Made of solid carbide, these end mills are harder, stronger, and more wear resistant than cobalt steel for the longest life and best finish on hard material. Their extreme hardness means they are brittle, so a highly rigid setup, such as a CNC machine, is necessary to prevent the end mill from breaking. A 90° pointed tip allows them to be used for drilling as well as for slotting, profiling, and chamfering cuts. All are center cutting, allowing plunge cuts into a surface.

End mills with two flutes provide better chip clearance for high-volume, high-speed plunge, slotting, and roughing cuts. End mills with four flutes provide a finer finish and operate with less vibration when run at high speeds.

Use uncoated end mills for general purpose milling and short production runs. Use coated end mills for demanding, high-speed jobs in hard material as well as for longer production runs. They’re more wear resistant than uncoated end mills. Titanium-aluminum-nitride (TiAlN) coated end mills dissipate heat better than other end mills, especially at high speeds. At high temperatures, the coating creates a layer of aluminum oxide that transfers heat to the chips, keeping the tool cool, even when used without lubrication.