Ball End Mills

[jb2060]

Hi All,

I know there has been a bit of discussion in the past about router bits for CNC but I wanted to see if any of you have found a good supplier of Ball End Mills. The only ones I have found in Aust are metric but I need 1/4in shafts. I know when I move to a spindle that I will be able to use collets etc but for now I need imperial.

Precisebits.com have a couple but they are quite expensive. I use these guys for my very fine bits, for inlay (0.4mm etc) and they are very good.

I am after a 1/4inch 2 Flute and 4 flute and about 2.5-3inch shaft length

[Toolin Around]

I was going to recommend Prestige precision in Queensland until I saw what you thought was expensive. Those aren't expensive prices but you get what you pay for. All the hours of sanding out burn marks will convince you of that.

[jb2060]

TA, $50 AUD sounds good especially if they are good quality. Have you used these for 3D carving? I agree with you on the benefits of a quality cut. I had a bit of a look but found it hard to find a suitable Ball nose on the Prestige Precision site. The only one I could find was for MDF. Are you able to recommend one?

[twistedfuse]

These can be a little cheaper and ive used them before. They are quite good. Cannot compare them to others as these are the only ones ive tried except sandvik ones, but sandvik are like ferrari's and are definately out the the range at $100+ each. http://www.carbideendmillsplus.com.au/

Daniel

[Toolin Around]

TA, $50 AUD sounds good especially if they are good quality. Have you used these for 3D carving? I agree with you on the benefits of a quality cut. I had a bit of a look but found it hard to find a suitable Ball nose on the Prestige Precision site. The only one I could find was for MDF. Are you able to recommend one?

Prestige make all their own bits so you should be able to get anything you want. They've worked for us but we weren't doing any solid wood just mdf. I assume that's what you mean by 3d carving.

[WillyInBris]

Thankyou for that Toolin,

I have been looking as well, if they make bits thats a huge + for sure do they have a min order quantity if you want something specific?

Thanks Willy

[appiwood]

This is slightly off topic but... Carbi-tool will make bits to order, they are not cheap but if you need a special bit they will do it, for example, I needed a foam cutter with a cut length of 95mm, 1/2 " shank, 1/2" radius on the end, the made one for me which just worked perfectly, was made in the time frame they said, 7-10 days, the downside was the $320.00 for the one bit. To balance it out, the bit allowed me to do away with multiple roughing passes and cut the dept of foam in one finishing pass, saved about 2.5 hours of machine time on each job so to me it was a good investment.

Ed

[Studley 2436]

There are many who make endmills. Do a search and you will find heaps. The 300 pound gorillas of the industry are Sandvik and Kennametal. Others that do good stuff are Iscar and Sumitomo amongst others.

I am not sure what spindle fixture you have but check out Maritoolthey do some really nice stuff that isn't expensive. I would think a collet tool holder is pretty much a basic requirement for routing due to the high speeds you use.

Studley

[Studley 2436]

I did notice that Maritool do have endmills in a 1/4 size for $20 or so. Send Frank Mari an email and ask if he has any bullnose cutters on his list. If he doesn't he will be able to tell you where you can get them.

Studley

[Toolin Around]

Thankyou for that Toolin,

I have been looking as well, if they make bits thats a huge + for sure do they have a min order quantity if you want something specific?

Thanks Willy

They have four (at last count) 5 axis CNC machines worth something like squillions each (in fact I think they me more than five axis if a "wrist" isn't counted as one) cranking out solid carbide bits of every shape and size. For the place I worked they were always interested in a casual partnership in that we test their ideas and give them feed back for a small discount - your mileage may vary.

[jb2060]

Thanks for that guys,

I did call http://www.carbideendmillsplus.com.au/ last week and they only had metric ball nose bits. I also asked if they have collets to covert to 1/4inch but they didn't. I will use these guys when I finally get my spindle .

Thanks Toolin, I will give Prestige Precision a call tomorrow. The hardest woods I cut in 3D are rock maple and Ebony - so I will check that the MDF bit is ok (should be).
Willy, Happy to ask about them about custom orders too - will let you know.

Studley, I will also give Maritool a call...Thanks
Ed, Thanks also - I will check Carbi-tool as well.

[Studley 2436]

It seems strange that their collets don't handle 1/4 inch. Typically you get about 1 mm of adjustment on a collet. So a 7 mm collet can come down to 6.35 mm or 1/4 inch. That is stuff machinist have been doing every day since who knows when.

None the less if you know the holder type ER 20 for example you should be able to get a collet from many places that fits in.

Studley

[rodm]

Hi Studley
I think Jason is referring to a die ginder collet which is similar to a router collet. As it only has three or four slits then gripping down too far causes problems.

[jb2060]

Hi Studley
I think Jason is referring to a die ginder collet which is similar to a router collet. As it only has three or four slits then gripping down too far causes problems.

Yes, Quite correct Rod - you know my gear as well as I do

Toolin, I called Precision today and ordered a 1/4inch Ball Nose Mill - they did have a Wood specific bit (as well as the MDF one). It cost me about $78 once they added GST and shipping. They make are making mine to order but it still should ship tomorrow - pretty impressive. I will let you know how it goes.

Willy, I asked them about custom bits for you and they said it is very common for them to be doing custom work. Send them some specs of what you want and they can quote it up for you

[niall]

You could try a company called Multicam they make cnc machines and sell the tools to cut with. try googling them They are in melb and newcastle ...If the cant help try carbi tools I
here there are not bad either...