View Full Version : How are endmills made?
Rotate
04-09-2002, 04:06 PM
I was studying one of my endmill cutter, and I realized that unlike drill bits which I believe are made by twisting, the flutes on the endmill cutter look like they have been machined. Are they machine similar to the way screws are machined?
Albert
I think they're ground from solid blanks.
Dave Burnett
04-09-2002, 06:09 PM
The flutes on an end mill are milled in then heat treated and ground.
docn8as
04-09-2002, 07:47 PM
B&S originally milled them w/ a div. head on universal horiz. mill set up off square w/ longitudenal feed ,& a gear train from X feed to div. hd.providing the helix rotation vs.long. feed....
best wishes
docn8as
BrianH
04-09-2002, 08:01 PM
I think you'll also find that high-grade endmills like Sossner (as well as all carbides) are totally ground from solid blanks. The CNC grinders do everything.
We got back a load of regrinds from someone we were trying for the first time, and they used a CNC. They reground the DAMN FLUTES!!
I think any modern manufacturer of endmills
would grind them heat treated or carbide
blanks. I beleive twist drills are ground
from blanks also. I watched a guy loading a CNC tool grinder. Not much to it: Double
angle collet held the carbide blank. He set
proper length of the blank sticking out of the collet with a Starret Vernier Caliper.
He closed the door and a set of diamond
impregnated grinding wheels cut the end releif and then proceeded to grind the flutes
It didn't take more than 2-3 minutes to make
a complete 3/8 carbide endmill. By the way
the machine cost a cool (I think) 500,000
and diamond wheel sets were (I think) 5,000
He had 10 sets of diamond wheels. That is
why this guy has to keep his 4 CNC tool grind
ers running 24/7. It was very interesting.