MILLING MACHINE

Introduction
❖ Milling may be defined as a machining operation for removing excess
material from a work piece with a multi-tooth rotating cutter.
❖ Flat or curved surface of many shapes can be machined by milling with
good finish and accuracy.
❖ A milling machine may also be used for drilling, slotting, making a circular
profile, gear cutting or helical milling with suitable attachments.
❖ Generally work piece is fed past the rotating cutter but sometimes feed may
also be given to the cutter. Work can be fed in a vertical, longitudinal or
cross direction.
 Size & Specifications
 Size of a milling machine is usually denoted by dimensions
(Length & Breadth) of the table of the machine.
 Different manufacturers denote these sizes by different
numbers 0 to 6.

 Other main specifications of the machine to be considered are:

▪ Horse power of driving motor
▪ Number of spindle speeds, Feeds.
▪ Required Floor Area
▪ Gross Weight.
 Types of Milling Machines

❖ They may vary in terms of arrangement of the various units, drive

mechanism, method of feeding, table movements available, number
of cutters operating simultaneously etc..

❖ The broad classification of milling machines include:

1. Column and Knee Type Milling Machines.

2. Fixed Bed type Milling Machines.
3. Planer type milling machines.
4. Production Milling machines.
5. Special purpose milling machines.
 Column and Knee Type Milling Machines
❖ Column and Knee Type Milling Machines are the general purpose machine
most widely used in industry.
❖ Name is derived from the fact that the work table is supported on a knee like
casting, which can slide along a vertical column.
❖ They are capable of producing flat or formed surface and may also be used
for gear or spline cutting, helical milling, drilling, boring and slotting when
provided with suitable attachments.

❖ Types: Column and Knee Type Milling Machines:

❑ Plain or Horizontal milling machine

❑ Vertical milling machine
❑ Universal milling machine
❑ Omniversal milling machine
❑Main parts :
 Vertical column
 Base
 Saddle
 Work table
 Knee
 Overarm
❑Three motions can be provided to the table:
 Longitudinal, crosswise and vertical.
Figure show that (a) Horizontal-spindle column-and-knee type milling machine
and (b) Vertical-spindle column-and-knee type milling machine
 Universal Column & Knee type

 Here the table can be swivelled in a horizontal plane to either left or right
about 45 degree.
 Helpful for cutting helices such as on helical milling cutters, drills & gears.
 Saddle is made in 2 parts : Upper part swivels on the lower part & carries
the table with it.
 Omniversal Milling machine

 Besides having all the movements of universal milling machine,

table of machine can be tilted along the horizontal axis with the help
of swivel arrangement of the knee.
 Entire knee assembly can be fed in a longitudinal direction
horizontally.
 Machine is provided with two spindles- one horizontal and the other
provided with a universal swivelling head which can be set at any
angle upto 90 degree on both sides of vertical.
 Features permit machining of taper spiral grooves in reamers, bevel
gears etc.
 Fixed Bed Type Milling Machines

❖ These are production milling machines capable of sustaining heavy

cuts because of their higher rigidity.
❖ They contain a heavy cast bed that forms a base for other units and
supports and guides the work table for feeding.
❖ The work table has only a longitudinal motion. The vertical motion is
imparted to the spindle head instead of the table.
❖ Fixed bed type milling machines are available as simplex, duplex or
triplex head.
Figure : Fixed Bed Type triplex Milling
machine.
 Planer Type Milling Machines
❖ This type of milling machines look similar to a double housing
planer except that the table in this case moves at a slower speed and
the tool heads are replaced by spindle carriers for rotating cutters.
❖ The work is given longitudinal feed motion while the transverse and
vertical movements are provided on the cutter spindle.
❖ This type of machine is designed to handle large work pieces
requiring multiple cuts.
 Production Milling Machine
 Rotary Table or Continuous Milling machine
 Drum Type Milling machine
 Attachments
 Classified in two categories : Standard & Special
 Standard attachments have greater adaptability & application in general
type of work.
o To hold the cutter : Arbors, Collets, Adapters etc.
o To hold the work piece on the table: Vices, Circular table, Indexing head etc
o To act as auxiliary spindles: In order to avoid necessity of various special
type of machines : Vertical milling attachment, Spiral milling attachment,
Slotting attachment.

• Special attachments are those which are specially designed & used on a
standard milling machine to make it suitable for performing special milling
operations in mass production of identical items. This includes various
Milling fixtures.
 Milling Machines Arbors, Adaptors & Collets
❖ An arbor may be considered as an extension of the milling
machine spindle on which cutters are mounted securely and
rotated.
❖ Arbors are made with taper shank for proper alignment with
machine spindle which has a non self locking tapers.
❖ Two types of arbor are in common use: Standard & Stub
❖ The arbor is provided with a set of spacing collars which help in
adjusting the position of the cutters.
❖ Assembly of milling cutters & spacers is fastened to the arbor
with a key.
❖ Standard arbor is used for mounting cutters which have hole of
the size of the arbor & Stub arbors are used for mounting face &
side milling cutters which do not need a large overhung.
 Two Types of Arbor
1. Stub arbor

2. Standard arbor
 Adaptor :
 Many cutters such as shell end mill, T-slot cutter carry
tapered shanks.
 If the size of the shanks is smaller than the hole in the
spindle nose, adpators are used to hold the cutters.
 The external taper of the adaptors corresponds to the
spindle hole taper and the internal taper to the cutter.
 Collet chuck :
 Milling cutter which carry straight shanks are held in
collet chuck.
 The straight shank cutter is gripped in the collet chuck and
inserted in the adaptor and whole assembly secured to the
spindle.
 Contd...
 Draw bar arrangement
 Milling machine Adaptor
 Collet chuck

 Circular or Rotary milling table

 Method of Mounting The Cutters

1. Arbor Mounting cutters : These cutters have a central hole which

closely fits the arbor of the milling machine.
▪ Majority of milling cutters are arbor mounted.
2. Shank-mounting cutters : Cutters of this type have either a straight
or tapered shank integral with the body of the cutter.
▪ Adaptors are available for the cutters whose shank do not fit the
spindle nose.
3. Cutters mounting directly on the spindle : Large diameter cutters
of the face mill type are mounted directly on the spindle nose.
 Contd...
 Vertical Milling attachment :
 It is called as swivel head. With the use of this attachment the
horizontal milling machine can be made to act as vertical milling
machine.
 It can not be adjusted in vertical direction.
 It can be swivelled to a desired angle.
 Slotting attachment :
 Rack milling attachment :Used for cutting teeth in racks.
Methods of Work Holding
 Vices
 Circular table
 Indexing head
 Tail stock
 Bolts & Clamps
 Angle plate
 V – Blocks
 Special Fixtures
 General shape of cutters
❖ Classification is based on the general shape of the cutters or the
type of work they do.
❖ Plain milling cutters :
 These are disc shaped cutters with teeth only on their
circumference and no teeth on the sides.
 Cutters are used for machining flat surfaces.
 Contd…
❖ Side and Face cutters :
 These cutters are similar to plain cutters except that they have teeth on one or
both side as well as on their periphery.
 Used for machining slots with smoother or more accurate sides than those
machined with plain milling cutters

❖ Slitting saws: Resembles plain milling cutters with cutting edges only on the
outer surface. Used for producing narrow slots or for parting off operations.
 Contd...
❖ Angle milling cutters: Teeth's are cut on conical surfaces. Used for machining
dove-tails, ratchet wheels, flutes on reamers etc..
❖ Form milling cutters: These cutters produce an inverse replica of the shape of
their cutting edges on the work piece.
❖ T Slot cutters: Used for cutting T slots.
 Method of Construction of Cutters

❖ According to their method of construction, cutters may be classified

as:
1. Solid cutters
2. Tipped cutters
3. Inserted teeth cutters
 Geometry of Milling Cutters
❖ Plain Milling Cutter : The geometry and nomenclature
for a typical plain milling cutters are shown in figure.
❖ Side milling cutters : The principle elements of a
side milling cutter are shown in figure.
❖Face milling cutter :Figure shows the elements of a
face milling cutter.
 Milling methods
 Up or Conventional Milling: Cutter rotates in direction opposite to that in
which work is fed. Chip thickness is minimum at start & maximum at the
end of cut.
 Down or Climb Milling: Cutter rotates in direction of work feed. Chip
thickness is maximum in the beginning & zero at the end.
 Milling Operations
 Plain or Slab milling
 Face milling
 Angular milling
 Form milling
 Straddle milling
 Gang milling
 Indexing or Dividing heads
 Helps in changing the angular position of the component in relation to the
cutter.
 Following types of heads are available:
❑ Plain Dividing head
❑ Universal Dividing head
❑ Optical Dividing head : Most precision attachment used for precision
Indexing work or checking the Indexing accuracy of other type of Dividing
head.
Plain dividing heads
 Two types:
1. Plain dividing head for direct indexing
2. Plain dividing head for simple indexing
 The first type carries the indexing plate directly mounted on
its spindle and has no use of the worm, and worm wheel.
 It is simplest of all the dividing heads and is used in direct
indexing.
 The index plate carries 12 or 24 equispaced slots on its
periphery.
 Job is held between two centers, one on the dividing head
spindle and the other on the tailstock.
 By means of this dividing head : 2,3,4,8,12 divisions can be
obtained on 24 slots plate is used and 2,3,4,6,12 divisions on
12 slots plate.
Plain dividing heads
 Second type of plain dividing head is used with simple
indexing.
 On the front end of the spindle, carrier and center is
mounted and on the rear end index plate is there which is
having different hole circles on its face and teeth on its
periphery.
 The plate gets movement through a worm by rotating the
handle.
 Plate having three circles of 16, 42 and 60 or 24, 30 and
36 holes are provided.
Universal dividing heads
 Worm drive is used in universal dividing head.
 The spindle carrying the worm, which meshes with the
worm wheel, carries crank at its outer end.
 This plunger can slide radially along a slot provided in the
crank in order to adjust the pin position along a desired
hole circle on the index plate.
 The index plate is mounted on the same spindle as the
crank.
 Sector arms are provided on the index plates (detachable
type) can be set at a desired angle.
 The spindle, carrying the worm wheel is provided with a
Job carrier and a center at its front end.
 When the crank is rotated, the worm rotates which, in
turn, rotates the worm wheel.
 This wheel is mounted directly on the spindle.
 The angle through which the job will rotate, for each
revolution of the crank, depends upon the velocity ratio
between the worm and worm wheel.
 The ratio is usually 40:1, for 40 revolution of the worm
(or crank), the job will make one revolution.

.
 Contd…
 Using Dividing head: Angle through which the job rotates for each revolution of the
crank, depends on velocity ratio between the worm & worm-wheel. Ratio of 40:1 is
generally used.

 Standard Brown & Sharp Index plate have following circles:

No. 1 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.
No. 2 21, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33.
No. 3 37, 39, 41, 43, 47, 49.
❑ Some German made dividing heads are supplied with a set of 3 index plates carrying
hole circles are as follows:
No. 1 One side 13,16,18,20,23
Other side 15,17,19,21,24
No. 2 One side 27,28,31,37,41,47
Other side 29,33,39,43,44,49
No. 3 One side 18,19,20,23,29,33,39,43,49
Other side 15,17,19,21,31,37,41,47
 Indexing Methods
 Indexing means divisions of the job periphery into a desired number of equal
divisions.
 It is accomplished by a controlled movement of the crank such that the job rotates
through a definite angle after each cut is over.

➢ Following are the methods :

 Direct Indexing
 Plain/Simple indexing
 Compound indexing
 Differential indexing
 Angular indexing
 Contd…
 Direct Indexing: Index plate directly mounted on spindle & rotated by hand.
❑ Used when no. of divisions to be obtained is such that the no. of slots on periphery
of index plate is a multiple of the former.
❑ Required ratio = N/n where N = No. of slots on the periphery of index plate &
n = No. of divisions required to be obtained.

• Plain or Simple Indexing: Used when direct method of indexing cannot be

employed.
Direct indexing
 Direct indexing plate usually contains three sets of
hole circles or slots: 24, 30, and 36.
 Number of divisions possible to be indexed are
limited to numbers that are factors of 24, 30, 36.

Slots Direct indexing divisions

24 2 3 4 6 8 12 24
30 2 3 5 6 10 15 30
36 2 3 4 6 9 12 18 36
Simple (Plain) indexing
40
Indexing =
N
The indexing required to cut eight flutes
40
= 5 full turns of index crank
8
The indexing required to cut seven flutes
40 5
= 5 turns of index crank
7 7

The five-sevenths turn involves use of an index

plate and sector arms.
 Since there are 40 teeth in the worm wheel, one turn of
the index crank causes the worm wheel, and the index
head spindle to make 1/40 of a turn.
 So, 40 turns of the index crank revolve the spindle one
full turn.
Manufacturing, Engineering & Technology, Fifth
Edition, by Serope Kalpakjian and Steven R.
Schmid.
ISBN 0-13-148965-8. © 2006 Pearson Education,
Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ. All rights reserved.
Indexing for Seven Flutes

Index-plate hole circles

Brown & Sharpe
Plate 1 15-16-17-18-19-20 Choose any hole
Plate 2 21-23-27-29-31-33 circle that is divisible
by denominator 7
Plate 3 37-39-41-43-47-49
Cincinnati Standard Plate 5/7 = 15 /21
One side So, 5 full turns plus
24-25-28-30-34-37-38-39-41-42-43 15 holes on 21 hole
Other side circle.
46-47-49-51-53-54-57-58-59-62-66
 To Mill a Hexagon, divide 40 by 6, which equals 6 2/3 turns, or six
full turns plus 2/3 of a turn on any circle whose number of holes is
divisible by 3.

 Therefore, six full turns of the crank plus 12 spaces on an 18-hole

circle, or six full turns plus 26 spaces on a 39-hole circle will
produce the desired rotation of the work piece.
Angular indexing
no. of degreesrequired
Indexingin degrees=
9

Indexing for 45º Indexing for 60º

45 60 2
Indexing= =5 Indexing = =6
9 9 3

5 complete turns 6 full turns plus 12

holes on 18 hole circle
Estimating Machining Time
 Cutting speed: Distance travelled per minute by cutting edge
of the cutter. It is measured at the circumference of the cutter
and is expressed in meters per minute or feed per minute.
V = πDN/1000 m/min.
 Feed: Table travel in any direction, measured in mm. It can be
expressed as:
1. Feed/tooth: mm/tooth
2. Feed/rev: mm/rev = Feed/tooth*T
3. Feed/min: mm/min = Feed/tooth*T*N = Feed/rev*N
 Contd…

Contd…
 Examples
 Calculate the time for cutting 150 mm long keyway using HSS end mill of
20 mm diameter having 4 cutting teeth. Depth of keyway is 4.2 mm,
Feed/tooth is 0.1 mm and cutting speed is 38 m/min. Assume approach and
over travel as half of the diameter of the cutter and a depth of 4.2 mm can be
cut in one pass.
 Calculate the time required to mill a slot of 350 mm * 30 mm in a
workpiece of 350 mm length with a side and face milling cuter of 120 mm
diameter, 30 mm wide and having 20 teeth, depth of cut is 6 mm, feed/tooth
is 0.1 mm and cutting speed is 34 m/min, over travel is 5 mm.
 A plain surface 300 mm (long) * 100 mm (wide) is to be face milled on a
vertical milling machine. The cutter has 18 teeth and feed/tooth is 0.2 mm.
Spindle speed is 120 rpm, diameter of cutter is 150 mm, over travel is 4
mm. Calculate machining time.