What is CNC Milling? CNC milling is a process of using computer control and rotating multi-point tools to gradually remove material from the workpiece to produce customized parts. And the most precise part tolerance can achieve to +/- 0.0005 inch. This process is suitable for processing with wide range of materials, like many kinds of metals, plastic, aluminium even wood. In Richful, you can easily and quickly produce customized CNC milled parts with high quality and effective cost!
The milling process is multifunctional and it allows to be used in a wide range of industries also used in various component features and designs, such as slots, chamfers, grooves, threads, and pockets.
The most common CNC milling operations include: Face milling refers to milling operations in which the rotation axis of cutting tool is perpendicular to the surface of the workpiece.The process uses a face milling cutter, which has teeth on the periphery and tool surface.The peripheral teeth are mainly used for cutting and face teeth for finishing applications.In general, face milling is used to create planes and contours on the finished product, and can produce higher quality surfaces than other milling processes.
The types of face milling including face milling and side milling, which use face milling cutter and side milling cutter respectively.
Plain milling, also known as surface or slab milling, refers to milling operations in which the cutting tool’s axis of rotation is parallel to the surface of the workpiece. This process uses a common milling cutters with teeth on the periphery to perform the cutting operation. The use of cutting tools will be selected according to the specifications of the milling application, such as the depth of cut and the size of the workpiece. Commonly used are narrow and wide cutters.
Narrow cutters allow for deeper cuts, while wider cutters are used for cutting larger surface areas.Usually, when milling a part, wide cutting teeth are used to cut the shape, and then narrow cutting teeth are used to produce the details of the part.
Angular milling, also known as angle milling, refers to milling operations where the rotation axis of the tool is at a certain angle to the surface of the workpiece. The process uses single-angle milling cutters— based on a specific machining design—to produce angular features, such as chamfers, serrations, and grooves. A common application of angular milling is the production of dovetails. Depending on the design of the dovetail, 45°, 50°, 55°, or 60° dovetail cutters are used.
Forming milling refers to milling operations involving irregular surfaces and contours, such as some parts with curved surfaces. This process uses forming milling cutters or specific flying cutters, such as convex cutters, concave cutters, and rounded cutters.The most common is to produce hemispherical and semicircular cavities, beads and contours, as well as complex designs and complex parts under a single machine setting.