Vertical machining mills are one of the oldest and most widely used tools in workshops around the globe. They feature a rotating milling cutter that is positioned on the top of the machines in a vertical orientation, and a workpiece table that is where the item is fixed onto and is also movable through hand wheels and levers.
There are basically two types of vertical machining mills that offer a different scope of possibilities. The first one is the “bed mill” where the workpiece table can move perpendicular to the spindle’s axis. The second type is called “turret mill” and it allows the table a movement along both the perpendicular and parallel to the cutting tool spindle axis.
Advantages over Horizontal Centers
Vertical machining centers are much faster and easier to set up compared to the larger and more heavy duty horizontal millers. This makes them ideal for the processing of smaller parts, or for performing less demanding metalworking tasks. In addition to this, vertical mills can perform much more intricate work at very tight tolerances, something that is practically impossible with most horizontal centers. Another significant difference is the retractable quill that is available in VMCs and helps in the accurate boring of holes.
Ways VMCs Are Used
Vertical Machining Centers can help machinists perform a wide range of tasks in the metal processing spectrum. Ally to this versatility is the rich collection of special cutting heads, offset boring heads and rotary tables that can be added to the machine in order to perform one of the following tasks:
1. Face or slab milling is the most obvious application of a VMM. The workpiece is mounted parallel to the working table as the cutting head removes material from the top surface, flattening, indentation or leveling the processed item.
2. If the workpiece is mounted in an inclination, the face milling process will produce angular cutting. This angular milling is very helpful for milling jointing dovetails.
3. Then there is the option of the straddle milling that utilized two milling cutters arranged parallelly, mounted on the same spinning axle. This technique allows for the simultaneous cutting of two points separated by a certain preset spacing. The most usual process that is done this way is the milling of hexagons on bolt heads.
4. When in need to remove the rough edges on a workpiece, VMMs can be equipped with convex cutters and produce high fidelity grooves, concaves and corner rounding.
5. Using special key-slot cutting heads that boast certain diameter and width, machinists can mill keyways along the axis of shafts. These keyways can have different shapes such as squares or round-end for example.
6. Spline and gear milling is also possible using vertical milling centers following the straddle milling principles.
7. Finally, vertical mills can drill and bore holes thanks to their adequate speed and torque values, as well as their retractable quill that helps in the accuracy part of the process.
Absolute Machine Tools, Inc. offers a wide selection of cnc machines for sale, including vertical milling machines from Tongai and Johnford.
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