Vertical or Horizontal Milling Machines
The two most basic types of milling machines are vertical and horizontal machines. In the vertical mill, the spindle axis is vertically oriented and in the horizontal mill the cutters do their job while mounted on a horizontal arbor across the table. On a vertical mill, you can generally extend the spindle or you can raise or lower the table to allow for plunge cuts and drilling. With horizontal milling machines, you can use endmills and other types of tools available to a vertical mill and because the cutters have such good support from the arbor, you can make heavier cuts into your material and get more rapid material removal rates. Vertical mills are available in smaller tabletop sizes that are popular with hobbyists while horizontal mills are available in much larger sizes and you can even gang them together on one arbor to mill complex shapes of slots and planes.
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admin @ October 18, 2008