A milling machine (also see synonyms below) is a machine tool used to machine solid

materials. Milling machines are often classed in two basic forms, horizontal and vertical,
which refers to the orientation of the main spindle. Both types range in size from small,
bench-mounted devices to room-sized machines. Unlike a drill press, which holds the
workpiece stationary as the drill moves axially to penetrate the material, milling machines
also move the workpiece radially against the rotating milling cutter, which cuts on its sides as
well as its tip. Workpiece and cutter movement are precisely controlled to less than 0.001 in
(0.025 mm), usually by means of precision ground slides and leadscrews or analogous
technology. Milling machines may be manually operated, mechanically automated, or
digitally automated via computer numerical control (CNC).

Milling machines can perform a vast number of operations, from simple (e.g., slot and
keyway cutting, planing, drilling) to complex (e.g., contouring, diesinking). Cutting fluid is
often pumped to the cutting site to cool and lubricate the cut and to wash away the resulting
swarf.

Basic nomenclature

A milling machine is often called a mill by machinists. The term miller also used to be
common (19th and early 20th centuries), although it is typically not used today in reference to
modern machines. (The term "miller" is one that people today are still familiar with from
historical usage, but they generally don't use it anymore unless they are referring to machines
built during the term's heyday, which is similar to the way that people today treat terms such
as "motor car", "horseless carriage", or "phonograph".)

Since the 1960s there has developed an overlap of usage between the terms milling machine
and machining center. NC/CNC machining centers evolved from milling machines, which is
why the terminology evolved gradually with considerable overlap that still persists. The
distinction, when one is made, is that a machining center is a mill with features that pre-CNC
mills never had, especially an automatic tool changer (ATC) that includes a tool magazine
(carousel), and sometimes an automatic pallet changer (APC). In typical usage, all machining
centers are mills, but not all mills are machining centers; only mills with ATCs are machining
centers.

[edit] Basic classification

There are many ways to classify milling machines, depending on criteria. The most important
way, in some respects, is horizontal versus vertical, but other distinctions are also important: