Understanding the main cutting parameters
Milling is a complex process that requires us to understand many different parameters and working operations. However, we shouldn’t be too scared of it since we should already be familiar with many turning operations.
In the following pages, we will discover how cutting parameters are conjugated for milling.
Spindle speed and cutting speed
Spindle speed and cutting speed are our old friends from turning operations; these concepts are the same for milling as well, so we will recap them a bit faster.
Spindle speed (
) is how fast our spindle (and our tool) rotates and is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM).
Cutting speed (
) is the tangent velocity on the cutting edge measured in meters per minute (m/min) and can be calculated via the following formula:
Here, 
is the outer diameter of the cutting tool measured in millimeters.
The following figure shows a graphic visualization of the cutting...
