What is Face Milling & Operation Tips | Face Milling vs Peripheral Milling | CNCLATHING

2020.4.15

Face milling is an effective process to achieve the excellent surface finish on the CNC milling parts, what’s the science of it? Explore what is face milling and the design of face mill, maybe you can find some useful tips for improving your face milling operations. As the different requirements, comparing two types of the milling process, we also outline the difference between face milling and peripheral milling.

What is Face Milling?

Facing milling is a milling operation of which the rotating axis of the cutting tool is perpendicular to the surface is being machined, used to produce flat surfaces. Which is the best face milling tool? The face mill is the cutter designed for facing, shell mills and fly cutters are most often used for face milling, while end mill can also help you get the different finish. The face milling operations including general face milling, high face milling, heavy-duty face milling and finishing with wiper inserts. 

How Does the Face Mill Work?

Face mills are often applied for milling a face on the surface of a plate or bar. The cutting of face milling is predominantly with the end of the cutter rather than their sides. Multiple teeth on the cutter can distribute the chip load and the teeth on the periphery of the cutter can complete almost all of the cutting efficiently, when the cutter is properly ground, the face teeth actually remove a small amount of stock which is left because of the springing of the workpiece or cutter, then achieving a smoother surface finish. 

Face Milling vs Peripheral Milling - Difference Between Face Milling and Peripheral Milling

1. The cutting tool of face milling is placed perpendicular to the milling part, while the cutter of peripheral milling is placed parallel to the part.

2. In face milling, the tip of cutter presses against the workpiece, while in peripheral milling, the sides of cutter grind away at the top of the workpiece. 

3. In face milling, the cutting is completed by the flat face of the milling cutter of which axis is perpendicular to the surface of the piece, and in peripheral milling, the cutting is accomplished by the peripheral teeth of the cutter. 

4. For peripheral milling, the teeth are only located on the periphery of the cutter, while for face milling, the cutter teeth are on both the periphery and the face. 

5. In face milling, most of the cutting is done by the peripheral teeth and teeth on the face of the cutter can providing finishing operation, and peripheral milling can be used for machining flat and formed surfaces depending on the axial contour of the cutter.

6. Face milling can be done on both horizontal and vertical spindle machines, while peripheral milling generally performed on horizontal spindle machines. 

7. Peripheral milling is more effective at removing large amounts of materials while face milling provides a better surface finish. And face milling is a preferred choice when requiring to remove a minimal amount of materials. 

Tips for Face Milling Operation

Here are some tips and tricks involves material selection and operation details for better results of face milling machining.

– Fly cutter is more ideal for processing softer materials like aluminum

– Shell mill is recommended for cutting steel 

– The position the cutter should be off-center from your workpiece when face milling

– Avoid entering and exiting of the workpiece frequently

– Keep your toolpaths on your face milling part as much as possible.

– Avoid face milling over holes or slots

– The workpiece should be fed against the milling cutter so that the pressure of the cut is downward, thereby holding the piece against the table. 

– When setting the depth of cut, the part should be brought up to touch the revolving cutter.

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