A new design of ball nose milling cutter for finish-machining of moulds and dies as well as other complex profiling applications has been launched by Stellram under the designation RGS. It has the ability to mill down a vertical side wall by virtue of its helical grind extending well past the 90-degree point. The advantage is that owners of three-axis, vertical- or horizontal-spindle machining centres may now finish true 90 degree walls without re-clamping the component; and 4/5-axis machining centre users may do the same without the time penalty of bringing one of the additional axes into play. In both cases, production time is faster. The carbide insert has narrow geometry at its centre point to give a clean cut at the centre of the tool where surface speed is zero. The geometry evacuates chips efficiently, preventing re-cutting of material which would otherwise compromise surface finish. New also is the PVD-coated grade, SP1064, which has a hard, wear-resistant substrate (similar to that used for a solid end mills) that is ideal for finishing. A 2 to 4 micron thick, TiAlN (titanium-aluminium- nitride) coating plus lubricity layer helps to avoid recutting of material at slow cutting speeds near the tool centreline. A wide range of materials may be machined, from hardened tool steels through cast irons to aluminium and high-temperature alloys.