It’s obvious that five-axis machining is becoming more and more popular in modern metal cutting. Five-axis machining has significant advantages, such as using only one 

clamping to process complex-shaped parts without changing the positioning of the workpiece, while ensuring high machining accuracy and reducing machining cycle time.

Advanced workpiece manufacturing technologies advance precision forging, casting and mainstream additive manufacturing (AM). This also leads to a more complex 

geometric shape of the workpiece. Cutting is used to reduce the machining allowance and material, and to achieve a result that reflects the final shape of the workpiece. 

This requires high-performance cutting tools for finishing and machining of complex geometric surfaces. Semi-finishing.

Ball nose mills are considered traditional tools for machining 3D surfaces. Ball nose milling cutters are the most commonly used tools for semi-finishing and finishing 

surfaces in milling operations. Developments in the field of five-axis machining centers, as well as significant advances in modern CAM systems, have led to the emergence 

of tools with different cutting edge types on the market, namely curved or drum-shaped end mills. Although these tools are well known to machinists, they are often 

overlooked. Five-axis machining combined with CNC software and computer modeling of complex tool configurations has brought the application of drum-shaped end mills 

back into the public eye.

The cutting edges of these end mills are arc-shaped, representing an arc with a radius greater than the nominal radius of the tool. For the sake of comparison, in a ball nose 

mill, the tool radius is the radius of the cutting edge. Compared with ball-nose milling cutters, the use of curved milling cutters with "multi-pass milling technology" to 

machine surfaces can significantly increase the stepover, thereby shortening cutting times. When machining complex surfaces, three-axis CNC machine tools cannot 

guarantee the correct cutting position of the drum tool. The five-axis machine tool can fully utilize the drum milling cutter.

Depending on the orientation of the cutting edge relative to the tool axis, drum end mills come in a variety of configurations, such as pure drum, conical drum, lenticular, 

and elliptical or parabolic. The blade shape of the tool determines the application of the tool. For example, lenticular cutters are suitable for both five- and three-axis 

machines, while end mills with a cone-shaped profile are only suitable for five-axis machines. Drum cutter designs are used in multi-edge solid end mills to provide higher 

tool accuracy and maximize the number of teeth in the cutter.

Iscar's NEOBARREL tool series includes multiple series. Figure 1 is a solid carbide end mill (SCEM) with a diameter range of 8-12 mm. The 10mm conical drum-shaped carbide 

end mill has an arc-shaped outer cutting edge with a radius of 85mm. Compared with the 10mm ball nose mill, the step length of this end mill is increased by four times and 

the same machined surface roughness is achieved. 

ISCAR's MULTI-MASTER series is a product line of replaceable carbide heads. The new cone-shaped cutter head of this series has the same cutting edge shape and diameter 

range as SCEM, and provides a variety of options for the application of the MULTI-MASTER series on five-axis machine tools. The replaceable head design of the 

MULTI-MASTER series of tools ensures the rational use of carbide and has significant economic and cost advantages. A wide range of cutter bodies, extensions and reducers 

allow for customizable modular tool assemblies for complex machining projects. 

ISCAR recently launched a new series of drum end mills, which adopt a single-blade tool design. Single-blade tools are known to be less accurate than tools with replaceable 

carbide tips or solid carbide end mills. But if we analyze single-blade tools and make some compromises on accuracy, then single-blade tools can also compete with 

interchangeable-head tools or solid-hard tools. In order to eliminate doubts about the rationality of the design of single-blade drum tools, we should conside several aspects.

Single-blade tools increase cost-efficiency by extending the diameter range of drum mills. The nominal diameter of these tools is 16-25 mm. Durable insert construction and 

highly rigid insert clamping allow for increased feed per tooth compared to what is suitable for carbide end mills and replaceable heads. This ensures appropriate feed 

speeds for efficient machining. When processing stability is poor, reducing the number of teeth helps control vibration. The BALLPLUS range of tools converts conventional 

tools into drum end mills by using drum edge inserts. ISCAR BALLPLUS tools include a variety of tool bodies, tool holders and extensions, greatly simplifying tool 

customization. Today, the single-blade drum cutter design is the more logical and reasonable choice.

In modern manufacturing, drum milling cutters have a bright future. The metalworking industry has realized many applications for drum designs. These include solid carbide 

drum end mills, solid carbide replaceable head drum mills and single-blade drum mills. These products constitute a complete series of drum copy milling cutters to face the 

future together. challenge.