End Mill Selection Assistance
Help with End Mill Selection – Choose the Best End Mill for your Application & Material
The type of End Mill used depends on the material you are cutting or machining and what the tool will be required to do. Some of the different End Mill styles that 2L manufactures are shown below.
Square End Mills are most typically used for milling, making shapes and holes, slotting, counterboring, and drilling. The End Mills have cutting teeth on the end face and the peripheral edge of the tool shank and can be used to cut a variety of materials in several directions.
Ballnose End Mills are typically used for 3D profiling, surfacing or for when a full radius is required at the bottom of the cut.
Single flute End Mills are the best choice for very soft, gummy, or stringy materials especially when used at higher spindle speeds. The cutting edges are sharper than other tools to create a clean cut with no or minimal burrs. The extra clearance created by the open flute design allows room for large chips to escape and helps prevent melting or burning the workpiece material. 2L’s single flute end mills are center cutting which means they can be used for plunging straight down into the workpiece (drilling).
Two flute End Mills are extremely versatile and are commonly used for plunge milling, slotting and pocketing routines. They can typically be operated at higher feedrates than single flute end mills but still provide for a large amount of chip clearance. Two flute end mills are available with differing sharpness on the cutting edges depending on what material is to be cut. They are available for cutting both soft materials such as plastic and aluminum and hard materials such as steel and titanium.
Three flute End Mills have less clearance space than single or two flute end mills but can be operated at higher feedrates. They are typically used for harder plastics and aluminum materials.
Four and six flute End Mills are primarily for cutting ferrous and other harder more difficult to machine materials.
If you do not see the End Mill you are looking for Contact Us or send us a Custom Tool Request.
Try our End Mill Selector to choose End Mills by the Cutting Material.
Plastic and Wood Cutting End Mills
Machine and cut Plastic, Wood, Foam soft and stringy materials
Square/Standard
Plastic and Wood Cutting End Mills
- Slow 20° Helix reduces workpiece lifting.
- Extremely sharp cutting edges for fine finish.
- Solid Carbide.
- Single, 2 and 3 flutes.
Ballnose
Plastic and Wood Cutting End Mills
- Slow 20° Helix reduces workpiece lifting.
- Extremely sharp cutting edges for fine finish.
- Solid Carbide.
- Single, 2 and 3 flutes.
Downcut
Plastic and Wood Cutting End Mills
- Downcut End Mills push chips and burrs downward to prevent workpiece lifting.
- Extremely sharp cutting edges for fine finish.
- Solid Carbide.
- 2 flutes.
Aluminum Cutting End Mills
Machine and cut Aluminum, Brass, Bronze, Copper and other softer materials
Square/Standard
Aluminum Cutting End Mills
- Slow 20° Helix reduces workpiece lifting.
- Extremely sharp cutting edges produce fine finish.
- Solid Carbide.
- Single, 2 and 3 flutes.
Ballnose
Aluminum Cutting End Mills
- Slow 20° Helix reduces workpiece lifting.
- Extremely sharp cutting edges produce fine finish.
- Solid Carbide.
- Single, 2 and 3 flutes.
Downcut
Aluminum Cutting End Mills
- Downcut 20° Helix pushes chips and burrs downward to prevent workpiece lifting.
- Extremely sharp cutting edges produce fine finish.
- Solid Carbide
- 2 flutes.
Steel and Ferrous Materials Cutting End Mills
Machine and cut Steels, Stainless Steel, Titanium, Inconel, Hastelloy, Granite, Armorplate and other hard materials
Square/Standard
Steel and Ferrous Materials Cutting End Mills
- High performance Standard/Square End Mills.
- 30° Helix.
- Center Cutting.
- 2, 4 and 6 flutes.
- Coated and uncoated.
Ballnose
Steel and Ferrous Materials Cutting End Mills
- High performance Ballnose End Mills.
- 30° Helix.
- Center Cutting.
- 2 and 4 flutes.
Corner Radius
Steel and Ferrous Materials Cutting End Mills
- High performance Corner Radius Mills.
- Corner radius reduces edge chipping
- 30° Helix.
- Center Cutting.
- 2 and 4 flutes.
Armor Mills
Armorplate & Granite Cutting End Mills
- Machine, cut and drill extremely tough materials.
- Use with Armorplate, Granite, High Speed Steel, Taps, Drills, and more.
- Solid Carbide.
- 2 Flute w/ Corner Radius.
Tapered End Mills
Tapered desing for creating tapered cuts on practically any material
Square/Standard
Tapered End Mills
- Square/Standard Tapered End Mill.
- Produce tapered walls, grooves, and holes.
- Machine Plastics, Aluminum, and harder materials such as Steel, Stainless Steel and more.
- 3 Flutes.
Ballnose
Tapered End Mills
- Ballnose Tapered End Mill.
- Produce tapered walls, grooves, and holes.
- Machine Plastics, Aluminum, and harder materials such as Steel, Stainless Steel and more.
- 3 Flutes.
Composite End Mills
Cut Composite Materials, Mill Abrasive and Reinforced Glass Filled Fiber Composite Materials
Off Center Z Flute Design
Composite End Mills
- Mill abrasive and reinforced glass filled fiber composite materials.
- 2 straight flutes minimize the de-laminating of layers and the fraying of fibers.
- Off center Z flute design is used for milling.
Custom End Mills
Solid Carbide Tools, Designed and Produced in House
Custom End Mills
- Premium Solid Carbide for maximum tool strength.
- Produced in house.
- Quick turn-around.
- Click Here to Download PDF Form.