Types of CNC Machine Tools: A Quick Guide to Know All ...

CNC cutting tools are one of the most utilized sets of tools in the CNC industry. Even though they are called cutting tools, there is no procedure named cutting in CNC. Instead, we have the milling procedure. This is why CNC cutting tools are also known as CNC milling cutters/CNC cutters.

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Regarding the procedure, milling is another popular procedure for which machining tools are commonly used. Although very vital in the machining space, it achieves the accuracy that the turning procedure has due to the large variety of CNC tools used in milling. CNC milling cutters are used with a CNC mill (or milling machine). The milling machine uses CNC cutters to remove material from different spots on a fixed workpiece in a circular motion.

Examples of the cutting tools include:

End Mills

If you’re familiar with CNC milling, you’ll definitely have heard about end mills. They are quite similar to drill bits but are more versatile. They help to cut holes into materials even without a pre-drilled spot. There are also various types of end mills which differ by the number of flutes and the type of nose they have.

Classifying them by their nose, there are three types: bull nose, ball nose, and flat end mills. Regarding their flute number, the minimum any end mill could have is 8.

Slab Mills

Slab mills are CNC cutting tools used to mill flat surfaces. They are mostly suited for heavy-duty operations. To use slab mills, you must place the workpiece surface parallel to the CNC mill table.

Face Mills

Face mills are CNC cutters with flat faces with replaceable cutting edges made with carbide. Since these cutting edges are on the side, face mills can only cut workpieces in the horizontal direction. The function of face mills is to make flat sections on workpieces. One advantage of using face mills is the ability to replace their cutting edges. This property gives the tool a longer operating time.

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Fly Cutters

Fly cutters are CNC cutters that consist of a tool body and cutting bits. Their function is to make shallow or broad cuts on workpieces. They could either have one or two cutting bits. The advantage of using fly cutters with two cutting bits is that they can cover a larger section of the workpiece. You could use them for similar functions to face mills; however, they are less expensive.

Hollow Mills

Hollow mills are CNC cutters with a pipe shape and look like inverted end mills. They are commonly used in creating form radii and full points on workpieces.

Apart from these types of cutting tools, there are still many types which include:

• Reamers
• Side-and-face cutters
• Thread mills
• Involute Gear Cutters

Post by John Garner » Fri Mar 26, 2004 3:04 pm

Bob W --

Your understanding of the geometry of the 60 degree Sharp V threadform is exactly right, and you're also right that if thread is cut by feeding the toolbit along the flank of the thread (using the compound slide) the infeed would be equal to the Pitch of the thread. But the Depth of the Thread is essentially the distance that the toolbit would be fed into the workpiece using the lathe cross slide.

Picture an eqilateral triangle with sides as long as the Pitch of the thread. Now label the base of that triangle as the Pitch of the thread, and the other sides as the flanks of the thread. Since by definition the three sides of an equilateral triangle are of equal length, the length of the flank -- which is equal to the infeed if the toolbit is fed along the flank -- is equal to the Pitch. The Depth of the Thread is the height of the triangle measured along a line perpendicular to the base.

Analytically, this height of the triangle (aka Depth of Thread) is Pitch x Cosine 30 degree.

I'll add that there are three common-in-North-America threadforms that are derivatives of the 60 degree Sharp V threadform: 1. the obsolescent U S Standard threadform, 2. the Unified threadform, and the ISO Metric threadform. These threadforms in their most basic configuration feature flats at both the Minor and Major Diameters, making their Depths less than the Depth of a same-Pitch Sharp-V thread.

For the U S Standard threadform, the flank length is 0.75 x Pitch and the Depth of Thread is 0.75 x Pitch x Cosine 30 degree.

For both the Unified and ISO Metric threadforms, flank length is 0.625 x Pitch and the Depth of Thread is 0.625 x Pitch x Cosine 30 degree.

It should go without saying, but for both the U S Standard and Unified threadforms the Pitch is specified in inches and the flank length and Depth of Thread calculated using these formulae are in inches. For the ISO Metric threadform the Pitch is specified in millimeters and the flank length and Depth of Thread calculated from the Pitch will be in millimeters.

John

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