End mill cutters

End mill cutters can be distinguished from ordinary drill bits, by their application, geometry, and how they are manufactured. In fact, end mill was once a slang term used by machinist's that has come to be standard usage by industry publications, trade magazines, and manufacturer's catalogues.

There is a wide category of end and face milling tools available, including flat bottom, ball nose, radius, inverted radius, and chamfer tools. In addition, each of these categories can be further divided by specific application and special geometry.

More and more traditional solid end mills are being replaced with better cost-effective inserted cutting tools. These end mill tools are initially more expensive. However, inserted cutting tools do reduce tool-change times and permit for a much simpler replacement of worn or broken cutting edges instead of having to replace the entire tool.

Both metric and imperial shank and cutting diameters are sold in the United States and in Canada. However, in the United States, metric end mills are not commonly used in every machine shop where as in Europe and Asia they are the standard.

End mills are used several different types of milling applications including profile milling, tracer milling, face milling, etc. The tool that is used will depend on the material, which is being milled, as well as the particular task that has to be performed.

End mills have flutes, which are spiral cutting edge on the end mill. End mills can have between 2 to 8 flutes, with most end mills having 2 and 4 flutes. End mills that have 2 flutes allow for the maximum amount of space for chip ejection and are used for general milling procedures. End mills with 3 flutes are perfect for slotting as well as general milling. End mills with 4 to 8 flutes reduce chip load and provide for a better surface finish.