Ball-Mills Versus End-Mills for Curved Surface Machining

The use of end-mills for machining low curvature surfaces is examined in relation to the more popular ball-mills. End-mills are shown to give a better match to the required surface geometry and hence reduce the number of surface passes required. They also have a much better efficiency of material removal and longer tool life. It is shown that the use of end-mills for curved surface work can typically reduce the overall cutting time by a factor of twenty-four.