Ballnose End Mills are specialized cutting tools featuring a hemispherical tip that is perfect for 3D contouring, surface finishing, and intricate geometrical machining. The rounded design ensures seamless engagement in all directions, reducing tool marks and producing superior surface finishes for various applications like mold making, die sinking, and aerospace component manufacturing.
Some of the key features of Ballnose End Mills are:
1. Ideal for 3D Contour Machining
The spherical cutting tip makes ballnose end mills perfect for machining complex geometries, curved surfaces, and mold cavities with precision.
2. Superior Surface Finish
The smooth, rounded tip reduces tool marks and produces high-quality surface finishes, especially in finishing operations.
3. Flexible Cutting Approach
Ballnose tools allow multi-directional machining, making them well-suited for 3-axis and 5-axis simultaneous machining applications.
4. Versatility for Roughing and Finishing
With options in flute number and geometry, the same tool type can be used for both roughing and precision finishing, reducing tool change times.
5. Suitable for a Wide Range of Materials
Ballnose end mills are compatible with various materials, including hardened steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, graphite, and composites.
6. High Wear Resistance with Coatings
Advanced coatings like TiAlN, AlTiN, and DLC enhance heat resistance and tool life, making them suitable for dry or high-speed machining.
7. High Rigidity for Stable Cutting
Constructed from solid carbide or coated HSS, ballnose end mills offer excellent rigidity and vibration resistance during cutting.
Category | Description |
---|---|
Precision | Excellent for fine detail and small radii in finishing operations. |
Cost Efficiency | Longer tool life and multipurpose usability reduce overall machining costs. |
Cooling Options | Many ballnose end mills support dry cutting or minimal lubrication systems (MQL). |
Customization | Available in various flute lengths, shank diameters, and corner geometries to match specific applications. |
Type No. | Diameter | Corner R | Flute length | Effective length | Overall length | Shank Dia | Flutes |
HBH0202A | D2 | R1 | 2 | 4 | L75 | 4 | 2 |
HBH0202 | D2 | R1 | 2 | 4 | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0252A | D2.5 | R1.25 | 2.5 | 5 | L75 | 4 | 2 |
HBH0252 | D2.5 | R1.25 | 2.5 | 5 | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0302A | D3 | R1.5 | 3 | 6 | L75 | 4 | 2 |
HBH0302 | D3 | R1.5 | 3 | 6 | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0352A | D3.5 | R1.75 | 3.5 | 7 | L75 | 4 | 2 |
HBH0352 | D3.5 | R1.75 | 3.5 | 7 | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0402A | D4 | R2 | 6 | -- | L75 | 4 | 2 |
HBH0402 | D4 | R2 | 6 | -- | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0502Z | D5 | R2.5 | 7.5 | -- | L75 | 5 | 2 |
HBH0502 | D5 | R2.5 | 7.5 | -- | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0602 | D6 | R3 | 9 | -- | L75 | 6 | 2 |
HBH0802 | D8 | R4 | 12 | -- | L75 | 8 | 2 |
HBI0202 | D2 | R1 | 2 | 4 | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0252 | D2.5 | R1.25 | 2.5 | 5 | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0302 | D3 | R1.5 | 3 | 6 | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0352 | D3.5 | R1.75 | 3.5 | 7 | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0402 | D4 | R2 | 6 | -- | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0502Z | D5 | R2.5 | 7.5 | -- | L100 | 5 | 2 |
HBI0502 | D5 | R2.5 | 7.5 | -- | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0602 | D6 | R3 | 9 | -- | L100 | 6 | 2 |
HBI0802 | D8 | R4 | 12 | -- | L100 | 8 | 2 |
HBI1002 | D10 | R5 | 15 | -- | L100 | 10 | 2 |
HBI1202 | D12 | R6 | 18 | -- | L100 | 12 | 2 |
HBJ0602 | D6 | R3 | 9 | -- | L150 | 6 | 2 |
HBJ0802 | D8 | R4 | 12 | -- | L150 | 8 | 2 |
HBJ1002 | D10 | R5 | 15 | -- | L150 | 10 | 2 |
HBJ1202 | D12 | R6 | 18 | -- | L150 | 12 | 2 |
HBJ1602 | D16 | R8 | 24 | -- | L150 | 16 | 2 |
HBJ2002 | D20 | R10 | 30 | -- | L150 | 20 | 2 |
Ballnose end mills are widely used in the mold industry for machining 3D cavities, curved surfaces, and intricate contours in steel or graphite molds. Ideal for both roughing and finishing operations.
Perfect for sculpted surfaces and freeform shapes in industries such as automotive design, aerospace components, and product prototypes. Enables smooth and accurate surface generation.
Used for finishing turbine blades, impellers, and structural parts with complex geometries. The ball tip allows continuous engagement with curved surfaces and minimizes tool marks.
Small-diameter ballnose mills are commonly used for engraving, relief carving, and small radius detail cutting, particularly in CNC routers and engraving machines.
Used in machining contoured surfaces of implants (e.g., hip joints, dental parts) that require precision and smooth finishes on titanium or cobalt-chrome alloys.
Graphite-compatible ballnose tools (often with DLC coating) are used to produce fine, wear-resistant details in EDM electrodes for precision die sinking.
High-speed finishing of hardened steels (HRC 50–65) using coated carbide ballnose end mills for applications in die finishing and precision tooling.
In CNC woodworking, ballnose tools are used to create decorative curves, 3D textures, and artistic reliefs on materials like MDF, hardwood, or composite panels.