Milling machines make it easier to remove metal sections using a cutting tool, called a cutter, that rotates at a very high speed to cut through metal efficiently.
Moreover, these cutters have cutting edges that are significant in material cutting. These types of presses operate on different types of milling machines.
Milling machines can accommodate multiple cutters simultaneously. A workshop is dominated by this machine, the most important. You can execute tasks with greater precision.
Unlike other machines of hundreds to be referred to as shapers, planners, or lathe machines, this machine can remove more metal at a faster rate.
These machines are well-known to be used when better surface finishing is needed with excellent accuracy, due to the machines being a must for production work.
What does a milling machine do?
Milling machines also perform the work of cutting, machining, and shaping various materials like metals, plastics, or wood. Mills use cutting tools, including but not limited to drills, end mills, and face mills.
Some of them can have high-quality cast iron construction, variable speed capability, power feeds, and also contain milling cutters that move on the X, Y, and Z axes.
Milling machines are ubiquitous in manufacturing, being able to produce almost anything with a great level of precision as well as efficiency.
From automotive parts and aerospace parts, to furniture and mold productions, in essence, they are vital in many industries, due to their versatile functions and accurate outcomes.
Such as contouring, die sinking, and 3D milling, they perform simpler tasks like slotting, keyway cutting, drilling, and other more complex tasks.
As opposed to lathe machines, where the workpiece is mounted between the headstock and tailstock and above the bed, in a mill, the workpiece is fastened to a table.
They form new components by removing material. Routers serve the purpose of woodworking as well as for some plastics, where light, faster cuts are done in a spinning countertop.
Types of Milling Machines
The following list contains the most popular types of machines and equipment used in the milling workshops:
- Vertical milling machine
- Horizontal milling machine
- Universal milling machine
- CNC Milling Machine.
- Tracer Controlled Milling Machine.
- Drum Milling Machine.
- Simplex Milling Machine.
- Duplex Milling Machine.
- Triplex Milling Machine.
- Rotary Table Milling Machine.
- Turret Milling Machines.
- C-Frame Milling Machines.
- Bed Type Milling Machines.
- Column Milling Machines.
- Omniversal milling machine.
#1. Vertical Milling Machine.
Vertical mills are made with a spindle’s movement in a vertical direction parallel to the Z-axis, and the cutting tool operates on that axis too. Some tools deeply cut into the work material to create holes or depressions. Designed with plunge cutting in mind, these tools make vertical, straight cuts into the material.
Vertical tools are versatile pieces of equipment with numerous strong points. Vertical spindles on vertical mills allow powerful drilling perpendicular to the surface of the part or workpiece, enabling high precision shaping, cutting, and even complex 3D drilling for advanced parts used in automobiles and aerospace machinery.
In addition, tables can be moved in the Y axis and X axis, which allows for some rotation, resulting in performing multiple tasks without repositioning.
For hobbyists, a desktop CNC machine’s pricing starts at vertical milling machines costing $6,000. 5−axis machining centers go up to an impressive $500,000. The cost for a used manual machine ranges from $10,000− $20,000, depending on condition and size.
#2. Horizontal or Plain Milling Machine.
With horizontal milling machines, the spindle is mounted on a horizontal parallel work table. This also allows slotting, depth cutting, or planning of flat surfaces. Horizontal milling greatly improves rigidity in a given plane. This is helpful when materials, which are thick and large, have to be worked on through tough operations.
In roughing operations, they are best suited for cutting wide grooves or large slots in a single revolution. The design permits the use of more than one cutting tool simultaneously for a single machine cycle, which leads to greater productivity during subsequent operations.
Because these machines are capable of achieving high speeds coupled with horizontal milling, they are widely used in heavy machinery, automobile manufacturing, and metal working industries where precision in the machining of large parts is critical.
The majority of horizontal mills are CNC equipped, with used ones ranging in price from $15,000 to $85,000 and new ones starting at $150,000, varying by brand and size. A standard horizontal mill can be purchased new for $200,000 or used for a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand.
#3. Universal Milling Machine.
Universal Mills are unique in that they combine features from horizontal and vertical milling machines. The spindle can be mounted vertically or horizontally for a variety of operations such as boring, cutting, and shaping.
These capabilities allow Universal Milling Machines to be the most advantageous in tool rooms, repair shops, and other workshops where many types of plain and profile milling operations need to be performed on the same machine to maximize output.
Considering that, besides the movement of the spindle, the tables move in several directions, these machines are fit for more complex operations.
In addition, the machine can advance to the up position with powerful cutting and drilling capabilities that are typical of vertical mills or tilted horizontally to impact on the table surface with the same force horizontal mills provide.
A sizeable universal milling machine with 47” longitudinal movement is around $130,000 for new and goes for $10,000 to $15,000 used.
#4. CNC Milling Machine.
CNC mills are machines that are controlled by a computer. They use the principles of computer numerical control machining or CNC milling to cut and shape metals.
The computer can set or program the path that the cutting tool will take. The precision of these automations enables the fragile and complex components to be crafted with great accuracy.
With the verticals, they are robust and stiff and are set to the highest standard of tolerances for accuracy, which are more than sufficient for the most demanding of works that require geometry and precision engineering, where every single measurement has to be spot on and identical.
The parts produced are used by industries that specialize in mass production and are required to make countless identical pieces.
As a result of precision CNC structural milling machines and their capability to perform troublesome or even impossible tasks, these machines have come to serve as backbone equipment in the aerospace, electronics, and health industries.
Different tool paths and multiple operations enable rapid position changes, making them ideal for both prototype and mass production.
Outstanding CNC Bridgeport-type vertical knee mills are priced at just under $15,000, while large multiple−axis machine tools can cost as much as $500,000!
#5. Vertical Knee Type Milling Machine
Sometimes, these machines are also referred to as turret milling machines, Bridgeport-type mills, variable-speed vertical knee-and-column milling machines, or vertical knee milling machines.
They do not differ from vertical knee mills in that they use rotary cutters—end mills and face mills—to cut materials from workpieces. Unlike the lathe machine, where the workpiece spins and a single-point tool akin to a planer shears the material, here rotating tools are used.
Cutting heads are positioned vertically as the work piece is secured in a horizontal posture on the worktable of the machine. The table can undergo raising and lowering motion, granting it the Z-axis, but it can also be provided with vertical quill movement for up and down rotation.
Because vertical knee mills can serve as drill presses and, on some models, can be manually operated and CNC controlled, they are easy to operate, do not take much floor space, and are versatile.
An easier comparison can be seen with the new CNC Masters Supra Bridgeport-type knee mill, which goes for around $13,500. This comparably sized new model CNC mill is priced at half the cost of the new standard Series I knee mill, which goes for $27,000.
#6. Tracer Controlled Milling Machine.
In the 1970s, if you walked into any pattern shop that specialized in cast iron patterns for automated foundries, you would find several tracer mills on their shop floor.
This equipment was used to work with the wooden models made by skilled wood pattern makers. The stylus apparatus follows the wooden models while multiple heads with ball end mills cast iron blocks to reproduce contoured surfaces like patterns and cams.
Tracer-controlled milling machines may seem like a thing of the past, but sophisticated high-speed 3-axis CNC mills have virtually replaced the wooden patterns. Expert wood pattern makers do as well.
Replacing the pattern maker with a CNC programmer and advanced manufacturing software allows you to bypass the need for a pattern entirely.
Due to the waning demand for tracers, these can now be purchased for a couple of hundred dollars.
#7. Drum Milling Machine.
The drum milling machines are only used in production work. A drum-type of machine has an upright central drum that turns on a horizontal axis similar to a merry-go-round.
The most popular face mill cutters used on the drum are both roughening and finishing cutters, much like those of a rotary-table miller.
The work is done on the drum fixture, which rotates slowly, advancing the work for the rotating cutters. Usually, the machine has four cutter spindles. The work cycle is automatic, since the parts that have been machined are taken out and new parts fitted after the work has finished its cycle.
On the machine, milled components include small shafts and automobile cylinder heads. These are normal types of milling machines generally employed in industrial work.
#8. Simplex Milling Machine.
The spindle or the spindle head has a single direction in which it can move. Usually, the most common directional movement is vertical.
These types of milling machines have;
- Stable Milling
- Excellent Surface Finish and Flatness of Milled Surfaces.
- High tool life, high productivity & low maintenance.
#9. Duplex Milling Machine.
Duplex milling machines consist of two machines set in opposition to each other. They can function independently or as a singular unit if the workpiece requires machining with two spindles that work in unison. The spindle has horizontal and vertical motion capabilities.
Major benefits derived from the duplex layout:
- In comparison to traditional solutions, such as individual milling machines, there is an overall increase in production of up to 50%.
- Improvement in part precision due to the reduction in single-unit setup operation.
- One operator is sufficient to control the duplex milling machines.
- Space and investment cost in comparison to the two separate machines is significantly lower.
- Strong productivity results in faster investment recovery.
- Different configurations are available, such as single working area, pendulum working areas, or a pallet changing system.
#10. Triplex Milling Machine.
The spindle can move in the X, Y, and Z directions.
- Certain operations depending on the customer’s specifications for accuracies’ degree.
- Tremendously efficient and precise.
#11. Rotary Table Milling Machine.
Rotary Milling is the capability of executing 2D or 2.5D machining functions on the surface of a cylinder end face, or around the side face.
While doing radial machining (around the cylinder), the tool may only move parallel to, or in a circular movement about the rotary axis. The tool is always perpendicular to the centerline of the rotary axis.
The rotary table milling machine is simplified to a circular table that can spin on a vertical axis. It is necessary to arrange the different cutters at set heights, with one cutter working as a rough cutter to bring the workpiece to within tolerance and the rest of the cutters finishing.
With a rotary table milling machine, the operator’s most prominent advantage is that he can do the work of loading and unloading the workpieces while the machine is in operation.
#12. C-Frame Milling Machines.
C-frame milling machines are sturdy and powerful. They use a hydraulic motor and are best utilized in industrial settings.
#13. Bed Type Milling Machines.
Bed mills are equipped with a table that is fixed in place while also offering rigid support, which is best suited for high precision and heavy-duty milling operations.
A bed milling machine’s table is stationary, unlike other milling equipment, where the table runs along X and Y axes. Instead, the spindle moves vertically along the Z axis.
This enhances the structural stiffness and strength of the machine, allowing it to withstand large workpieces and perform milder but stronger operations with greater force.
Bed milling machines are very useful in the automotive and aerospace industries as well as the construction industries, where there is a need to work on large and heavy parts.
The thicker metal cutting wings mean cuts can be deeper, and weakening of the cutting tools is minimal, making them ideal for applications like roughing complex component structures, large mold machining, and even heavy-duty parts manufacturing.
#14. Column Milling Machines.
Column and knee type milling machines branch out of more commonly known vertical and horizontal milling machines and are referred to collectively as column milling machines.
Column milling machine derives its name from the vertical column that is mounted to the base and the knee that is movable in the vertical direction,n mounted to guideways.
The column is the main support for the knee, work table, and overarm while containing the spindle and table feed driving mechanisms. Car parts were primarily processed on column milling machines, but these machines are suitable for several other operations in various industries.
Because column milling machines include a wide range of machines, their prices will start from a few thousand dollars to several hundred of thousands.
#15. Omniversal milling machine.
This machine is a special type of horizontal milling machine. It has two spindles, one of which lies in the horizontal plane while the other is through a universal swiveling head.
Vertical points with the latter can be set and swivelled up to 45° on either side. The knee is also able to swivel in the horizontal plane, enabling the machine to perform a large number of operations.
Besides the movements of the table in a universal milling machine, the knee can be set to the rotational movement to the required angle, which is useful for machining helical grooves and for reamer and bevel gears. The machine is mainly used in tool room work.
Conclusion
You now understand the major types of milling machines, which are present in almost every industry sector concerned with material cutting and shaping.
Now it is time to select a machinery manufacturer who pays attention to your needs and provides, in machine form, a solution that requires little upkeep and lasts many years.