End mills are mainly used in vertical milling machines to process grooves and step surfaces, and can also be used to process formed surfaces using molds. The cutting edge on the circumference of the end mill is the main cutting edge, and the cutting edge on the end face is the secondary cutting edge. Therefore, it is generally not advisable to feed along the axis direction of the milling cutter during cutting.

The commonly used design types of end mills include: square headed double-edged end mills, three edged end mills, four edged end mills, sleeve end mills, etc. Below, the editor will give a brief introduction:

The square headed double-edged end mill can perform vertical insertion milling or side milling on the workpiece like a drill bit. Their end teeth extend to the center of the milling cutter, so they can be used for slot milling processing; Some three blade end mills can also be used for insertion milling. Both double-edged and three edged end mills are suitable for processing non-ferrous metals. Ball headed double-edged end mills can be used for milling circular bottom grooves or curved edges.

Compared with the double-edged end mill, there is also a square headed four edged end mill. In comparison, the square headed four edged precision machining end mill is more stable in milling and can maintain the sharpness of the blade for a longer time, but it cannot perform insert milling. Compared with four edge precision machining end mills, four edge rough machining end mills can cut metal more quickly with lower machine power, tool deformation, and vibration, and their chip breakers can produce smaller and more controllable chips. There are various commonly used types and specifications of integral end mills. They can be divided into right cutters and left cutters. When it is necessary to change the direction of cutting force to avoid applying pressure on the workpiece, a left cut end mill is required. In addition, the length of the groove of the end mill cutter varies, including short groove, ordinary groove, long groove, and extended groove.

The sleeve end mill can use both the end and side edges to cut simultaneously, providing a good machining surface finish. The commonly used milling cutter has a diameter range of 30-150mm and a groove depth of 13-20mm. Due to limitations in power and rigidity, vertical lifting table milling machines are limited to using smaller sleeve type milling cutters. The sleeve type milling cutter with a larger diameter can be used for milling aluminum and plastics.