Our G-Wizard Feeds and Speeds Calculator includes a handy “Sizes” button when you want to select your tool diameter based on the standard sizes. You can also measure them directly, but the test cut is a more reliable method. If your work demands precision, you may need to make a test cut with an endmill to determine what its real diameter is. Something surprising to know about endmill size is that the tolerances on diameter for most endmills are not especially precise. Even very tiny micro-mills can be had for machining extremely small features. End Mill SizesĮndmills are available in a variety of standard sizes both metric and Imperial. They are simple capable of higher material removal rates assuming you can spin them fast enough to use their full power. With all that said, most production work is done with carbide end mills. For more on rigidity and deflection, see our article, “ Who is Afraid of Tool Deflection?“ This saves a lot of cost on the larger endmills (which you might prefer be indexable and using carbide inserts anyway) but keeps the rigidity up on the smaller endmills. Check out our article on this to see how to figure it out.įor smaller mills whose spindle won’t exceed 6000 rpm that will be cutting aluminum, I typically recommend HSS for endmills larger than 1/2″ diameter and carbide for smaller endmills. If you’re working with softer materials like Aluminum and your spindle is not capable of reaching the recommended speeds for carbide in aluminum, you might very well discover HSS endmills make more sense. It turns out that it depends on the material to be cut as well as on the machine’s maximum spindle speed and potentially some other factors. The first thing to explore is the material the endmills are made of, typically carbide or HSS, though there are a few more exotic alternatives such as powder metal.įor a lot of production machine shops, the question of whether to use carbide endmills or HSS (high speed steel) seems silly. The more common spelling is “end mill”, but I often use “endmill” as well. Other than small geometry changes to optimize for wood, end mills and upcut spirals are interchangeable. A typical end mill may be referred to as an “Upcut Spiral” by the CNC Router world. The CNC Router community has some specialized types that are discussed in our CNC Router Cutter Guide. This article is your total guide to selection and use of end mills, the most common type of cutter used by CNC Milling machines and CNC Routers. CNC End Mill Guide: How to Choose + Techniques Introduction
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