Carbide Insert Facing End Mills - Which one to get ????

[YYCHM]

Some take rhombus shaped inserts, some take round inserts and some take triangular inserts.

What the heck is the difference?

 

[Sailor]

A quick run down on some testing. https://www.mmsonline.com/articles/whats-the-best-insert-for-finishing-steel

 

[DavidR8]

Beware of inexpensive face mills. I've read too many posts about poor surface finish resulting from inserts that are not at the same height due to inaccurate machining of the insert pockets.
If I were looking for a surface finishing tool I'd get a Tormach Superfly.
https://tormach.com/tts-superfly-cutter-kit-33031.html

 

[Chip Maker]

My .02. If it's a flycutter you're looking for, the cost of the inserts far outweigh the price of the holder. If it's for a small Bridgeport style mill, you probably don't want to go larger than 2". The most economical insert you're most likely to find is a TPU 322, TPG 32( triangular) insert. Seco brand are relatively cheap. You can index them three times and can side mill with them as well. A 2'' holder like Dolfamax running at 1200 rpm works quite well.

 

[YYCHM]

I have a fly cutter that takes HSS tooling, I'm looking at upgrading to one of these

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000549347159.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.3.1acf2c66VHIgQd&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.192130.0&scm_id=1007.13338.192130.0&scm-url=1007.13338.192130.0&pvid=16b6f5ad-1043-44f1-8fbb-137e7b977bc7&_t=gps-idcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.13338.192130.0,pvid:16b6f5ad-1043-44f1-8fbb-137e7b977bc7,tpp_buckets:668#0#131923#5_668#888#3325#10_3338#0#192130#0_3338#3142#9890#2_668#2846#8110#1995_668#2717#7558#105_668#1000022185#1000066058#0_668#3422#15392#787

 

[Dabbler]

On your little mill, a 2" insert mill is a challenge for it, especially due to the looseness in the dovetail ways in X.
Try a 2 insert 1.5" one instead. Fewer inserts means that you have fewer alignemnt problems, and the smaller diamter will make a BIG difference in how it will cut on your small machine.

Don't confuse the better fly cutters for the cheap chinese cutters that thake HSS tooling. Different worlds. The best fly cutter on the market (that I;ve seen) is the Suburban Tool. You can make one that works as well, and takes cheap offshore lathe tooling.

 

[DavidR8]

I have a Sherline single insert fly cutter that produces amazing finishes. As an added benefit, it will also cut to a shoulder.
https://www.sherline.com/product/7620-single-flute-insert-fly-cutter/

 

[Dabbler]

@David_R8 That's more like what will work on a small mill! @Janger got good results on a larger mill (his old CNC mill that @kevin.decelles now has) with the kind of face mill that @YYCHobbyMachinist is looking at.

@YYCHobbyMachinist How about borrowing mine to make a few cuts with? I think you will see what I'm talking about..,.

 

[Chip Maker]

Single point flycutters work great for squaring blocks, and high speed works well on aluminum. But they don't work as well as a 90 degree insert tool when machining to a shoulder. That ali express tools inserts can only index once. Lighter cuts will help on a smaller mill. Not sure if you have ever tried a plunger style flycutter or how well they would work on your mill.

 

[YYCHM]

This is what I have been working with to date.....



1/2" shank. I sourced cemented carbide lathe tooling for the two larger holders. @Janger put me on to using those.

@Dabbler does the one you have take indexable carbide inserts? Single or double inserts?

Craig

 

[Dabbler]

I have a version of the one you linked to.

 

[PeterT]

I use a 2" diameter 4x (APMT-1604) insert face mill like your link, But its made by GS, very good quality IMO. I used it on my RF-45 mill with no real issues power wise. Offshore tool bodies (and their holders) can be a real crap shoot. I cant speak to other kinds of inserts because I haven't tried them. Well... not quite true. Had an offshore holder that used triangle inserts that was horrible finish despite different inserts. I'm sure tool pockets were not correct. The 16xx series are quite common on ebay/ali for good price. I use the coated ones for steel & uncoated for aluminum. Nose radius will vary but I think I use about 1/32 or whatvever that metric is 0.8mm maybe? More radius is shinier but requires more power & less DOC. Sharper radius is fine for aluminum but a bit fragile on steel.

This will lop off .025" in steel or 0.050" aluminum & leave a mirror finish, so I don't use flycutter at all because its another tool to swap in after base machining & now you have check dimensions all over again whereas the face mill is surface + final dimension in one tool. Or at least that's how I use it. I think flycutters have their purpose, good for
- wider continuous swath (IF your machine is tight & nod/tilt/setup perfect and relatively shallow cut)
- as a sacrificial tool to take off mill scale or surface baddies to preserve your good inserts on (but maybe just as easy to do with an old end mill?
- other applications but not really what I commonly do

 

[kevin.decelles]

I bought two of the style you linked to (also off Aliexpress). I like it, it does what I want. That said, I rarely machine stuff where the finish is a factor to my satisfaction. Is is flat and to a tolerance? yep -- good to go. I bought two so I could keep a set of inserts for steel and a set for aluminum work.

I have some fly cutters too like the style you posted...... never used them so far.

 

[DavidR8]

I have a fly cutter that takes HSS tooling, I'm looking at upgrading to one of these

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000549347159.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000014.3.1acf2c66VHIgQd&gps-id=pcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.13338.192130.0&scm_id=1007.13338.192130.0&scm-url=1007.13338.192130.0&pvid=16b6f5ad-1043-44f1-8fbb-137e7b977bc7&_t=gps-idcDetailBottomMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.13338.192130.0,pvid:16b6f5ad-1043-44f1-8fbb-137e7b977bc7,tpp_buckets:668#0#131923#5_668#888#3325#10_3338#0#192130#0_3338#3142#9890#2_668#2846#8110#1995_668#2717#7558#105_668#1000022185#1000066058#0_668#3422#15392#787

Personally I've had excellent experiences with Banggood products.
This is the one I would buy Craig.
https://www.banggood.com/R8-FMB22-S...-p-1184032.html?cur_warehouse=CN&rmmds=search

 

[YYCHM]

Personally I've had excellent experiences with Banggood products.
This is the one I would buy Craig.
https://www.banggood.com/R8-FMB22-S...-p-1184032.html?cur_warehouse=CN&rmmds=search

This appears to be exactly the same thing as I linked to on AliExpress. For some reason Banggood just gives me bad vibes.

 

[DavidR8]

This appears to be exactly the same thing as I linked to on AliExpress. For some reason Banggood just gives me bad vibes.

The reason I suggest it is because there are actual reviews.
Banggood is very reputable and I have had excellent experiences with them; QCTP, DRO for the mill, insert tooling, inserts, mag base. Never had a bad product or bad experience.

 

[Dabbler]

I have the banggood one in David's link. I get the heebeejeebies about aliexpress. Never had a problem with banggood, and most items ship from Vancouver.

 

[kevin.decelles]

I order from both..... no issues so far. Only one case of 'not-shipping' which was resolved.

 

[YYCHM]

I have the banggood one in David's link. I get the heebeejeebies about aliexpress. Never had a problem with banggood, and most items ship from Vancouver.

Interesting..... Is there a way to tell where the product ships from? The link David posted states 15-30 days from CN.

 

[Desab]

here is my take on the super fly I built about a year ago the surface finish phenomenal, copy the concept from Surburban Tool