climb milling on the bridgeport
although climb milling is the best way to mill don't do on bridgeport becuase
it pulls to hard on the lead screw nut and i have heard that lead screws have broke

thoughts

Problem with climb milling is that the cutter has a tendency to catch and walk on the part or pull the part out of the setup/vice/holders...

I avoid climb milling

I agree - don't know about lead screws breaking but the cutters will bust and walk out of the collet. The cutter pulls itself into the work and causes potential headaches.

if you have a new Bridgeport with no slack at all its possible to climb cut, but most machinists avoid it like the plague as its real hard on cutters and machines.

conversly so on a cnc mill , climb milling is the preferred method .
spindle and axis loads are a lot less doing it this way.
think of the dynamic of climb milling as opposed to conventional
it's biggest chip load is at entry then diminishes at exit , conventional just the opposite
when i served my apprentiship conventional was the way to do it
then along came cnc's which changed that

Cnc have ballscrews with no appreciable backlash in either direction

Mike Tanner

My bridgeport has tight ways, it also has a ballscrew setup in it if i remember correctly. I can climb mill fine with it, but avoid heavy cuts when doing it, and always use a sharp end mill.

I would not try climb milling on a conventional machine. You can get by with it on very light cuts on softer materials but it is too dangerous. Your part my leave the vice, your cutter may break , you could pull head out of adjustment or all of the above. As said above climb milling is great on CNC but not for conventional.

Chuck

I have been a professional machinist for over 55 yrs, and if you are not careful it can be dangerous, but it is the best way to get a good finish because in essence it is always a light cut as far as the cutter is concerned. just look at the direction the cutter is turning and the direction of feed and you can quickly see that in climb milling the cut always ends as if it were a light cut - in conventional milling it always ends as a heavy cut.
but if it does grab, you can break the cutter or pull the work out of the machine.
if you know how, climbing is easy - if you are too new - avoid it

Been a professional machinist 40 yrs or more myself and a job shop owner since 1984. I agree with nmgross 100%. Climb milling does have its advantages, but should only be considered for use by professionals.

I seem to remember from my apprenticeship (pre cnc) that you needed a milling machine that had a backlash eliminator fitted if you were going to climb mill on it

I am a machinist in the Army and have about 2 and a half years of experience. If you are going to climb mill, I would say go 5 to 10 thousanths at the most. It leaves a very nice finish. Slow and steady. if you stop in the middle of the cut it will leave a notch.

About 6yrs straight on a BP and 4 others mixed experience and have to agree with NM and others. Heavier cuts - conventional, but I always finished, when necessary,with climb milling.

Just be careful - I'd even work the table clamps slightly with sloppy ways...

For climb milling many older conventional mills had a
"split-nut" IIRC.

By actuating a mechanical lever the halfs of the nut
were moved apart, thereby taking up the slack. I
don't remember what the problems were (if any)
caused by uneven lead screw wear.

Dennis

That's a backlash eliminator.

The point to removing any sloppiness due to wear on nut or thread is to help prevent the cutter taking control and dragging the workpiece under the cutter, as it tries to 'Climb' and pull itself along the workpiece