So far, the milling machine has been our major topic of discussion on this website. It was explained as the process of machining using a rotary cutter to remove material by advancing a cutter into a workpiece. An engineering workshop is not complete without this machine due to its suitability for some operations like T-slot, plain, face, side, etc. milling operations.
Today we’ll be looking at the various milling machine component and their functions
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Contents
Milling machine parts
The following stated below are the milling machine parts:
Base:
This milling machine part is the foundation of milling that carries the weight of the machine and moves it to the ground. All component is mounted on the base. This base is made of cast iron due to its high compressive strength.
Column:
The column is vertically mounted on the base as its supports the knee, table, etc. It also works as housing for all the other driving members. This column is a hollow member that contains driving gears and sometimes motors for the spindle and the spindle and the table.
Knee:
The knee is a cast iron that supports the saddle and table as its enclosed all-gear mechanism. It is attached to the column in a dovetail way. The knee is designed to be adjusted by a vertical positioning screw (elevating screw). This screw helps to adjust the knee up and down by raising or lowering the lever either by a power feed or by hand.
Saddle:
This machine part is located between the table and the knee as it serves as an intermediate part between them. This move transversely to the face of a column which is to provide motion in the horizontal direction to the workpiece. It is also made of cast iron.
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Table:
The table is situated over the knee in order to hold the workpiece during the process. it is made of cast iron and has a t-slot cut on it. This provides vertical motion by moving the knee up and down and provides horizontal motion by the feed screw provided by the saddle.
Overhanging arm:
The milling machine component is used to fasten the arbor support. It may consist of one or two cylindrical bars that slide through the holes in the column. It is also made with cast iron.
Spindle:
The spindle is the part of the machine which holds the tool in place, this spindle offers rotary motion and drives for arbors, cutters, and attachments used on the machine.
Arbor:
The arbor serves as an extension part of the spindle in a horizontal mill machine. It is fitted to the spindle whenever it’s needed. The arbor holds the tool and moves it in the correct direction.
Arbor supports:
Milling machines generally have two types of arbor supports, the first one has a small diameter bearing hole, 1-inch in maximum diameter, and the second one has a large diameter bearing hole of about 23/4 inches. This milling part contains an oil reservoir that aids the lubrication of the bearing surfaces. This arbor support is used only in the horizontal types of milling machines and it’s clamped anywhere on the overarm.
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Milling head:
The milling head is the upper part of a vertical mill machine. It consists of a spindle, driving motor, and other controlling mechanisms.
Ram:
The milling machine part can move transversely (in and out) on the column by a hand level. One end of the arm is attached to the column and the other ends on the milling head.
That is it for this article, milling machine parts. I hope you enjoy the reading, if so, kindly comment and share. thanks!
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