Milling machines are a type of machine tool that was used to machine solid materials. This type of machine has two existing fundamental forms; the horizontal and vertical form, the terms were derived from the direction of the cutting tool-spindle.
Unlike the boring machine, where the workpiece is held stationary and the drill is the one that moves vertically to cut its way into the material, milling also involves movements of the workpiece adjacent to the rotary cutter, but is capable of cutting to cut the sides together with the tips. The movements of the workpieces and cutters are precisely controlled, usually through precision ground slides in conjunction with the lead screw or analog technology. The milling machines can be operated manually, by mechanical automation or by digital automation through Computerized Numerical Control or CNC.
Almost all CNC milling machinery was controlled by computerized vertical mills that had the ability to vertically move the spindle along with the Z axis. With this added point of freedom, it allows the use of engraving and sinking features, as well as 2.5D surfacing. like sculptures in relief. Once coupled with unhelpful taper tools and ball-nose cutters, it’s sure to improve milling precision without compromising speed, providing cost-effective alternatives to most flatbed manual engraving jobs.
CNC machines can survive almost all forms of manual machinery, such as horizontal mills. Multi-axis machines are the mainly advanced feature of the CNC milling machine, two or more axes were added from the normal three axes, the XYZ.
The horizontal mill also has the C or Q axis that allows the horizontally mounted workpiece to be rotated and basically allows asymmetric turning along with the eccentric. The B axis or fifth axis manages by itself the inclination of the tools.
Once all the axes were linked together, very complicated geometries can be easily made with this type of machine. However, the ability to program complicated geometry is beyond the capabilities of most operators. For this reason, the 5-axis milling machines are programmed by the CAM at all times.
Different types of milling machines and the basic parts.
* Box or column mills: a very basic machine mounted on a bench that features the head that goes up and down the column or the ways of the box.
* Vertical ram or turret mills: generally referred to as the Bridgeport type, with spindles that can be aligned in various positions.
* Knee milling machine or knee and column milling machine: refers to any machine in which the xy tables are moved up and down the line on vertical adjustable knees.
* C-Frame Mills: Features fixed and knee spindle head that only moves vertically.
*Planer Style Mills – This is a large mill that was built like planers with the exception of the milling spindle in place with the planning head.
* Floor Mills: Contains a row of rotary tables, together with the horizontal spindle fixed on the set of rails that run parallel over the rows of tables. These mills are primarily converted to computer numerical control.
