End Mills (Flat, Ball, Roughing)

End Mills (Flat, Ball, Roughing)

Category: Machine Shop

Summary: Milling surfaces and shapes.

End mills are cutting tools used in milling machines to shape materials. They are designed to cut on their ends and sides, allowing for a variety of machining operations. Here's a breakdown of the three types you mentioned:

* **Flat End Mills:** These have a flat cutting end and are used for general-purpose milling operations, such as:

    * Creating flat surfaces

    * Milling slots and pockets

    * Contour milling

* **Ball End Mills:** These have a hemispherical cutting end and are used for:

    * Creating contoured surfaces

    * Machining complex 3D shapes

    * Die and mold making

* **Roughing End Mills:** These have a toothed or serrated cutting edge designed to remove large amounts of material quickly. They are used for:

    * Roughing operations to remove the bulk of the material before finishing with a smoother cutting end mill

    * High-speed material removal

End mills are essential tools in machining, allowing for precise and efficient shaping of metal, plastic, and other materials.