Industrial milling machines

Industrial milling machines

A milling machine works the workpiece with a rotating tool, the milling cutter, for facing, slotting or drilling. At Heller you will find new milling machines of the turret, universal and motorised ram types: from the FTV vertical turret milling machine to the FU2000 universal. If you are looking for an industrial milling machine for your workshop, here is all our milling machinery.

An industrial milling machine is a tool used in the metalworking sector to produce parts of various shapes. This device carries out a machining process on the material, using a tool known as a milling cutter, which is rotated on its own axis to remove part of the workpiece and so shape it according to set parameters.

The milling machine is a piece of machinery with a variety of applications and a structure capable of making multiple cuts, slits, holes or details in rigid materials, mainly metals such as steel, bronze or copper; although it is also used to machine wood or plastic parts.

How an industrial milling machine works

Milling is a mechanical procedure consisting primarily of the rotary movement of a milling cutter, driven by a rotation system. This tool has a series of edges or teeth which, when working on a given material, by removing swarf, make it possible to manufacture parts or finished products for specific uses.

In turn, industrial milling machines perform complementary movements, both of the cutter and of the workpiece to be machined, in different directions, depending on the type of tool used, in order to give the final product a better finish.

The predetermined movements that an industrial milling machine can perform are the following:

• Cross movement: the rotating cutting tool also makes feed movements on a cross axis, inwards and outwards and vice versa, to add detail to the machined part.
• Longitudinal movement: the movement usually made by the table that supports the workpiece, which is horizontal, from left to right, to place the material in the desired working position.
• Vertical movement: the movement of the table on which the workpiece is held, from top to bottom, so that the depth of the operation carried out by the cutter in the material can be controlled.

Thanks to the work of the cutter and the various feed and plunge movements, industrial milling machines allow operations such as facing, grooving and drilling of parts, and are also used for gear cutting.

Parts of an industrial milling machine

The wide variety of industrial milling machines in use today means that, in many cases, they have a complex structure, being made up of a multitude of parts needed for their operation.

The essential components of an industrial milling machine, bearing in mind that the elements and accessories of this tool may vary depending on the model used, are usually the following:

• Worktable: the surface on which the material to be machined is clamped. For this, vice clamping and a set of necessary accessories are used so that the workpiece is sufficiently secured before milling.
• Handwheels: the handles that allow movement of the various working axes on the part to be machined, since they are directly connected to the components that support the material and the cutting tool.
• Head: the element that holds and secures the cutting tool used in the machining process. It is made up of a spindle that directs the rotary, feed and plunge movements of the cutter.
• Motor: the component responsible for operating the tool as a whole for the mechanical milling process. It is the unit that generates the revolutions, speed and torque of the cutter on the workpiece.
• Gearbox: a unit that regulates the milling operation on the workpiece and adjusts it according to the characteristics of the material and design requirements, with the aim of achieving more precise results and extending the service life of the cutting tool.

Types of industrial milling machine

Industrial milling machines come in a multitude of forms and with many different features. Within the industrial machinery sector, they are the units with the most varied classification and distinction between models, always adapted to a wide range of production needs, which makes them one of the most versatile devices used in industry.

An industrial milling machine can be classified according to the following factors:

By number of axes

By spindle orientation

By special features

Other machines that may interest you

• Turret milling machines
• Combination turret milling machines
• Universal milling machines
• Mill-drills
• Industrial lathes

Not sure which machine to choose? Talk to a Heller technician.