Endmill materials

HSS - Basic tool steel endmills. Does not offer the major advantages of Carbide or Cobalt end mills.

Cobalt - increases abrasion resistance for better tool life

Carbide - Can be run at a higher surface feet per minute as long as the machine is very rigid and spindles can hold tight tolerances.  Types of tool holders used may also play a big part in life and quality of cut.

Endmill Forms

Single End - Teeth on one end of the cutter only.  This style is the most common available.

Double End - An end mill that has teeth on both ends of the cutter.   

Stub Length - Usedin applications where tool deflection must be minimized.

Endmill types and configurations

Corner Radius - a radius is ground on the tips of the flutes to help reduce damaging if the endmill.

Drill Point - General purpose end mill that can be used for drilling. milling or chamfering

Ball End - Used for milling cavities or pockets, fillets and slots.

Roughers - For removing large amounts of material as quickly as possible. These mills can remove material about 3 times as fast as conventional emdmills.

Endmill specifications

Coatings - adds greater tool life and also can increase speeds. 

Flutes - 2 and 4 flute are the most common

• 2-Flute - best for chip evacuation.

• 3-Flute - General milling

• 4, 5, 6, and 8 Flute - provides better surface finish and reduces cutting load per tooth.

Left-Hand Spiral - Used for milling thin sheets to direct chips away from work

High Helix - Used for rapid chip evacuation.  Works well for aluminum machining applications.