Choosing the right milling inserts requires careful selection from various factors like entering angle, machining requirements, tool diameter and blade, nose radius, etc. Selecting the wrong milling insert will not only increase your cost of production but also may damage your workpiece.

The milling inserts are used for milling extreme tough materials like stainless steel, cast iron, etc. and used to drill and finish these materials. They can mill and horizontal, vertical and inclined angles and can remove the chips extremely fast from the workpiece.

To attain roughing, you should use a pressed blade because it can reduce the cost of processing. Its dimensional accuracy and sharpness are not good compared to grind blades but give great edge strength and also resist impact during roughing during the machining process. It also can bear high feeds and large cutting depth.

The teeth present in this type of insert are at the circumference of the circular disc which is why they are known as periphery milling inserts. They only work in milling machines with a horizontal axis.

Nuclear industry – The inserts made with tungsten carbide are the best neutron reflectors and are heavily used for investigation and research on nuclear chain reactions for weapons etc.

Grade UK215. It is suitable for finishing and semi-finishing of steel parts (less than 40HRC carbon steel, alloy steel, tool steel, pre-hardened steel), stainless steel (less than 35HRC), cast iron (less than HB350), and aluminum alloy series. Excellent strength, fracture toughness, and surface finish.

The gang milling insert is where periphery milling cutters with varying sizes are used to remove and cut material from the workpiece.

For using inserts with ordinary milling, go for white steel milling inserts. These inserts are softer in comparison, have good toughness, and are economic. But the strength is not good enough which is why they have low heat hardness and wear resistance. Their thermal rigidity is approximately 600 degrees and 65HRC of hardness.

The end milling insert has teeth on both sides and is beneficial for drilling purposes. The terminology “end mil” is usually known for flat bottom cutters.

The consideration of diameter depends mainly on the size of the processing workpiece and the power required to work on that workpiece. The diameter of the insert can also be selected based on the insert’s spindle. The typical diameter range is 40 mm – 250 mm.

Coarse-tooth milling insert with a 100 mm diameter has 6 teeth. But the dense teeth insert of the same 100 mm diameter has 8 teeth. The size of the pitch tool is determined by cutter teeth which affect the smoothing and cutting rate of the insert.

For viscous materials like stainless steel, you can select inserts with sharpened large rake angles. Because during the cutting action of the sharp blade, there is reduced friction between the workpiece and blade, and chips are easily escaped from the front of the blade.

The milling inserts are one of the significant components of a milling machine. Just like the name, the cutting tool is responsible for scraping material off the workpiece. It consists of every milling machine.

If you are using solid carbide inserts, then you need to use them on CNC machining centers. This is because carbide inserts have the great abrasion resistance and thermal rigidity but they have low impact resistance because they are made from alloys like powder metallurgy. They have a hardness of about 90 HRA and thermal rigidity of about 900-1000 degrees.

The milling inserts made out of HSS perform better against wear response and heat as compared to ordinary carbon steel. It further breaks down into special and general purposes HSS and consists of characteristics like hardness HRC62-70, great cutting edge strength, great vibration resistance, etc.

Image

Previously they were available in limited shapes but now you can buy one of these in shapes like helical, frustum and elliptical, etc. While the milling process, they move at 90 degrees to its axis which allows them to remove material around the insert’s perimeter.

These are replaceable bits for machining the toughest materials like cast iron, stainless steel, titanium, plastic, etc. They are usually made out of carbide which is why they give maximum durability and also work under extreme temperature conditions. They make holes, are used for drilling and finishing, etc.

Surgical tools – Doctors and surgeons rely heavily on accurate tools, therefore, inserts with the base of stainless steel or titanium are selected and the tip of the tool is manufactured with tungsten carbide.

Jewelry – The inserts are used here for shaping the jewelry. Since the tungsten is second hardest material than diamond, it is perfect and economic for the shaping of jewelry rings, etc.

The diameter of inserts varies depending upon the product batch. The milling insert’s diameter depends upon the equipment’s specification as well as the workpiece processing size.

The lead angle or entering angle is between the feed direction and the cutting edge. It is necessary to select the entering angle for a successful turning operation. It affects:

It is required for a very high removal rate of material, in severe conditions and works on wet as well as dry machining.

The higher the diameter of the milling tool, the costlier. For instance, a face milling inserts with a 100 mm diameter costs above $600. Therefore, careful selection is required:

Selecting the right milling requires considering various factors. In this article you will know what factors to look for:

In this topic, you will know what is the milling insert, what types of milling inserts are available, what material it is made up of, and what are some of the well-known milling insert models. So let’s dive in.

There are various types of blades for milling inserts. Choose a grinding blade for fine milling. It has good accuracy in dimension therefore the cutting edge is higher in milling and delivers good surface roughness.

They have a cutter body with a large diameter where many insertion tools are fastened. Material is removed from them by axially narrow and radially deep cuts. The diameter of the face milling insert depends upon the body of the cutter and workpiece length. It is mostly used for down milling.

These are tougher than HSS but do not have good strength. Their high stiffness properties make them good wear-resistant but their lower strength makes them prone to peeling and crack.

The milling inserts are rotary tools having one or multiple teeth. During the milling process, each cutter tooth cuts the workpiece one by one. They are used mainly for making grooves, steps, milling planes, forming surfaces, etc.

For slot milling inserts with a small diameter, the maximum number of revolutions is considered if it can reach up to 60m/min cutting speed. The standard diameter ranges from 5 mm – 10 mm.

Each shape also has its own limitations. For example: high accessibility during machining means that the cutting edge strength is worse.

It is a kind of formed insert and is designed with a specific shape for a particular workpiece. Its main use is to match a circular contour having a convex surface.

Image

RE (nose radius of an insert is another crucial factor in the selection of inserts. It is available in different nose radii. Its selection depends on surface finish, depth of cut and feed, insert length, etc.

This type of insert has teeth on both face/end and periphery which is why it is used to make narrow slots or cut slots and is used for strand milling and face milling operations.

It is similar to a pipe and consists of thick walls. It has bites inside the hollow surface and is used in screw machines.

Due to the different shape of the carbide inserts, the tip angle changes from the minimum 35° to the round blade, and the corresponding tip angle is selected according to different workpieces.

With the use of this type of steel, it has comparably great forging, machining, and sharpness features. But in comparison carbide-made milling inserts, it has low hardness and wears resistance.

Also known as “Pippa” cutters, these are used to remove a huge amount of material from the workpiece. They perform under extreme operating conditions. These inserts have wavy teeth that give a rough finished surface.

Image

A coarse milling insert is usually for rough machining because it consists of a large chip flute. After all, a small chip flute, will create difficulty for chip curling and removing.

There are many CNC carbide inserts of various shapes, uses and materials. First, let’s understand the classification of cemented carbide insert turning tools. [More…]