Milling cutters are aluminum cutters that are used in milling machines to remove material based on their movement in the machine. A ball end mill is a cutter that has teeth on one end as well as on the side, and has a rounded end. Ball end mills are precision cutting tools that are similar to slot drills, but with a rounded end. They are often used in moulds or dies, or to add a radius between perpendicular faces to reduce stress concentrations.
Ball end mills are only one shape of mill. Different types of cutting and milling tools are used for different purposes. A slab mill, for example, is used to machine large broad surfaces quickly. A side and face cutter is designed with cutting teeth on its side as well as its circumference, and is used to make cuts on one side only.
Cat 40 tool holders of HSK tool holders are designed to keep the ball end mills in place. The number 40 refers to the Association for Manufacturing Technology Taper size of the ball end mill or milling tool. These tool holders are used to secure all types of mills to the machine they are being used in.
