Aluminium End Mill

Material processing with the aluminium end mill

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Aluminium as a raw material

When milling aluminium, some subtleties should be taken into account in comparison to milling steel or wood. After all, aluminium has about 1/3 of the density of steel and reaches its melting point at about 660 °C.

Spray cooling recommended for aluminium machining

Although aluminium is easy to cast, weld and form, the metal on the aluminium end mill can become soft due to the heat generated and possibly clog the cutting edges of the end mill. Therefore, we always recommend using a spray cooling system when machining aluminium.

Sharp cutting edges for efficient chip removal

For soft aluminium, the use of a single-edged aluminium end mill is recommended. These have a more prominent flute and, on the one hand, slide more easily into the material and, on the other hand, have a more efficient chip removal. That is because the fewer cutting edges a cutter has, the more open area it has to remove the chips. Accordingly, a sharp aluminium end mill with one cutting edge reduces the risk of clogging with chips and thus the risk of cutter breakage.

Quality of the aluminium end mill is decisive for the work result

If you want to machine aluminium with excellent precision, it is not only the stability of the CNC machine that is crucial but also the quality of the milling cutter. Compared to a “cheap” milling cutter, a high-quality milling cutter leaves smooth surfaces and lasts about four times longer than the cheap alternatives.

Also suitable for wrought alloys

Wrought alloys are much more suitable for bending, rolling or forging. Therefore, they are usually first processed into semi-finished products. Then the actual workpieces are produced from them. The most important properties of wrought alloys are high ductility, good formability and the best possible machinability.

Caution: Unbalance

Caution: Due to its geometry, a single-edged aluminium end mill can develop an unbalance, as can other single-edged milling tools. Therefore, for example, you should check to what extent the milling spindle can withstand the vibrations and forces that arise with a larger diameter.