The following operations are performed using suitable milling cutters.
It is the operation of production of a flat surface parallel to the axis of rotation of the cutter. It is also called as slab milling. Plain milling cutters and slab milling cutters are used to perform this operation.
The face milling is the operation performed by the face milling cutter rotated about an axis at right angles to the work surface. End mills and side & face milling cutter are also used at times to perform this operation. The depth of cut is provided to the table.
Side milling is the operation of machining a vertical surface on the side of a workpiece by using a side milling cutter.
It is the operation of production of two vertical surfaces on both sides of the work by two side milling cutters mounted on the same arbor. By using suitable spacing collars, the distance between the two cutters is adjusted correctly. The straddle milling is commonly used to produce square or hexagonal surfaces.
Production of an angular surface on a workpiece other than at right angles to the axis of the milling machine spindle is known as angular milling. Example of angular milling is the production of the ‘V’ blocks.
It is the operation of machining several surfaces of work simultaneously by feeding the table against a number of cutters (either of same type or of different type) mounted on the arbor of the machine. This method saves much of machining time and mostly used in production work.
The form milling is the operation of production of irregular contours by using form cutters. Machining convex and concave surfaces and gear cutting are some examples of form milling.
It is the operation of producing a flat surface which may be vertical, horizontal or at an angle to the table surface. The end milling is performed by a cutter known as an end mill. End milling is mostly performed in a vertical milling machine.
Flute milling is performed by selecting a suitable cutter in a milling machine. The flutes found on the drills, reamers and taps are machined by this method.
The operation of production of keyways, grooves and slots of different shapes and sizes can be performed in a milling machine by using a plain milling cutter, a metal slitting saw, an end mill or by a side milling cutter.
Drilling and Reaming
The operation of drilling and reaming are performed in a milling machine by mounting drills and reamers into the spindle of the machine.
A single point cutting tool is mounted on the arbor to perform boring. By adjusting the single point cutting tool radially, different diameters of bores are machined.
Gear cutting operation is performed in a milling machine by using a form cutter. The work is held between centers on a universal dividing head. A proper gear cutter is selected and the teeth are cut by DP, module method.
This operation is performed in a special thread milling machine by rotating both the work and the cutter. Several cuts are made to cut the threads to their depth.
Cam milling is the operation of producing cams in a milling machine with the use of a universal dividing head and a vertical milling attachment. It is performed by end mills on the cam blank.