What is a milling cutter? Why can it leave "pits" on metal?

A milling cutter is a rotating tool with one or more teeth used for milling. When working, each tooth cuts off the excess of the workpiece in turn and intermittently. Milling cutters are mainly used to process planes, steps, grooves, forming surfaces and cut off workpieces on milling machines.

In mechanical processing, milling cutters are a very common cutting tool that can be used to process various metal workpieces, such as steel, aluminum alloys, etc., and can also be used to process some plastics and composite materials. Milling processing can perform various processing operations such as plane milling, end milling, end milling, and contour milling. It has the characteristics of high efficiency and high precision and is widely used in various fields in the manufacturing industry.
Types of milling cutters

1. Types of milling cutters and scope of application
In general, there are many types of milling cutters. According to the processing purpose and material, milling cutters also have a variety of cutting forms and working principles. Generally speaking, according to the shape of the cutting edge, milling cutters can be divided into plane milling cutters, ball end milling cutters, corner milling cutters, thread milling cutters, reamer milling cutters and other types. In addition, according to different materials, milling cutters are also classified accordingly, including high-speed steel milling cutters, carbide milling cutters, diamond milling cutters, etc.

The application range of milling cutters is very wide, and they can be used in various processing industries, such as machinery manufacturing, mold manufacturing, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, furniture manufacturing, etc.

2. Types of materials that milling cutters can process and their processing characteristics
1. Metal materials

Metal materials are the mo-st common processing materials for milling cutters, including aluminum alloys, steel, copper, titanium alloys, magnesium alloys, etc. Different metal materials have different processing characteristics. Aluminum alloys are relatively soft and easy to cut, and the processing speed can be faster; while titanium alloys are relatively hard, and carbide or diamond milling cutters need to be selected for processing, and the processing speed is slower.

2. Non-metallic materials

Non-metallic materials include plastics, Acrylic,wood, fiberglass, etc. The hardness of these materials is relatively low. When milling cutters are processed, the sharpness and processing speed of the tool need to be considered to avoid problems such as excessive cutting or overheating.

3. Composite materials

With the continuous advancement of technology, the application range of composite materials is becoming more and more extensive. More common composite materials include carbon fiber composite materials, glass fiber composite materials, etc. When milling composite materials, it is necessary to consider the complexity and brittleness of the materials and select the appropriate milling cutter and cutting parameters for processing.

In general, the types of materials that can be processed by milling cutters are very wide, and the appropriate milling cutter and processing parameters should be selected according to the processing purpose and material characteristics. During the milling process, paying attention to technical points such as cutting lubrication and cutting force control can improve processing efficiency and quality.