In my opinion, ball cutters are universal tools for high-speed machining. Ball cutters can be used for rough machining of any cavity, core, and three-dimensional shape. They can also be used for precision machining of any material within all hardness ranges.
Due to the spherical shape, the heat generated by cutting can be absorbed into the tool in a large area, allowing for higher cutting speeds compared to other tools. It also allows for greater cutting depth, as the spherical tool can make the larger cutting force component towards the main axis when the rigidity is high, and towards the side when the rigidity is poor. For the same reason, reducing tool vibration further helps to control heat.
If the advantages of this type of tool in cutting speed and depth are combined, ball cutters have a higher metal cutting rate compared to other milling cutters introduced in the article.
Ball cutters are often the preferred tool for rough milling of heat treated materials. If a small fillet radius is required, other types of tools can be used for corner cleaning later.
When milling grooves, cavities, and reinforcing ribs, cylindrical end mills are often used because their shape seems to match each of these features. But in fact, the ball knife can also handle the above tasks. For example, if a ball cutter is used to process a deep groove (whether it is a through groove or a closed groove), typical high-speed machining techniques such as shallow slope milling and contour milling can be used.
Machining grooves through this method is much faster than using a cylindrical end mill for milling. Furthermore, the sidewalls of other parts of the part may have better straightness and verticality, rather than the taper typically caused by bending with extended cylindrical end mills. Reinforcement ribs can be processed using similar methods.
