also be applied to many other materials.
3, high-performance processing:
It is a processing strategy capable of achieving very high metal removal rates. The typical feature of this strategy is that the cutting width is 1 times of Dc, and the cutting depth is 1 to 1.5 times of Dc, depending on the workpiece material; With high performance machining, very high metal removal rates can be achieved using machining methods with much higher chip loads than normal machining.
1) Tool characteristics: Specially developed chip structure on the chip discharge groove of the tool, the tip is protected by 45°, small plane or tip arc, especially smooth chip space, coating, with or without side solid handle.
2) Machine requirements: high stability, high power requirements, high rigidity clamping system.
3) Application field: In mass production and processing, production efficiency is the key indicator, or single product processing requiring high metal removal rate.
4, high feed processing:
It is a high feed machining strategy combining full edge cutting of the whole tool diameter and small cutting depth. With high feed machining, high metal removal rates and good surface roughness can be achieved by using faster feed speeds than normal machining.
1) Tool characteristics: specially developed tool tip, extremely short cutting length, coating.
2) Machine requirements: the possibility of high stability and high feed speed.
3) Application areas: from mild steel to hardened steel, titanium alloy and stainless steel, it is very good as a pre-machining before high-speed machining, and it can also be used for deep cavity machining. One of the advantages of this technology is that it is very convenient for users to implement simple and fast programming in CAM. Using the so-called contour milling strategy, it is easier to program complex shapes without extensive programming experience.
5, micro machining: is a machining strategy using a very small tool diameter.
1) Tool characteristics: diameter range from φ0.1~2.0mm, cutting length is short, wide range of cylindrical reduction, high precision, coating.
2) Machine requirements: high spindle precision, high speed, CNC, thermal stability to prevent spindle elongation.
3) Application field: Various cavity processing on a wide variety of materials.
Milling parameters and calculation formula:
Cutting parameters calculation formula:
Milling conclusion
1) Check the power and stiffness of the machine to ensure that the diameter of the milling cutter used in the machine tool can be as short as possible;
2) The number of teeth of the milling cutter is moderate to ensure that there are not too many blades engaged with the workpiece at the same time during processing and cause vibration. When milling a narrow workpiece or cavity, there should be sufficient blade engagement with the workpiece;
3) Suitable feed per tooth, so as to obtain a good cutting effect when the chips are thick enough to reduce tool wear. The use of positive front Angle slot blade, so as to obtain smooth cutting effect and the lowest power;
4) Cutter diameter suitable for workpiece width;
5) Correct main declination (45 degrees is suitable for general milling);
6) Suitable milling cutter position;
7) Use cutting fluid only when necessary, dry milling tool life is usually better.
Milling services are used in a variety of industries, including: automotive, energy, aerospace, electronics, construction and medical. These industries can benefit from our milling services.
Looking forward to learning more about our custom CNC milling services, please contact us today.