Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
1
The Milling Machine
The machines we will be discussing in this topic are the vertical milling ma-
chine and the vertical turret milling machine. The principles of milling are also
applicable to the horizontal milling machine, and some horizontal milling ma-
chines can be fitted with a vertical head (when they are known as universal
mills). Usually these are fixed heads and do not have a moving quill, however,
so the only way to adjust the depth of cut is to raise and lower the mill's table.
Also available are slotting heads which bolt on in place of the vertical head,
and the tool moves up and down rather than rotating.
The vertical milling machine is basically the same as a turret milling ma-
chine, but the turret milling machine is much more versatile. While both types
of milling machine have their spindles in the vertical plane, the turret milling
machine spindle can usually be tilted to the left or right and sometimes for-
wards and backwards. The plain vertical milling machine can usually only be
tipped to the left and the right, often by tilting the whole vertical column that
the head is mounted on.
A typical example of a turret milling machine is the Bridgeport style mill.
This is quite a large machine, but many are finding their way into the home
workshop. These mills are a standard item in many industrial workshops and
are often available at a reasonable price. They do however require a special-
ist machinery transport company to move them as they are very heavy and
are not really suitable for the amateur engineer to move by themselves.
