Milling

Milling Operation
• Machining operation in which work is fed past a rotating tool with multiple cutting edges

• One or more number of cutters (multipoint cutting tools) can be mounted simultaneously on the arbor of milling
machine.

• Axis of tool rotation is perpendicular to feed

• Creates a planar surface

• Other geometries possible either by cutter path or shape

• Other factors and terms:

• Interrupted cutting operation
• Cutting tool called a milling cutter, cutting edges called "teeth"
• Machine tool called a milling machine

• Two Forms of Milling

• Peripheral Milling
• Face Milling
 Peripheral milling
Peripheral Milling
• Peripheral Milling is also known as plain
milling
• Axis of the tool is parallel to the surface
being machined
• Operation performed by cutting edges on
the outside periphery of the cutter
• Cutters for peripheral milling may have
either helical or straight teeth.
• Helical teeth used for oblique cutting while
straight teeth used for orthogonal cutting
• Helical teeth is preferred over straight
teeth because the tooth is partially
engaged with the workpiece as it rotates
Peripheral Milling: Up Milling or Conventional Milling
• Direction of motion of cutter teeth
is opposite the feed direction
• It is milling “against the feed”
• Maximum chip thickness is at the
end of the cut as the tooth leaves
the workpiece surface
• Advantages:
1. Tooth engagement is not a function
of workpiece surface characteristics
Up Milling
2. Contamination or scale (oxide layer)
on the surface does not adversely
affect tool life
Peripheral Milling: Down Milling or Climb Milling
• Direction of cutter teeth is the
same as the feed direction
• It is milling “with the feed”
• Cutting starts at the surface of the
workpiece where the chip is
thickest
• Advantages:
1. Downward component of the
cutting force holds the workpiece in
place
2. Cutter is engaged in the work for
less time per volume of material cut
which tends to increase the tool life
Types of Peripheral Milling

Peripheral Milling

Straddle Form
Slab Milling Slotting Side Milling
Milling Milling
Types of Peripheral Milling: Slab Milling
• Basic form of milling

• Width of the cutter is greater than

the width of the workpiece

• Slab Mills are used

• Used for machining large broad

Slab milling
surfaces quickly
Types of Peripheral Milling: Slotting
• It is also called Slot milling operation
• Width of the cutter is less than the
width of workpiece
• As the name suggests it is used to
make slots in the workpiece
• Thin slots can be made using very
thin milling cutters
• Cutting the workpiece into two pieces
by making a thin slot throughout the
workpiece is called saw milling
slotting
Types of Peripheral Milling: Side Milling
• Used to machine the sides of a
workpiece

• Side milling cutters used

• Side milling cutters have cutting teeth

on its side

• Teeth on the side allow the cutter to Side Milling

make unbalanced cuts without
deflecting the cutter
Types of Peripheral Milling: Straddle Milling
• Machining of two parallel vertical surfaces
in a single cut is called straddle milling
• Accomplished by mounting two side milling
cutters on the same arbor, set apart at an
exact spacing
• Workpiece mounted between centers in the
indexing fixture or mounted vertically in a
swivel vice
• The two side milling cutters are separated
by spacers and washers so that the distance
between the cutting teeth of each cutter is
exactly equal to the width of the workpiece
required
• Parallel slots of equal depth can be milled
by using straddle mills of equal diameters
Types of Peripheral Milling: Form Milling
• Form milling is the process of machining
special contours composed of curves
and straight lines, or entirely of curves at
a single cut
• Done using formed milling cutters,
shaped to the contour to be cut
• Common form milling operations involve
milling half-round recesses and beads
and quarter-round radii on workplaces.
• The above operation is accomplished by
using convex , concave and corner
rounding milling cutters ground to the
desired circle diameter
Form Milling
Face Milling
• Axis of the cutter is perpendicular
to the surface being milled

• Machining performed by cutting

edges on both the end and outside
periphery of the cutter

• As in periphery cutting, face milling

cutters have either helical or straight
teeth
Face milling
Types of Face Milling

Face Milling

Conventional Partial Face End Profile Pocket Surface

Face Milling Milling Milling Milling Milling Contouring
Types of Face Milling: Conventional Face Milling
• Diameter of the cutter is greater than
the work-part width

• Cutter overhangs the work on both sides

• Face Mill Cutters are used

Conventional face milling

Types of Face Milling: End Milling
• In end milling, the cutter, called end
mill, has a diameter less than the
workpiece width
• The end mill has helical cutting edges
carried over onto the cylindrical
cutter surface
• End mills with flat ends are used to
produce pockets, closed or end key
slots, etc.

End milling
Profile Milling
• In profile milling, the conventional
end mill is used to cut the outside or
inside periphery of a flat part

• The end mill works with its

peripheral teeth and is fed along a
curvilinear path equidistant from the
surface profile

Profile milling
Pocket Milling
• Selective portion milling on the flat
surface of workpiece used to make
shallow packets

• End mill cutters used

Pocket milling
Surface Contouring
• The end mill, which is used in surface
contouring has a hemispherical end
and is called ball-end mill
• The ball-end mill is fed back and forth
across the workpiece along a
curvilinear path at close intervals to
produce complex three-dimensional
surfaces.
• Similar to profile milling, surface
contouring requires relatively simple
cutting tool but advanced, usually
computer controlled feed control Surface contouring
system
Milling Machines
• Milling machines are among the
most versatile and useful
machines as they are capable of
performing a variety of cutting
operations
• First milling machine was built in
1820 by Eli Whitney
• Milling machines must provide a
rotating spindle for the cutter and
a table for fastening, positioning,
and feeding the workpiece
Types of Milling Machine

Milling Machines

Knee and Planer Tracer CNC Milling

Column Type Bed Type Machines
Type Mills
Types of Milling Machine: Knee and Column Type
• The Knee and column milling machine is the basic machine tool for milling
• It derives its name from the fact that its two main components are a column that
supports the spindle and a knee (resembling a human knee) that supports the
worktable
• Basic Components:
• Worktable: Workpiece is clamped on the worktable using T-slots. The table moves
longitudinally relative to the saddle
• Saddle: It supports the table and can move in the transverse direction
• Knee: It supports the saddle and gives the table vertical movement so that the depth of cut
can be adjusted and workpieces with various heights can be accomodated
• Overarm: Used on horizontal machines. It is adjustable to accommodate different arbor
lengths
• Head: Contains the spindle and cutter holders. In vertical machines, the head may be fixed or
can be adjusted vertically, and it can be switched in a vertical plane on the column for cutting
tapered surfaces
Horizontal Knee-and-Column Type Milling Machine
• It consists of an arbor which supports
the cutter

• The arbor is basically a shaft that

holds the milling cutter and is driven
by the spindle

• An overarm is provided on horizontal

machines to support the arbor
Horizontal knee-and-column milling machine.
• Used for peripheral milling
Vertical Knee-and-column type Milling Machine
• Milling cutters mounted directly in
the spindle without an arbor

• Used for face and end milling, boring

and drilling operations

Vertical knee‑and‑column milling machine

Special Knee-and-Column Machines: Universal Milling Machine

• It has a table which can be

swivelled in a horizontal plane
(about a vertical axis) to any
specified angle

• This facilitates the cutting of

angular shapes and helixes on
work-parts

Univeral Milling Machine

Special Knee-and-Column Machines: Ram Mill
• The tool-head containing the
spindle is located on the end of a
horizontal ram
• The ram can be adjusted in and
out over the worktable to locate
the cutter relative to the work
• The tool-head can also be
swivelled to achieve an angular
orientation of the cutter with
respect to the work

Ram Mill
Bed-type milling machine
• Designed for high production
• Constructed with greater rigidity than
knee-and-column machines
• Able achieve heavier feed rates and
depths of cut needed for high
removal rates
• Worktable mounted directly to the
bed of the machine tool, rather than
using the less rigid knee-type design.
• This construction limits the possible
motion of the table to longitudinal Bed Type Milling Machine
feeding of the work past the milling
cutter
Planer Type Mills
• Largest milling machines
• General appearance and construction
are those of a large planer.
• Difference being that milling is
performed instead of planing
• One or more milling heads are
substituted for the single point cutting
tools used on planers
• Motion of the work past the tool is
feed rate motion rather than a cutting
speed motion
• Planer Mills are built to machine very
large parts Plane Type Mill
Tracer Mills
• Tracer Mill is also called profiling
mill
• Designed to reproduce an irregular
part geometry that has been
created on a template
• Using either manual feed by a
human operator or automatic feed
by the machine tool, a tracing
probe is controlled to follow the
template while a milling head
duplicates the path taken by the
probe to machine the desired
shape
Tracer Mills
CNC Milling Machines
• Computer Numerical Control milling
machines are milling machines in
which the cutter path is controlled by
alphanumerical data rather than a
physical template
• They are especially suited to profile
milling, pocket milling, surface
contouring, and die sinking
operations, in which two or three
axes of the worktable must be
simultaneously controlled to achieve
the required cutter path
• Operator required to change cutters
as well as load and unload work-parts
CNC Milling Machine
Current Capability of MTAB
• Current MTAB Machine’s configuration: MTAB Chrono Mill 4.1
Machine Precision according to VDI/DGQ 3441
Applications:
Watchmaking Existing Values
Specification

Axis resolution 1µm

Axis accuracy with 5µm

Jewelry Cpk 1.67

Axis repeatability 3µm

MTAB Chrono Mill 4.1 Dental implants

Footprint 1.2 x 1.8 x 1.8

m3

31
Schematic Block Diagram
of existing Machine
X axis

C axis
Y axis

B axis
Z axis

32
 B
Design of Existing Machine 4 axis ChronoMill
Y
Z Column Assembly
X

Fabricated Structure

Bed Assembly

Chrono Mill Machine

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre 33

 Analysis Methodology
CAD
Assembly

Static Dynamic Thermal Geometric Error Mapping

Analysis Analysis Analysis and Compensation

Forces, Boundary
conditions and Contact Design
Elements
Optimization

Analytical Experimental
or
FEM

Advanced Manufacturing Technology Development Centre 34