MILLING

Introduction
Milling is a process of producing flat and complex shapes with the use of multi-tooth
cutting tool, which is called a milling cutter and the cutting edges are called teeth. The
axis of rotation of the cutting tool is perpendicular to the direction of feed, either parallel
or perpendicular to the machined surface. The machine tool that traditionally performs
this operation is a milling machine.
Milling is an interrupted cutting operation: the teeth of the milling cutter enter and exit
the work during each revolution. This interrupted cutting action subjects the teeth to a
cycle of impact force and thermal shock on every rotation. The tool material and cutter
geometry must be designed to withstand these conditions. Cutting fluids are essential for
most milling operations.

Cutting conditions in milling

In milling, each tooth on a tool removes part of the stock in the form of a chip. The
basic interface between tool and workpart is pictured below. This shows a only a few
teeth of a peripheral milling cutter:

Cutting velocity V is the peripheral speed of the cutter is defined by

V = DN
where D is the cutter outer diameter, and N is the rotational speed of the cutter.
As in the case of turning, cutting speed V is first calculated or selected from appropriate
reference sources (see Section 5.10 Selection of Cutting Conditions), and then the rotational
speed of the cutter N, which is used to adjust milling machine controls is calculated. Cutting
speeds are usually in the range of 0.1~4 m/s, lower for difficult-to-cut materials and for
rough cuts, and higher for non-ferrous easy-to-cut materials like aluminum and for
finishing cuts.
Three types of feed in milling can be identified:
1.

feed per tooth fx: the basic parameter in milling equivalent to the feed in turning
Feed per tooth is selected with regard to the surface finish and
dimensional accuracy required (see Section 5.10 Selection of Cutting
Conditions). Feeds per tooth are in the range of 0.05~0.5 mm/tooth,
lower feeds are for finishing cuts;

2.

feed per revolution fr :

it determines the amount of material cut per one
full revolution of the milling cutter. Feed per revolution is calculated as
fr = fzz
z being the number of the teeths

3.

feed per minute fm: Feed per minute is calculated taking into account the
rotational speed N and number of the cutters teeth z,
fm = fzzN = frN
Feed per minute is used to adjust the feed change gears.

Types of milling
There are two basic types of milling, as shown in the figure:
1.
2.

down (climb) milling, when the cutter rotation is in the same direction as
the motion of the workpiece being fed, and
up (conventional) milling, in which the workpiece is moving towards the
cutter, opposing the cutter direction of rotation:

Two types of peripheral milling. Note the change in the cutting force direction.

In down milling, the cutting force is directed into the work table, which allows thinner
workparts to be machined. Better surface finish is obtained but the stress load on the
teeth is abrupt, which may damage the cutter.
In up milling, the cutting force tends to lift the workpiece. The work conditions for the
cutter are more favorable. Because the cutter does not start to cut when it makes contact
(cutting at zero cut is impossible), the surface has a natural waviness.

Milling Cutter Nomenclature

1. OUTSIDE DIAMETER. The outside diameter is the diameter of the cylinder passing
through the peripheral cutting edges.
2. ROOT DIAMETER. The root diameter is the diameter of the circle passing tangent to the
bottom of the fillet.
3 SIDE TOOTH LENGTH. Length of the raised land along the side tooth. Required to
calculate the number of resharpenings available and the modification possibilities.
4. CUTTER FACE WIDTH. The cutter face is the surface at the side or end of the cutter
body which is perpendicular to the axis of the cutter. The distances between the two faces of
plain, helical and side milling cutters, or the length of the outside diameter cylinder is the cutter
width, if small, or cutter length, with respect to the diameter.
5. TOOTH FACE. The tooth face is that surface of the cutting tooth against which the chip is
forced in the metal cutting operation.
6. LAND. The land is that part of the back of the tooth adjacent to the cutting edge which is
relieved to avoid interference between itself and the surface being machined. A raised land
permits numerous resharpenings before a secondary clearance has to be ground.
7. CUTTING EDGE. The cutting edge is the intersection of the face of the tooth with the
leading edge of the land.
8. FLUTE. The flute is the chip space between the back of one tooth and the face of the
following tooth.

9. RELIEF ANGLE. The peripheral relief angle is the angle between the surface formed by the
land and a tangent to the cutter outside circle passing through the cutting edge in a diametric
plane. It is to prevent the land from rubbing on the surface of the work being cut. Relief and
clearance are measured in degrees or in radial fall in inches at a certain specified distance back
of the cutting edge on the land. For this latter measurement, a dial indicator may be used to
measure the radial fall in thousandths of an inch from the outside or cutting edge diameter back
of the cutting edge.
10. RADIAL RAKE ANGLE. The radial rake angle of a milling cutter is the angle formed in a
diametric plane between the face of the tooth and a radial line passing through the cutting edge.
This may be positive, negative, or zero degree.
11 AXIAL RAKE ANGLE OR HELICAL RAKE. When a milling cutter has helical teeth, that
is, when its cutting edge is formed along a helix about the cutter axis, the resulting rake is called
helical rake. If the cutting edge is straight, its rake is axial rake. The axial rake or helical rake
angle is the angle formed between the line of the peripheral cutting edge and the axis of the
cutter, when looking radially at the point of intersection. This applies in the case of helical mills,
half-side mills, staggered tooth mills, face mills, and metal slitting saws having face cutting
edges.
12. GASH DEPTH. Gash depth is the distance from the outside diameter of the cutter to the
fillet radius or root diameter.
13. FILLET RADIUS. The fillet radius is the curved surface at the bottom of the flute which
joins the face of one tooth to the back of the tooth immediately ahead.
14. DISH OR CONCAVITY. The progressive decrease in cutter width from the periphery
toward the centers.
15. RADIAL OFFSET. The radial offset of a milling cutter is the physical dimension that a
tooth is behind (for positive rake) or ahead (for negative rake) of a center line drawn parallel
with flat, tooth face. It is calculated by multiplying the sine function of the radial rake angle

times the radius of the milling cutter.

16. DEPTH OF RECESS. The distance from the cutting edge on the land of the side tooth (or
the hub which is the same width as the cutter) to the recess is the depth of recess. This dimension
is required to determine width and angle modification limits.
17. HUB DIAMETER. The hub is the raised ground section between the bore and recess. It is
the same width as the cutter. Collar spacers butt adjacent to the hub for holding and spacing of
the cutter on the arbor. The hub diameter dimension is required to determine the allowable depth
or cut and clearance between cutter and workpiece.

Design Parameters for Milling Cutter

TOOL MATERIAL
The recent advancement in work materials are very remarkable; the recently developed
materials are hard chromium-molybdenum steels, tool steels and heat resisting alloys which
are used for parts of aircraft and engines. On the other hand, there have been big
developments
in machine tools as well, making operations more productive and
economical. These machines include high-speed full automatic profiling machines, computer
numerical control milling machines and machining centers. In order to meet the demand of
milling difficult to machine materials, the improvement of tool materials is indispensable.
The proper selection of cutting tool material will increase productivity improve quality and
ultimately reduce costs. The factors that affect the selection of tool materials include [3]:
Hardness and condition of the work piece material;
Rigidity of the tool, the machine and the work piece;
Production requirements;
Operating conditions such as cutting force, temperature and lubrication;
Tool cost per part machined (including initial tool cost, grinding cost, tool life and
labour cost).
The classification of tool materials is shown in Figure 7. End mills can be manufactured
from high speed steel (HSS), powder metallurgy high speed steel and carbide materials.
High speed steel (HSS)
High speed steel has high toughness rating and is relatively cheap. HSS with cobalt is a
premium HSS and is used for higher cutting speeds. High vanadium and high cobalt HSS cutters
are used for difficult to machine materials.
Powder metallurgy high speed steel.
These are higher grade HSS. These types of tool materials have better quality and make the
manufacture of high
vanadium super HSS end mills possible. This material is much more expensive
than HSS and is used for milling hard materials.

 Carbide material
There are various types of carbide materials in the market and the two most
common types are the tungsten carbide (TC) and micro grain carbide (MG).
Tungsten carbide provides higher wear resistance and i s generally used for insert type end
mills and turning tools.
CUTTING FLUIDS AND SURFACE TREATMENTS
Metal cutting tools are often given surface treatments to improve tool performance and
longevity. As cutting tools cut on material, they will generate heat which will weld chips onto
them; this will cause friction and wear on the tools. Therefore appropriate types of coating are
required to prevent these problems to happen. Figure 8 is the FEM analysis of heat generated
when cutting tools cut on materials. It is found that the highest temperature (631.57oC) reached
is at the tool chip interface.
CUTTING CONDITIONS
The factors determining cutting condition are:
Material to be milled;
Surface finish required;
Depth of cut;
Tool life
The combination of these factors determines the number of revolutions of the cutting tool and
the feed of the work table. As the number of revolutions and the depth of cut are mutual
dependence, the change of one makes the change of the other and the relationship between
the three cutting conditions is given in Figure 9.
The number of revolutions per minute of the end mill is the most important factor in
determining the tool life. Generally, it depends on the material to be milled. For milling with
long length of cut, lower milling speed is recommended as it is subjected to deflection and
chatter. The number of revolutions per minute of the cutting tool should vary with the
different tool materials; this is especially true in carbide end mills and it must therefore be
carefully selected

The lead angle of a face-milling cutter is the approach angle of the cutting edge in relationship
to the workpiece and is measured off the axis of the cutter. The lead angle's relationship to the
cutter and spindle axis impact tool performance and productivity significantly, which in turn
affects workpiece quality. In this article series, we refer to the ISO norm for lead angle (example:
square shoulder = 90 degrees).

The lead angle provides five primary design

functions:

It controls the balance between radial

and axial feed forces. As the lead angle
decreases, radial forces decrease and
axial forces increase.
It affects workpiece chipping and
burring on the exit side of cutter
rotation. When feed forces exceed the strength of material, chipping or burring occurs.
It affects face engagement between the insert and workpiece. Low lead angles leave very
little face clearance, which creates a large face engagement. A high lead angle will have a
smaller overall contact area when comparing similar depths of cut.
It provides effective chip thinning. As the lead angle decreases, chip thickness also
decreases, often requiring higher overall feed rates.
A lead angle protects the nose of the insert by moving the first point of contact away from
the most fragile portion of the insert.
Certain applications are restricted to specific lead angles. For example, the lead angle
distinguishes general face milling from square-shoulder milling. With square-shoulder milling,
the lead angle is 90 degrees, designed to produce a square shoulder in the workpiece and allow
machining close to walls and fixture clamps.
Hexagonal and octagonal inserts also produce a large face engagement. Cutters with lower lead
angles should be used only when square shoulders are required. Higher lead angles leave more
face clearance. For machining-center milling applications in which metal-removal rate and
surface finish are important, a 45-dgree lead angle is recommended. Note, however, that power
consumption changes very little with changes in lead angle.
The Rake Angle
The rake angle is the inclination of the top surface of the cutting edge, or the surface that makes
contact with the chip. The rake angle is measured in two planes, providing axial rake and radial
rake. With milling tools, the rake is usually designed independent of the lead angle. Rakes can
be positive, neutral, or negative in both the axial and radial planes.

The cutting edge is always positioned on centerline, and the rake moves the face of the insert
ahead of or behind centerline to create one of the following:
Neutral radial rake indicates that the face of the insert lies on the radial centerline of the
cutter.
Positive radial rake indicates that the cutting edge is positioned on the radial centerline
of the cutter. The top surface of the cutting edge slopes back and away from the radial
centerline.
Negative radial rake indicates that the cutting edge is positioned on the radial centerline
of the cutter. The top surface of the cutting edge slopes forward and away from the radial
centerline of the cutter.
Neutral axial rake indicates that the cutting edge and the face of the insert lie on the
axial centerline of the cutter.
Positive axial rake indicates that the cutting edge is positioned on the axial centerline of
the cutter. The top surface of the cutting edge slopes back and away from the axial
centerline.
Negative axial rake indicates that the cutting edge is positioned on the axial centerline of
the cutter while the top surface of the cutting edge slopes forward and away from the
axial centerline.
Axial rake angles redirect tangential cutting forces, which control the degree of power
consumption. Axial rakes also provide a particular degree of axial lift for the chips. Cutters with
higher positive axial rake will usually consume less power than cutters with lower positive or
negative axial rake.
Understanding Cutting Forces
Cutting forces differ with each rake angle combination, so knowing cutting forces is essential for
effective face mill selection. The rake angle determines the force required to separate the chip

from the workpiece. The rake angle and the insert rake surface collectively determine the force
required to slide the chip along the rake face.
Cutting forces generated during chip separation are divided into three categories:
radial/axial forces, feed forces, and tangential cutting forces. Radial/axial forces act to push the
tool away from the work in the radial and axial direction. These forces account for approximately
10 percent of the total cutting forces. Lead angle is the design variable that controls radial and
axial forces. A 90-dgree lead angle places the forces completely in the radial plane, while a 45dgree lead angle places forces equally in the radial and axial direction. These forces shift from
radial to axial as lead angle changes, but the measured amount of power consumption remains
relatively constant when considering similar depths of cut.
Feed forces act on the tool in a direction parallel to the direction of feed and account for
approximately 20 perent of the total force generated during the cut. Feed forces in milling are
determined primarily by cutter rotation and direction of feed, which results in climb
milling (down) or conventional milling (up). Many modern machine tool builders depend on
climb milling and spindle power to provide feed motion while using the feed mechanism to
control the rate of feed. Climb milling tends to pull the workpiece into the cutter, which
decreases feed forces and power consumption. Conventional milling pushes against the
workpiece, increasing feed forces and power consumption.
Tangential forces act on the rake face of the milling inserts and are the largest of the three forces,
accounting for approximately 70 perent of the total force generated during the cut. Tangential
forces act in the direction of cutting velocity as resistance to rotation. Tangential forces are
controlled primarily by the rake angle combination, or true rake angle (TRA). Both axial and
radial rake have similar influence on tangential cutting forces. However, axial rake angle is most
often used for controlling power consumption due to the design limitations placed on radial rake
for controlling radial clearance. In carbon steel, tangential cutting forces can be altered
approximately 1percent for each degree of axial rake change.
Selecting cutters with a more positive axial rake decreases tangential forces, while selecting
cutters with a more negative rake tends to increase tangential forces.
Due to the cutting edge entering and exiting the workpiece during cutter rotation, milling is a
totally interrupted metal cutting operation. The inserts radial rake and cutter positioning
determine the impact this interruption has on cutting edge strength. The weakest portion of the
insert is the cutting edge. If you increase negative radial rake, the impact area is moved away
from the cutting edge, which significantly increases the insert edge strength. Gaining insert edge
strength mechanically by using negative radial rake allows you to use your choice of grade to
optimize either speed or tool life.
Chip Flow

Chip flow is a critical factor in milling cutter selection due to increases in spindle speeds,
reduction in machine spindle power, and the increased use of machining centers as opposed to
machines that perform milling exclusively. Chip flow affects power consumption, surface finish,
and potential productivity levels in milling.
All chips have two primary characteristics. First, chips curl away from the cutting edge starting
at the first point of contact and flow down the incline plane formed by the rake angles. Second,
chips shorten and thicken after they are cut. Thin chips curl more tightly than thick chips.

There are three rake angle combinations available for milling cutters that affect chip flow in
different ways: Double positive rake angles (positive/positive) provide a good lift to the chips
because they have a positive axial angle. Chip flow for positive radial rake is primarily in the
inboard direction, although centrifugal force acts on the chips and forces them to reverse
direction and flow outboard. Positive radial rakes can cause problems at higher speeds. At slower
speeds and with coarse pitch cutters, the chips have time to reverse direction and flow past the
periphery of the cutter before the following insert catches them. However, higher spindle speeds
and finer pitch cutters do not provide adequate time for chips to exit before getting caught and
re-cut by the following insert.
Double negative rake angles (negative/negative) provide good radial chip flow due to the
negative radial rake. However, the negative axial rake produces ineffective chip flow. The radial
wall, produced by the arc of the cut and the negative axial rake forms a pocket that restricts chip
flow. The chip slot, designed into the cutter body, must house the chips through the entire arc of
the cut, which limits potential feed rate. Increasing the feed rate per tooth (fz) can create a
greater volume of chips than the chip slot can accommodate, resulting in chip welding and cutter
failure.

Positive/negative rake angles gain the benefits of both the double positive and the double
negative rake angles without the drawbacks. Chips are directed outboard by the action of the
negative radial rake while being lifted by the positive axial rake. This combination, when paired
with a high lead angle (45 degrees) tends to reduce or eliminate chip flow obstructions, allowing
both speed and feed to be maximized to the limits of the insert and the machine tool.
Insert density, as it applies to milling, is the number of inserts in a cutter per inch of
diameter.Insert pitch is the distance between matching positions on one insert to the same
position on the next insert. For example, a high-density cutter, or fine-pitch cutter, has many
inserts per inch of diameter, while a low-density cutter, or coarse-pitch cutter, has fewer
inserts per inch of diameter.
When selecting a milling cutter with either double positive or double negative geometry,
engineers must first consider depth of cut and feed per tooth. Next, they must ensure that
necessary chip clearance is available in the cutter body to allow chip formation without
restricting its flow. Milling cutters designed for heavy metal removal must have maximum chip
clearance, which restricts the potential number of inserts in the cutter. Medium- and fine-pitch
cutters usually have less chip clearance than coarse-pitch cutters. Coarse-pitch cutters are
recommended for applications in which maximum depth of cut is desired and for general purpose
milling applications, if adequate horsepower is available. Medium- and fine-pitch cutters are
recommended for applications that require better surface finish or for applications that require
more inserts in the cut.
A variable-pitch milling cutter is a cutter with unequally spaced inserts. variable-pitch milling
cutters are designed to interrupt the harmonic vibration that often occurs when using cutters with
equally spaced inserts. Variable-pitch cutters are difficult to balance and are not usually
recommended for very high spindle speeds.
There are many variables involved with selecting proper insert density, which can be confusing.
Several guidelines can assist.
First, chip space need only accommodate the volume that is cut by each insert. For
example, cutters designed for materials such as cast iron and graphite need very little
chip space because they yield segmented chips. Segmented chip materials use fine-pitch
cutters. However, materials like steel and aluminum create loosely curled chips, which
require a large chip space, especially with wide cuts. Loosely curled chip materials use
coarse-pitch cutters.
Square shoulder mills have a 90-degree lead angle and usually require additional chip
space because of less-effective chip flow. Shoulder milling typically requires coarse-pitch
cutters.
Small-diameter cutters produce shorter chips and require less chip space than do largediameter cutters.

 Positive/negative geometry cutters, combined with a 45-degree lead angle, direct the
chips up and out of the cut, reducing the requirements for large chip slots. When cutting
long-chipping materials such as steel and aluminum with high lead-angle geometry, use
fine-pitch cutters.
Milling Cutter Diameter
Cutter diameter is the overall diameter of the cutter body, a critical dimension in cutter
selection based on the dimensions of overhanging workpiece features and fixturing.
The effective diameter of a milling cutter is the maximum flat width of face that a cutter will
machine and is measured at the outer cutting edge points of the insert.
Selecting the appropriate milling cutter diameter is based upon the width of
the surface to be cut, spindle capacity, and the available machine power. For standard facemilling operations, an effective milling cutter diameter should be approximately 1-1/2 times the
desired width of cut. For example, if the desired width of cut is 4 inches, a 6-inch-diameter cutter
is recommended. The diameter selected should provide an effective negative entry angle between
the insert and the first point of contact with the workpiece. A negative entry angle is obtained
when approximately 25 percent of the cutter diameter overhangs the workpiece on the entry side
of rotation.
Spindle capacity and potential rigidity is established through spindle size and cutter mounting.
To minimize torsional deflection of the spindle, a relationship needs to be maintained between
spindle diameter and cutter diameter. For machining centers with high spindle speeds, spindle
size is often decreased to reduce rotational mass, which in turn reduces milling cutter diameter
capacity.
In applications where the surface to be cut is very wide, a cutter diameter should be selected that
matches the spindle capacity, then multiple passes should be taken. For example, if the width of
cut is 12 inches and the machine has a standard #40 taper spindle, we would recommend a
maximum four-inch-diameter cutter and take four passes at three inches per pass.
The diameter and the pitch of the cutter determine the maximum number of inserts that can be in
the cut at any given time. A greater number of inserts in the cut can smooth out the cut but
increases power consumption. Spindle power consumed is a factor of cubic inch of metal
removed per insert times the number of inserts in the cut. Limited horsepower machines often
require smaller-diameter cutters.
2. Dynamic Cutting Force Models
In their study M. T. Zaman et al. [17] have simulated peripheral milling to develop a threedimensional analytical model of cutting force. So it is necessary to determine the analytical
expressions for Fx, Fy and Fz which are presented in Figure 1.

Cutting force expressions (Fx and Fy) was extracted from Tlusty et al. [7] and Bao et al. [18]
with little modification. In fact, they introduce in their equations horizontal component of
tangential force. Thus, cutting force can be written as below:

(1)

By confronting analytical and experimental study they confirm that tangential cutting force arises
when cutting depth arises. Despite, this cutting force model can be used to simulate cutting force
with an average of 90%.
In general, cutting force model used is the most classical. In general, cutting force depends on
cutting depth. However, in dynamic milling cutting depth depends on tool and part position and
the profile of machined surface (Cutting force is presented in Figure 2).

(2)
h is the instantaneous cutting thickness

(3)
where

And
is angle of cutter rotation of a point on the cutting edge.
Figure 3 represents tool position compared with part position, e is distance between tool and part
axis,

is entry angle,

is leaving angle.

Cutting phase is defined by angles

and
in the metal. These angles are calculated
compared with nominal position. Thus, transitory phases of beginning and end machining are not
modeled. However, if the cutting is discontinued, the tool can leave the metal.
In this case, cutting depth is null and cutting forces are also null. This non linearity permits to
amplify vibration amplitude.

Angle

and

are defined as below:

(4)

3. Dynamic Response
The first step consists to meshing the s Ma-chine-Tool -Part structure. So, voluminal elements
are generated for modelling all components of milling machine,

Figure 3. Tool position compared with part one.

tool and part. Figure 4 shows the photograph and the finite elements modeling of used milling
machine.
Generally the dynamic analysis of the system by finite elements is reduced to the resolution of a
linear system of the second order differential equations whose rigidity matrix depends on time:

(5)
Where M, C and K are respectively mass matrix, damping matrix and stiffness matrix, X is
generalized displacement vector and F(t) is cutting force vector. All coefficients of these matrixes

are determined from finite element modelisation of the total system tool-machine -part.

(6)
The matrix [M], [K] and [C] projected on the basis of the eigenmodes leads to
matrix

by:

(7)
So dynamic equation projected on the basis of the eigenmodes was reduced to the system of equations in the
following form:

Design Calculation Example

DESIGN FOR HCS MILLING CUTTER

Let assume following values
Wide = 8mm
Deep = 4mm
Tensile strength of the work
=650N/mm
CUTTING FORCE
F = 60,000*H/ DN
F= 120N
FOR HCS
1. ARBOUR DISTANCE
L= (D/2.5)*10
L= (110/2.5)*10
L=440mm

piece

2. TORQUE
T= 0.072 + 0.252
= (0.07 440)2 + (0.25 110)2
T= 6930 N-m
3. ARBOUR SIZE(A)
A=()/(0.1 3 )
A= 20 mm
4. DIAMETER OF THE CUTTER
D= 3*ARBOUR SIZE = 22*3
D= 66 mm
5. NUMBER OF TEETH ON WHEEL
N= 2* =2*66
N= 17
6. TOOTH HIEGHT
H= (D/N)*1.6 = (66/17)*1.6
H= 6.2mm
7. RADIAL RAKE ANGLEr =15o
8. AXIAL RAKE ANGLEa= 35o
9. PRIMARY CLEARANCE=10O

REFERENCES
[1] K. Lalitha Babu1, M. Kumara Swamy2
International Journal of Modern
Engineering Research (IJMER)
www.ijmer.com Vol. 2, Issue. 6, Nov-Dec.
2012 pp-4480-4483 ISSN: 2249-6645
[2] AMME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers)
(1985), Milling cutter and end mill, United Engineering
Centre, ANSI/ASME B94.19.
[3]Metal Cutting and Design of Cutting Tools, Jigs & Fixtures
By N.K.Mehta