There are several types of milling machines defined by their construction and how they operate. The column and knee type milling machine consists of a column attached to a base that allows for vertical movement of the knee. The planer milling machine can perform operations with multiple tools simultaneously on a workpiece held on a table. The fixed-bed milling machine has a rigid bed without any ability to move vertically or horizontally, instead the spindle head moves. Special milling machines can perform various operations like plain, face, side, slot, and angular milling through movement of the spindle or workpiece.

1. Types of Milling Machine
MCF-Mechanical Engineering

2. What is a milling machine?
A machine tool for rotating a cutter to produce
plane or formed surfaces on a workpiece, usually
by moving the work past the cutter. A milling
machine may be classified in several forms,
but the choice of machine used depends
primarily on the size of the workpiece.

3. The distinctive types of milling machines are:
1) Column and Knee type Milling Machine
2) Planer Milling Machine
3) Fixed-bed type Milling Machine
4) Special types of Milling Machines

4. Column And Knee Type Milling Machine

5. Function Of The Parts Of the Milling Machine:
Base: It is a foundation member for all the other parts, which rest upon it. It
carries the column at its one end. In some machines, the base is hollow and
serves as a reservoir for cutting fluid.
Column: The column is the main supporting member mounted vertically on the
base. It is box shaped, heavily ribbed inside and houses all the driving
mechanism for the spindle and table feed. The front vertical face of the
column is accurately machined and is provided with dovetail guideway for
supporting the knee.
Knee: The knee is a rigid grey iron casting which slides up and down on the
vertical ways of the column face. An elevating screw mounted on the base is
used to adjust the height of the knee and it also supports the knee. The knee
houses the feed mechanism of the table, and different controls to operate it.

6. Saddle: The saddle is placed on the top of the knee and
it slides on guideways set exactly at 90° to the column
face. The top of the saddle provides guide-ways for the
table.
Table: The table rests on ways on the saddle and travels
longitudinally. A lead screw under the table engages a nut
on the saddle to move the table horizontally by hand or
power. In universal machines, the table may
also be swiveled horizontally. For this purpose the table
is mounted on a circular base. The top of the table is
accurately finished and T -slots are provided
for clamping the work and other fixtures on it

7. Overhanging arm: It is mounted on the top of the
column, which extends beyond the column face and
serves as a bearing support for the other end of the
arbor.
Front brace: It is an extra support, which is
fitted between the knee and the over-arm to ensure
further rigidity to the arbor and the knee.
Spindle: It is situated in the upper part of the
column and receives power from the motor through
belts, gears. and clutches and transmit it
to the arbor.

8. Applications of Column and knee type milling
machine:
The column and knee type milling machine is most
commonly used in the machine shop, used for
working on small workpieces, in this machine, you
will find a vertical column is attached to the base
and the knee is mounted on the guideway of
the column, which allows the knee to move up and
down.

9. Planer Type Milling Machine:

10. Planer Machine Definition:
Planer Machine is a machine in which unwanted
material is cut from the workpiece to produce a
flat surface on the workpiece. Unlike Shaper
Machine, in this machine, more than one tool can
be set and perform an operation.

11. The following Construction or Main Parts of Planer
Machine are:
1) Bed
2) Column or Housing
3) Table
4) Cross Rail
5)Tool Head
6)Driving
7)Feed Mechanism

12. Planer Machine Advantages:
The following advantages of Planer Machine as
follows:
• It has Greater accuracy.
• Good surface finish.
• More than one tool can perform on the workpiece
at a time.
• Low maintenance is required.

13. Planer Machine Disadvantages:
The following disadvantages of Planer Machine as
follows:
• The cost of the machine is on the higher side.
• The power consumption is quite more.
• The skilled worker required.
• Only tool single point is used.

14. Planer Machine Application:
The following application of Planer Machine as
follows:
• The Planer machine is used for Flat surfaces on
the workpiece.
• Cutting angular surfaces is one of the major
applications.
• Cutting slots and grooves.

15. Fixed-Bed
Type Milling
Machine:

16. Fixed bed milling machine:
In this type of machine, the bed of
the machine is fixed to the machine. There is no
arrangement of the knee and saddle which can
move vertically and transversally. The worktable is
directly situated at the fixed bed. The spindle of
this machine is mounted on a movable spindle head.

17. Working:
A fixed bed type, as its name hints, is a type of
milling machine that has a rigid bed attached to
the machine. You cannot arrange the saddle and
knee of this milling machine. It has a movable
spindle head-mounted with the spindle of the
machine. The machine can perform cutting
operations by moving in horizontal and vertical
directions.

18. Special
Types of
Milling
Machines:

19. Special types of milling machine covers multiple
milling operations, Such as:
1) Plain milling
2) Face milling
3) Side milling
4) Slot milling
5) Angular milling
6) Form milling

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21. These are the different types
of milling machines
and their operations.
we hope that the information we
shared was helpful to you.
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