Power Requirements for Cutting Mills

You need to be a little more specific. Just what are you planning to mill? To a Mechanical Engineer or Manufacturing Engineer in Metalworking industries the term "cutting mills" sounds like a machine for removing metal from the surface of a casting, forging, or blank stock. The Manufacturing Engineers Handbook by the Society of Mfg. Engineers has all the necessary equations for calculating power requirements for given cutter speed and material in-feed rates ("speeds and feeds").

I would imagine you would find similar data in the primary handbooks for the relavent industry. I see the word "comminution" is associated with minerals processing, so perhaps a handbook in Mining Engineering might have what you are looking for.

If we are speaking of endmilling cutters, the common rule-of-thumb is 1 inch cubic per horsepower per minute for high-speed steel endmills machining mild steel. This is presuming a rigid setup and adequate coolant flow. For the example of slot milling or pocket milling, the best efficiency is obtained when the endmill is operating at a depth of 1/2 its diameter. Of course with the use of NC or CNC equipment and high-pressure coolant, the removal rate can be higher. But, if we are speaking of disk-type milling cutters or formed milling cutters, then there are formulae to determine the ideal metal removal rate based on cutting tooth engagement for the feed rate (no more than three teeth at one time making a cut) and this depends on disk diameter, cutting tooth pitch, etc.

cutting speed of the material X 4 divided by the diameter of the stock