Milling machines

Working principles, classification, Specification

Milling operations

Milling cutters, universal dividing head, different types of

indexing methods
Milling machine
As the workpiece moves against the cutting edges of
milling cutter, metal is removed in form chips
Machined surface is formed in one or more passes
of the work.
The work to be machined is held in a vice, a rotary
table, a three jaw chuck, an index head, in a special
fixture or bolted to machine table.
 In many applications, due to its higher production rate
and accuracy, milling machine has even replaced
shapers and slotters.
Milling machine applications
MILLING METHODS
Two basic methods of milling
1.Up-milling or conventional milling
2.Down-milling or climb milling
1.Up-milling or conventional milling
Metal is removed by cutter rotating against the
direction of travel of the workpiece.
 Needs stronger holding of the job.
 Chip thickness is minimum at the start of cut and
maximum at the end of the cut.
 Disadvantage- tendency to lift work from the fixtures
and poor surface finish.
2.down-milling or climb milling
Metal is removed by cutter rotating in the same
direction of travel of the workpiece.
 teeth cut downward instead of upwards.
 Chip thickness is maximum at the start of cut and
minimum at the end of cut.
 Less friction involved
 Better surface finish.
 Less power consumption
Types of Milling Machines
Following are the different types of milling machines:
1.Column and knee type
1. Hand milling machine
2. Plain or horizontal milling machine
3. Vertical milling machine
4. Universal milling machine
5. Omniversal milling machine
2.Manufacturing type or fixed bed type
1. Simplex milling machine
2. Duplex milling machine
3. Triplex milling machine
3.Planer type milling machine
4.Special Type
1. Rotary table milling machine
2. Drum milling machine
3. Profile milling machine
4. Planetary milling machine
5. Tracer controlled milling machine
6. Pantograph milling machine
7. NC/CNC milling machine
b) Universal milling machine-- The table of a universal milling
machine can be swivelled by 45º on either side and so helical
milling works can be performed. It is named so because it can be
adapted for a very wide range of milling operations. Various
milling attachments like index head, vertical milling head, slot
milling head and rotary table can be mounted. It can machine
drills, reamers, gears, milling cutters with a very high degree of
accuracy and so it finds an important place in a workshop.
c) Omniversal milling machine --In addition to the table
movements obtained in a universal milling machine, the knee
can be tilted to a required angle. It is useful for machining helical
grooves, reamer and bevel gears. It is mostly used in tool room
CLASSIFIACTION OF COLUMN & KNEE
TYPE MILLING MACHINE
(a) Hand milling m/c.
(b) Horizontal milling m/c.
(c) Universal milling m/c.
(d) Vertical milling m/c.
(a) Horizontal Milling machine
• The horizontal milling machine has a spindle that is parallel to
the shop floor and an overarm that extends over the
workpiece.
• The overarm supports the arbor, which holds the milling cutter.
• On the horizontal mill, the arbor is the component that rotates
the milling cutter.
(B) VERTICAL MILLING MACHINE
 Spindle is vertical or perpendicular to the work table.
 It has all the movements of the table for proper setting
and feeding the work.
 Spindle head may be swiveled at an angle, permitting
themilling cutter mounted on the spindle to work on
angularsurfaces.
 In some machines, spindle can also be adjusted up or
down relative to the work.
 Adopted for machining grooves, slots and flat
surfaces
(b) vertical knee-and-column milling machine
ram type knee-and-column machine; ram can be adjusted in and out, and
toolhead can be swiveled
2. Fixed-bed type milling machine
•Comparatively large, heavy and rigid and differ from column
and knee type milling machines.
•Table is directly mounted on fixed bed.
•No provision is provided for cross or vertical adjustment of
the table.
•The cutter mounted on the spindle head may be moved
vertically on the column and the spindle may be adjusted
horizontally to provide cross adjustment.
•Three types
1. Simplex 2. duplex 3. triplex
3. PLANER MILLING MACHINE
 Looks like double column planer machine.
 Milling heads mounted in various planes, vertical
headson the cross-rail and horizontal heads at the sides (on
column)
 This arrangement enables it to machine a workpiece
onseveral sides simultaneously
 Used for producing long straight surfaces on large
andheavy machine parts.
4-SPECIAL-TYPE MACHINES
 Designed for individual milling operations
 Used for only one particular type of job
 Completely automatic Employed when hundreds or
thousands of similar pieces are to be machined
 Tracer mills (Profiling milling machines):
- Also called duplicators
- Designed to reproduce an irregular part geometry that
can be created on an template
- In two dimensions- tracer
- In three dimensions- duplicator
SPECIAL-TYPE MACHINES
CNC milling machines:
Cutter path controlled by numerical data
MILLING OPERATIONS
 Plain or slab milling
 Face milling
 End milling
 Side milling
 Slot milling
 Angular milling
 Form milling
 Straddle milling
 Slitting or saw milling
 Gear cutting
 Key way milling
 String milling
 Profile milling
 Thread milling
 Helical milling  Cam milling
Straddle Milling:
Operation of machining two
parallel surfaces
simultaneously on a work
piece.
Cutter: 2 or more side &
face milling cutters
Machine: Horizontal
Milling Machine
Gang Milling:
Process to get different
profiles on the work
piece simultaneously
with two or more cutters
at one stretch.
Cutter: Different cutters
as required.
Machine: Horizontal
Milling Machine
Profile milling
• Outside periphery of flat part
is cut.
• Conventional end mill is used
to cut the
outside or inside periphery of a
flat part.
Profile milling is used to duplicate the
profile of a template or master
w/p.The cutter movement is guided by
a tracer control unit has a finger
tracing the template to be copied.This
finger runs in contact with the outline
to be duplicated.
Gear milling
Plain and universal milling machines can be used to produce spur gear.
Cutter mounted on arbor with its axis at right angle to w/p.
Cutter is adjusted so that its central line in radial with blank
Knee is adjust required depth of teeth.one tooth finish table returned to starting points.

19 Thread milling
Thread milling is used cutting external & internal on jobs which cannot be conveniently handled with taps and
heads.
Typical examples are jobs of large diameters beyond the capacity of available die heads on which thread runs upto a
TYPES OF MILLING CUTTERS
(1) Plain milling cutters,
(2) Side milling cutters,
(3) Face milling cutter,
(4) Angle milling cutters,
(5) End milling cutter,
(6) Fly cutter,
(7) T-slot milling cutter,
(8) Formed cutters,
(9) Metal slitting saw,
Milling cutters may have teeth on the periphery or ends only, or on both the
periphery and ends. Peripheral teeth may be straight or parallel to the cutter axis,
or they may be helical, sometimes referred as spiral teeth
Principal types of milling
cutters:
(1)cylindrical (plain),
(2) face,
(3) and (4) circular grooving,
(5) slitting,
(6) and (7) end mill,
(8) angle,
(9) and (10) profile mill,
(11) key-seat
UNIVERSAL DIVIDING HEAD
 UNIVERSAL DIVIDING HEAD
One of the more important attachments for milling
machine.
• Used to divide circumference of workpiece into equally
spaced divisions when milling gear teeth, squares,
hexagons, and octagons.
• They can be right or left handed depending on which end
you have it assembled.
• Also used to rotate workpiece at predetermined ratio to
table feed rate.
DIVIDING HEAD
 DIVIDING HEAD TERMS
Swivel block
– Mounted in base enables headstock to be tilted from 5º below
horizontal to 10º beyond vertical
• Spindle
– Mounted in swiveling block with 40-tooth worm wheel,
meshes with
worm
• Worm
– Right angle to spindle, connected to index crank
• Direct indexing plate
Methods of Indexing
1. Direct
2. Simple
3. Angular
4. Differential
Direct Indexing
Simplest form of indexing
• Performed by disengaging worm shaft from worm wheel
by means of disengaging the drive gear
– Spring-loaded tongue lock engages numbered slots in index
plate
• Used for quick indexing of workpiece when cutting
flutes, hexagons
Simple Indexing
• Work positioned by means of crank, index plate, and sector
arms
• Worm attached to crank must be engaged with worm
wheel on dividing head spindle: 40 teeth on worm wheel
which means:
–One complete turn on index crank causes the spindle and
work to rotate one-fortieth of a turn
Calculating the indexing or number of turns of crank for most,
simply divide 40 by number of divisions or flats to be cut.
Meaning: Turns of the crank = 40 No of flats needed
Angular Indexing
One complete turn of index crank turns work 1/40 of a
Turn-----– 1/40 of 360° equals 9 degrees

Turns of the crank = Angle required ⁄ 9

Differential indexing
Sometimes the plates you have will not have the combinations
you need to arrive at your particular angular spacing.
In this case you use Differential Indexing
Instead of relying on the 40:1 worm assembly, you drive the
indexing plate via a bevel gear system. The Index plate moves as
the Index Crank is turned.

Milling on a dividing head You can carry out a number of

specialized milling operations on using a dividing head. Examples
are: • Spiral (helix) or worm milling. • Gear cutting • Cam milling
INDEX HEAD
 
The operation of rotating the job
through a required angle between
two successive cuts is termed as
indexing. This is accomplished with
the help of a milling attachment
known as dividing head, which is
an accessory to the milling
machine. It helps to divide the job
periphery into a number of equal
divisions, i.e., square, hexagonal
octagonal, etc.