Metal milling shapes, cuts, and punches metal parts using milling machines. Newer technology uses computer numerical control (CNC) processes. Metal milling is a crucial component of manufacturing metal products and employs around 70 million people worldwide. The process can produce flat surfaces or complex three-dimensional shapes using various cutting bits. It is an expensive process due to high temperatures and costly cutting bits. Carbide milling is the most lucrative and challenging sector for milling aerospace components.
Metal milling is a sub-category in the metal working process and involves shaping, cutting. and punching metal parts in a milling machine. Previous metal milling equipment was manually controlled, but newer metal milling technology often relies on computer numerical control (CNC) processes to more finely shape complex parts and components. The most common type of metal router is the vertical spindle, which works similar to an industrial power drill to drill holes and slots in metal or cut intricate shapes, such as gears.
The scope of metal milling machines in modern industry cannot be understated, as it is vast and difficult to quantify. Most moving metal parts cannot be cast to the finest level of detail that can be shaped and cut with various types of milling equipment. It is estimated that in 1996 at least 49% of the value added to products in manufacturing was provided by the metallurgical industry as a whole. Industry accounted for 11% of total gross domestic product (GDP) worldwide in the same year.
While metal milling is only a subset of the entire metal industry, it is a crucial component of manufacturing metal products. Estimates of worldwide metal industry employment since 1996 were in the order of 70 million people. The value of global metal product exports was estimated at $2.2 trillion US dollars (USD) in 1997 alone, with the top export nations being the United States, Japan, and Germany.
Types of routers range from standard router bits to horizontal router bits built for cutting key hole shapes, router bits for cutting slots and pockets in metal, two-flute router bits for plunge work, and end mills for cutting fillets. Although most metal milling work involves flat surfaces, it is also possible to set up a mill to produce a defined irregular surface or even complex three-dimensional shapes. The typical design involves a multi-tooth cutting bit of various shapes that is inserted into a workpiece clamped to a computer-controlled moving table.
Milling tends to be an expensive manufacturing process because the drills and cutters operate at high temperatures and burn off the coolant that is sprayed on them in the process to keep them from overheating. The cutting bits themselves are also very expensive, as they must be hardened to such a level that they can repeatedly cut through metals, such as aluminum and stainless steel, for hours on end. Carbide milling, also known as high speed machining (HSM), is the milling of hardened steel, titanium and cobalt alloys and is considered the most lucrative and challenging sector of the industry for milling aerospace components and more .
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