The Speed of Carbide End Mill

End Mill is one kind of milling cutter to do the process of removing metal by CNC Milling machines. There are various diameters, flutes, lengths, and shapes to choose from. But do you know when using it how to control the right speed?

The speed at that we move a cutter across the material is called the “feed rate”. The most important aspect of milling with carbide end mills is to run the tool at the proper RPM and feed rate. The rate of rotation is called the “speed” and is controlled by how fast the router or spindle turns the cutting tool. Both feed rate and spindle speed will vary based on the material being cut. Certain mills have very specific running parameters relative to their material families. Spindle speed that is too fast paired with a slow feed rate can result in burning or melting. Spindle speed that is too slow paired with a faster feed rate can result in dulling of the cutting edge, deflection of the end mill, and the possibility of breaking the end mill. 

A general rule of thumb is that you want to move the tool through the material as fast as possible without sacrificing the surface finish. The longer the tool rotates in any one place, the more heat that builds up. Heat is the end mill’s enemy and can burn the material or radically decrease the life of end mill cutting tools.

A good strategy when selecting a cutter is to attempt to balance feed rate and spindle speed by performing two passes on the workpiece. The first is called the roughing pass, which can be done by using an end mill that will eject a large number of chips at a high feed rate. The second is called the finishing pass, they won’t require as aggressive of a cut and can provide a smoother finish at a high speed.

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