Face Mill Recommendation

[Malph]

I am looking to replace the outdated face mill I am currently using on my manual mill which is similar to the Grizzly G1006 http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...emNumber=G1006

The application that it will be used for will be to produce a flat smooth surface in copper C110 material.
I spoke to a local tool supplier and he recommended a 90 deg. 3 flute tool using wiper inserts.
http://www.tysontool.com/tx90p6.htm
http://www.tysontool.com/tx90p8.htm

Would this tool be suitable for the application? Also, what type of insert would provide the best finish?

Thanks

[HuFlungDung]

I don't know as I would recommend a wiper insert for copper (until I tried it at least). It's pretty easy to scar the surface with chip scratching.

I've used a face mill with round inserts (1/2" dia inserts) that works well for most everything at a light depth of cut. Although the cutter uses positive rake, single sided inserts, you can turn the inserts just a tiny fraction of a turn and likely get 16 indexings out of them. The large radius has good blending characteristics and yet there is not a large amount of tool in contact with the surface on "the back side" of the cut.

You'll want to square the head up perfectly on your machine, as that controls the flatness of the resultant surface. Even then, there may be one direction of feed that works just a tiny bit better than the other, because either the cutter does not cut on the "back side of the cut" or else it does, and cleans the surface nicely. Zigzagging is probably the least desirable thing to do (in terms of surface appearance) because of this tiny discrepancy in cutter tilt.

[Malph]

Yes, I just went through the process of getting the head square. Still testing.
As far as the face mill, I found a 90 deg. positive rake, indexable unit that takes triangular inserts (TPU or TPG)
Would large radius (1/16") inserts give similar results to round inserts?
Is there any advantage to a tool that uses inserts help by a screw as opposed to a clamp?

Thanks

[HuFlungDung]

A top clamp sometimes interferes with chip flow. Torx screw retainers are pretty common now, and work well.

A 1/16" radius is not a large radius. The feedrate will have to be a bit less to get a smooth surface. Remember, each tooth forms a scalloped path on the part, so the smaller the radius, the more pronounced this effect is going to be.

On a small machine, I suppose the round insert I recommended might exceed the rigidity of your spindle.