As usual, the end mill is initially made with several cutting blades, or, as they say, teeth. Among all types of this locksmith device, there is an impressive variety, depending on the geometric design: cylindrical, conical, end, end, worm and others. They are capable of processing various materials - stainless and hardened steel, wood, graphite, cast iron, copper, aluminum. The composition of the material of the cutting part of the cutter is always very hard; it can be ceramics, high-speed steel, cermets, diamond stones, an array of carded wire. The design of the cutter is carried out in a one-piece version, when it consists entirely of one material, in a welded version, where the shank and the cutting part are connected by welding. Brazed tools place soldered cutting elements on themselves, and prefabricated tools consist of various materials, however, they are assembled using fasteners - a screw, a bolt, a nut.
The end mill belongs to a group of tools that are distinguished by a special manner of fastening in the collet of the machine. Reliableclamping is carried out using a cylindrical or conical tail. The teeth on the cylindrical section are exactly the same as the blades on the cylindrical type tools.
End type is more often used with a manual machine or router. End mills for wood are divided into:
- end keyway with cylindrical and conical tails;
- ordinary with uneven tooth pitch;
- keyed carbide;
- equipped with solid crowns and screw plates;
- for segment keys;
- for T-slots.
Cutter manufacturers sell a wide variety of end tools. However, all models share a number of common elements.
- Cutting edges. A typical end mill can accommodate one or more cutting edges. One edge is in demand in cases where high productivity is needed, and the cleanliness of the working surface is a secondary issue. For wood processing, milling cutters with two cutting edges are used. This provides a balance between the quality of work performed and efficiency. Cutting edges can be made of high speed steel or tungsten carbide. Carbide end mills tend to cost a little more.
- Shank. It is characterized by diameter and length. The diameter, as usual, must correspond to that in the collet of the machine. Collets with dimensions 8 and 12 mmare considered standard in European countries. Although most of the world's manufacturers offer additional collets of different diameters to their machines. Shank length is not critical.
And finally, the thrust bearing. Not every end mill is equipped with it. The presence of the bearing allows you to perform profile milling, while not resorting to a parallel stop - this role is taken over by the side face of the workpiece. Rectilinearly moving along the edge, the bearing determines the trajectory of the cutter.
