Remove large amounts of material quickly without sacrificing tool life. These end mills have serrations on the cutting edge and variable spacing between flutes to reduce cutting time and vibration in high-volume jobs.

Made of solid carbide, these end mills are harder, stronger, and more wear resistant than high-speed steel and 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. They have a square end for milling square slots, pockets, and edges. All are center cutting, allowing plunge cuts into a surface.

End mills with five flutes provide a finer finish than end mills with four flutes and operate at high speeds with less vibration.

End mills with a titanium-nitride (TiN) nanocomposite coating resist heat to enhance tool life. They’re best suited for use with metals such as cast iron and steel.

End mills with a titanium-aluminum-nitride (TiAlN) coating 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.

Serrations along the cutting edge act as chip breakers, so these end mills can remove large amounts of material at high speeds. With better heat and wear resistance than high-speed steel, these cobalt steel end mills can run at higher speeds and provide better performance on hard material, such as cast iron, hardened steel, titanium, and tool steel. Their square end makes them good for milling square slots and edges. All are noncenter-cutting for operations where the peripheral teeth do most of the work, such as shoulder milling, contouring, and finishing. They cannot be used for plunge cuts.

End mills with fewer flutes provide better chip clearance for high-volume, high-speed plunge, slotting, and roughing cuts; end mills with more 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-carbonitride (TiCN) coated end mills have a hard, smooth finish that resists chipping and wear and prevents material from accumulating on the cutting edge. They’re especially good for use in aluminum.

Flute pitch indicates the size of the serrations on a roughing end mill. Coarse-pitch end mills create large chips for better performance on softer metal, such as aluminum, brass, bronze, and carbon steel. Fine-pitch end mills last longer than coarse-pitch end mills and produce smaller chips for better performance on harder metal, such as cast iron, hardened steel, titanium, and tool steel.

Serrations along the cutting edge act as chip breakers, so these end mills can remove large amounts of material at high speeds. They are high-speed steel for general purpose milling in most material, such as aluminum, brass, bronze, iron, and steel. Their square end makes them good for milling square slots and edges.

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

Noncenter-cutting end mills are for operations where the peripheral teeth do most of the work, such as shoulder milling, contouring, and finishing. They cannot be used for plunge cuts.