Help me pick out a face mill

LVLAaron

LVLAaron

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New Mill owner.. I would like to purchase a general purpose face mill. I have a 2HP (PM833TV) mill with an R8 spindle....

A little overwhelmed with the amount of chinese garbage and types of cutters.

I want something "good quality" - Meaning, something I'll be happy with for a very long time and not want to upgrade in 6 months.

I'll be cutting mild steel and aluminum
 
I've considered exactly this question a little bit. Seems like nearly everyone agrees that in machines like that (or my BP clone), a modern, high-rake insert geometry is important, to reduce cutting forces and manage impact. Most seem to agree that 2.5" to 3" is best suited to this class of machine (I'm lumping yours in with a BP, even though it's considerably lighter).

These are a few options that I have had on my short list:
Maritool 45° shell mill
Glacern FM45
Latheinserts FMA11

All are 45° tools, which are best for reducing cutting forces in facing, as I understand it, but of course will not mill to a shoulder. I'm interested to see what others say.
 
I have the Maritool. It works great, and I doubt I've even pushed it hard. I run it on an old Bridgeport mill, J head. I use the honed inserts intended for aluminum, and they hold up great even in steels. I've run it on aluminum, a few grades of steel, and cast iron with great results. I can't compare to the others, but it makes my random import look pretty worthless. The import is a 90 degree type, so the comparison isn't really equal.

Finish is similar to my HSS fly cutter. But I can run much faster. On the other side, I can do a wider area with the fly cutter, so it's still very useful to have around.
 
Depends somewhat if you are doing facing or shouldering, and a big part of the cost is the inserts. I would go with a 2.5" face mill as a good compromise that is wide enough surfacing as weel as shouldering and you should have enough Hp/RPM. I would suggest you look at the following which can bot shoulder and do surfacing:
HS6NP - Haas Sq Shoulder 6 -/+

HS6NP, 2-1/2" Ø Shell Mill, 3/4" Pilot Bore x 90° Lead Angle, 5 Flute, Negative/Positive Geometry, TSC

This Haas Square Shoulder 6 Negative Positive shell mill provides high stability and allows larger depths of cut for face milling and shoulder milling applications. It has a 2-1/2" cutting diameter, and a 3/4" pilot bore, with a 90-degree cutting edge. The cutter body takes 5 triangular cutting...
www.haascnc.com www.haascnc.com

Toolpath Type: Face Milling, Shoulder Milling

90-degree cutting edge | D.O.C. max. .303"
• 90-degree shoulder mill
• Diameter sizes 2.5" 3.0", and 4.0"
• Double-sided, thicker insert for high stability at deeper cutting depths
• Inserts with 6 cutting edges

Materials:
K - Cast Iron
M - Stainless Steel
N – Aluminum*
P - Steel

I am using Convex Triangle Negative Positive, Grade HMP35 which is primarily for steel/SS but should work ok for aluminum, the HN25 inserts are for aluminum, could be used for light cuts in mild steel and should give a very clean cut.

HS6NP, Carbide Shell Mill Insert, Trigon Negative Positive, Grade HMP35 - Pack of 10

HS6NP, Carbide Shell Mill Insert, Trigon Negative Positive, Grade HMP35 - Pack of 10
www.haascnc.com www.haascnc.com

HS6NP, Carbide Shell Mill Insert, Trigon Negative Positive, Grade HN25 - Pack of 10

HS6NP, Carbide Shell Mill Insert, Trigon Negative Positive, Grade HN25 - Pack of 10
www.haascnc.com www.haascnc.com
Insert Grades
HP30
HMP20
HN25
HMP35
HK25

If you are doing just surfacing then might consider the HOP, 2-1/2" Diameter Shell Mill, 3/4" Pilot Bore x 45° Lead Angle, 5 Inserts (Octagon), Positive Geometry, or similar with a positive rake insert. Also the Glacern FM45 face mill.

HOP, 2-1/2" Ø Shell Mill, 3/4" Pilot Bore x 45° Lead Angle, 5 Flute, Positive/Positive Geometry

This Haas Octagon Positive shell mill is a great choice for general face milling applications. It has a 2-1/2" cutting diameter, and a 3/4" pilot bore, with a 45-degree cutting edge. The cutter body takes 5 octagon cutting inserts with positive/positive geometry. The screw clamping inserts have...
www.haascnc.com www.haascnc.com

Glacern Machine Tools - FM45 Facemills

Glacern Machine Tools manufacturers CNC Machine Vises, Precision Tool Holders, and Indexable Milling Cutters for vertical and horizontal cnc milling machines.
www.glacern.com www.glacern.com

Haas HS6NP
01-0020_01.jpg
 
You might find the following links helpful. I have three 2" HAAS (each dedicated to a specific matrial) and one 4" HAAS and love them. As Mark said, there are a number of attributes to consider when selecting a face mill. XY table travel limits are also a consideration - with my 4" face mill on my PM-935 with power feeders and DRO stop limits, the effective length of part I can machine and still ramp onto and off of is 20-inches.

www.flickr.com

Haas 2" and 4" Face Mill Testing

Haas is now getting into the consumables business. I bought several of their face mill kits. Click photo for descriptions below.
www.flickr.com www.flickr.com

I have no complaints about my HAAS face mills, but I still like my ABTools Shear-Hog for aluminum slightly better for fine finishing work.

Shars face mills do not take standard inserts even though they claim they do - they are built to accept the Shars-specific look-alike inserts. Put industry standard inserts in these face mills, and you get the following.

 
Looks like Haas doesn't have an R8 compatible holder...

But the Glacern stuff looks nice... because I can order everything on one page. :)
 
Look at the link I provided. You can buy a standard R8 face mill arbor here. And to mount the Haas face mills to that arbor, you'll want to order this mounting bolt from Haas.
 
LVLAaron said:
Looks like Haas doesn't have an R8 compatible holder...
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t let that stop you, as it should be easy enough to find a suitable arbor for the Haas.

I meant to mention Hass, as I remember some of the members here have reported good results.

I’d love to understand any trade offs between the handful of options presented.
 
I have the Glacern 2.5 inch in my cart with two sets of inserts. Will sleep on it.


The Haas stuff looks nice, but I'm not big on proprietary inserts.
 
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