Milling cutters help you achieve better surface finish or the removal of material at a higher speed. You can use an end mill, a face mill or a shell mill depending on your milling machine setup.

You can buy milling cutters made of different materials such as carbide, micrograin carbide, ceramic, cobalt or high-speed steel. Some milling cutters also have a coating of titanium nitride, titanium carbonitride and aluminum oxide to increase the cutter durability. You can also buy a milling cutter that has cutting tips of carbide or diamond for cutting harder materials such as granite, marble or concrete.

Some important parameters you must consider before purchasing milling cutters are:

1. Material of the products
2. Tolerance and surface finish requirement
3. Material removal rate of milling cutters
4. Milling cutter dimensions: outer diameter, shank diameter, flute angle and flute length

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buy an appropriate milling cutter from a reputable milling cutters manufacturer

Once you understand your milling and cutting requirements, select the optimum milling machine cutters available.

I recommend: Sandvik Coromant, a reputable milling and cutting machinery manufacturer, offers milling cutters for various operations such as face milling, shoulder milling, profile milling and thread milling. Whitney Tool supplies milling cutters like high speed milling cutters and carbide milling cutters. Certified Tool and Grinding provides milling and cutting tools in standard and metric sizes. You can buy ground or unground form milling cutters at Barit International, a reputable gear cutting tools manufacturer.

Buy milling cutters from a reputable milling cutters distributor or retailer

Compare different milling cutters based on their features and prices at distributors or retailers' websites.

I recommend: Grainger is an industrial equipment retailer that also supplies milling cutters. You can buy a corner rounding milling cutter, an end-milling cutter or a milling machine dove tail cutter at Cost-Rite Tool Supply, a distributor of industrial equipment. Discount-Tools.com is another industrial retailer that offers milling cutters, including end-milling cutters, side milling cutters and slot milling cutters at attractive prices. Micro Quality offers milling and cutting tools from reputable manufacturers such as Precision Cutting Tools, Morse Cutting Tools and Keo.

Buy specialty or customized milling cutters

If standard milling cutters available in the market do not meet your requirements, opt for a specialty or customized milling cutter. For example, for very high material removal rate, you can use high speed milling cutters or milling fly cutters.

I recommend: Dapra Corp., a reputable manufacturer of cutting and milling tools, supplies customized milling cutters for the automotive, medical and aerospace industries. Midwest Cutting Tools is another milling cutters manufacturer that provides customized end milling cutters. In addition to standard milling cutters, Niagara Cutter manufactures straight or staggered tooth milling cutters for various types of milling operations such as end milling, angle milling and face milling. You can buy micro milling cutters at sp3, a manufacturer of diamond cutting tools.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Ensure proper mounting of milling cutters on the shank to avoid accidents.
• •  Train your employees about standard safety measures that they must follow while using milling cutters.