Face Mill

[kendo]

Hi Guys
Recently i acquired a 50mm face mill and arbor, so i thought i would
give it a try, and the result was not good.
My mill sounds like every gear in there is going to smash, it makes
one hell of a racket.
Bearing in mind that my mill is a new one only six months old,
and i was only taking small cuts 0.020'' (0.5 mm)
I have tried running at different speeds in both high and low gears.
I have even tried using different carbide inserts.

Am i doing something wrong or are these cutters not meant to be used
on bench mills, but are OK for your bigger mills such as bridgeports.

Thankyou in Advance for any advise you could give me

My Very Best Regards
Ken

 

[kvom]

Not knowing the HP of your mill or the material, it's hard to say. I'd try it on aluminum first and start with a .01" cut. For steel, you probably don't have the power to take any more than skim cuts. That's a pretty large face mill for a mini-mill. I use a 1.25" face mill on the Bridgeport, and .025" is as much as I'd try on CRS.

Many of the inserts sold on ebay are for turning, and are not meant for milling. That said, they should work fine in aluminum. For milling steel, you want a C5 grade to stand up to the interrupted cuts.

 

[kendo]

Hi Kvom
Thanks for the speedy reply,in answer to the HP of my mill
it's 1 1/2 HP and the material i was using is aluminium 7075
grade.
The inserts are sandvik milling inserts for aluminium.
So i went back and tried again, this time only taking a 0.005''
cut then tried a 0.010'' cut.
But the result was the same, so i guess you are right perhaps
the face mill is too large for my mill or it could be the fact that
it is a Chinese mill and the bearings can't take the load.

I will try a smaller face mill and will let you know how i get on.
Once again Thankyou for your advice it is gratefully appreciated


Ken

 

[websterz]

You didn't mention the number of inserts the cutter uses. Running the cutter with a less than full compliment of inserts will reduce the load and allow the cutter to run more smoothly. Going down to a single insert effectively converts the face mill into a carbide fly cutter. I have a little x2 mini mill and I do this all the time with good results.

 

[BillC]

Ken,

Are you running in back gear? If so try direct drive and spin the cutter faster. A 2" cutter should not be too much for 1 1/2 HP mill. I have a 1 1/2 HP Jet mill that does great with an 2" octo face cutter with 5 inserts on 7075 Al. (That's my Al of choice 7075 - it acts like steel - and mills w/o coolant unlike 6061 - gummy!) The same cutter on that mill will work with mild steel as easily...

BillC

 

[kendo]

Hi Guys

Websterz: The cutter has four inserts, so i took your advise and tried
reducing the number to one insert and using it as a fly cutter, it worked
pretty good, Thanks for the info.

Bill C: Thankyou also for your input. I too much prefer 7075 Al i find it
a very good material to work with, it machines lovely.


Thanksyou once again for the advise guys

Best Regards
Ken

 

[Paulsv]

I use a 2.5 inch 45 degree face mill with 5 inserts on a G0704, which has a 600 watt motor, and at .010 in 7075 it cuts like butter, with a little lubrication. You might look at your insert geometry, perhaps, as well as speed and feed.

 

[Swede]

It sounds like Kendo has a good face mill with proper inserts. I wanted to add that not all face mills are created equal, and the type normally seen in a home shop on a budget (that's 99% of us) use 2 to 4 TPG inserts, either the #2 or #3 size and these face mills are inexpensive. But the geometry of the cut and the inserts themselves cannot compare to those created for a dedicated face mill.

I noticed this when I bought a "Lovejoy" face mill and first put it to work. There's absolutely no comparison, and my TPG face mills haven't been used since.

These higher-end face mills are not cheap, and neither are the inserts, but 10 inserts will last most home-shop guys for many years. The payoff is in a clean and chatter-free finish, greater stock removal, and total confidence in use. It's very nice when trying to mill flat any surface greater than a few inches to do so in one or two passes, rather than 6 or 8 as you'd typically see with a standard end mill that leaves behind those tell-tale "rows" of cut marks.