YG-1 Cutting Tools — Complete Product Guide

yg-1 · yg1 · end-mill · drill · tap · insert

YG-1 is a South Korean cutting tool manufacturer founded in 1981, headquartered in Songdo, Incheon. They are the world's #1 end mill producer by volume (30 million pieces/year) and rank in the global top 5 for round tools. They operate 28 production plants worldwide and export to 75+ countries. US headquarters: Vernon Hills, IL. US tech support: 1-888-868-5988 / techsupport@yg1usa.com.

YG-1 acquired Regal Cutting Tools (US tap manufacturer) in 2006, which strengthened their threading product line significantly.

Product Families — Milling

Premium End Mills

X1-EH Series — Nano grain carbide for hardened steel HRc 50-70. Available as ball nose, taper neck, corner radius, and square end. Their top-tier hardened steel line.

X5070 Series — Blue-coated carbide for hardened steel HRc 50-70. Distinctive blue coating for wear identification.

4G Mill — Y-coated carbide for pre-hardened steel up to HRc55. Good all-around performer for mold and die work.

X-POWER PRO — AlTiN-coated carbide for pre-hardened steel up to HRc50. High-performance roughing and finishing.

Material-Specific End Mills

TitaNox-Power — 4 and 5 flute designs specifically for titanium, Inconel, and stainless steel. Variable helix, unequal flute spacing for vibration dampening. This is their aerospace/medical line.

JET-POWER — Coated carbide for stainless, nickel alloys, and titanium. Optimized flute geometry for heat-resistant alloys.

ALU-POWER HPC — 3-flute high-performance for aluminum and non-ferrous. Polished flutes, high helix for efficient chip evacuation. One of their best sellers.

ALU-POWER — Standard aluminum line. Available in bright finish and TiCN coating.

D-POWER — Diamond-coated for graphite and CFRP machining.

ROUTER — Diamond-coated specifically for CFRP/GFRP composites.

General Purpose End Mills

V7 PLUS — Y-coated ultra micro grain carbide. Their workhorse general-purpose line for steel and stainless. Very popular in job shops.

ONLY ONE — Y-coated PM60 substrate. Designed as a do-everything end mill.

EV Mills — Entry-level general purpose line.

YG BasiX — Budget-friendly entry point. Good value for less demanding applications.

Minicut Cobalt — HSS cobalt miniature end mills for fine detail work.

DM24 (Die & Mold) — Specialized geometries for die and mold applications.

Specialty

SINE POWER — HSS Cobalt and PM substrate for titanium. For shops that prefer HSS in tough alloys.

CBN End Mills — Cubic boron nitride for materials above HRc70.

V7-PlusA — Chip splitter geometry for heavy roughing in steel.

Indexable Milling

i-Xmill — Indexable insert copy milling system.

i-Smart — Exchangeable modular head system (screw-on carbide heads).

YG MILL Inserts — Milling insert platform with grades YG602, YG622, YG712. Insert styles include APKT, RCMT, SDMT, ENMX, HF4.

ENMX/HF4 High-Feed Mills — High-feed milling inserts for aggressive roughing with shallow DOC and very high feed rates.

Product Families — Drilling

Dream Drill Series (Solid Carbide)

YG-1's Dream Drill line is their flagship solid carbide drill platform:

Dream Drill PRO — Top-tier performance with through-coolant. Their best drill.

Dream Drill X — Extended length version of the Dream Drill platform.

Dream Drill General — Standard through-coolant carbide drill. Excellent value.

Dream Drill INOX — Optimized for stainless steel. Modified point geometry to reduce work hardening.

Dream Drill High Feed — Aggressive feed rates for production environments.

Dream Drill ALU — Bright finish, high helix for aluminum. Polished flutes.

Dream Drill Flat Bottom — 180-degree point for flat-bottom holes.

Dream Drill High Hard — For hardened steels (HRc 45-65).

Dream Drill MQL — Designed for minimum quantity lubrication applications.

Dream Drill SOFT — For soft, gummy materials (low carbon steel, copper).

Dream Drill CFRP — Diamond-coated for carbon fiber reinforced plastic.

Insert Drills

i-ONE Drill — Single-insert indexable drill. Economical for large diameter holes.

i-Dream — Multi-insert indexable drill system.

YG DRILL Inserts — Insert platform for indexable drilling.

HSS Drills

MULTI-1 — Multi-purpose HSS drill for general applications.

HPD Series — High-performance HSS. HPD-SUS variant for stainless.

GOLD-P — TiN-coated HSS jobber drills. The classic gold drill.

Specialty Drills

Spade Drills — Tips and bodies for large diameter holes.

NC Spotting Drills — Carbide spot drills for CNC.

Center Drills — Combined drill and countersink.

Countersinks — Single and multi-flute.

Counterbores — For socket head cap screw clearance.

Reamers — Carbide and HSS reamers for precision hole sizing.

Rotary Burrs — 13 shapes available (cylindrical, ball, tree, flame, etc.).

Product Families — Tapping

YG-1 is a major tap manufacturer (strengthened by the Regal Cutting Tools acquisition):

Premium Taps

SYNCHRO TAP — HSS-PM for high-speed rigid CNC tapping. Designed for synchronous tap holders. Their top tap line.

PRIME TAP — X-coated HSS-PM. High wear resistance.

COMBO TAP — Multi-purpose HSS-PM that works in a wide range of materials.

YG TAP CHIP BREAKER — Specialized geometry for chip-intensive applications.

Material-Specific Taps

YG TAP STEEL — Optimized for carbon and alloy steels.

YG TAP INOX — For stainless steel (304, 316, 17-4 PH, etc.).

YG TAP CAST IRON — For gray and ductile cast iron.

YG TAP HARDENED — For hardened steels HRc 50-60.

YG TAP Ti Ni — For titanium and nickel alloys.

YG TAP ALU — For aluminum alloys.

YG TAP FORMING — Roll form taps (chipless thread forming).

YG TAP GENERAL — All-purpose taps.

Thread Standards

Available in both Metric and Unified (UNC/UNF) thread families. Also available:

  • Pipe Taps (NPT, NPTF, NPS)
  • STI Taps (for Heli-Coil/thread insert installations)
  • Nut Taps (for high-production nut tapping)

Blue Ring Taps

Color-coded ring system for easy material identification at the machine.

Product Families — Thread Milling

Solid Carbide Thread Mills — Available with and without coolant holes, miniature sizes, with chamfer, and combination drill + thread mill.

Product Families — Indexable Inserts

Turning Inserts (YG TURN)

Full ISO turning insert line:

  • P-grade — For steel (YG602, YG622 grades)
  • M/S-grade — For stainless and superalloys
  • K-grade — For cast iron
  • N-grade — For non-ferrous

Standard ISO shapes: CNMG, WNMG, DNMG, TNMG, VNMG, SNMG, CCMT, DCMT, VCMT, etc.

Chip breakers: UF (finishing), UL (light), UM (medium), UR (roughing).

Parting & Grooving

Full grooving and parting insert line with compatible toolholders.

Miniature Turning

YG NanoCut — Precision small-bore inserts for fine turning work.

Product Families — Toolholding

Hydraulic Chucks — For end mills and drills requiring high runout accuracy.

Milling Chucks — Standard Weldon-flat holders.

Tapping Chucks — Tension/compression holders for tapping.

ER Collet Chucks — Standard ER collet system.

Pull Studs — CAT40, BT40 retention knobs.

Coating Technologies

Y-Coating — YG-1's proprietary multi-layer PVD coating. Used on V7, 4G, ONLY ONE lines.

X-Coating — High-performance PVD for Prime Tap line.

AlTiN — Standard high-temp coating for steel/stainless applications.

TiCN — For aluminum and general purpose.

TiN (Gold) — Classic gold coating for HSS tools.

Diamond (CVD) — For graphite, CFRP, and abrasive non-ferrous materials.

Blue Coating — Proprietary coating on X5070 hardened steel line.

Insert Grade System

YG-1 uses a comprehensive grade numbering system. Each grade is designed for specific ISO material groups and application ranges.

Steel Grades (ISO P)

  • YG3125 — Most popular. CVD coated, P15-P35 range. First choice for general steel turning.
  • YG3115 — CVD coated, P10-P25 range. Higher speed, lighter cuts in steel.
  • YG3030 — PVD coated, P10-P30 range. Good for finishing and moderate interruptions.
  • YG3020 — CVD coated, P15-P25 range. Stable conditions, higher wear resistance.
  • YG3015 — CVD coated, P05-P20 range. High-speed finishing in steel.
  • YG3010 — CVD coated, P05-P15 range. Precision finishing at high speeds.

Stainless Steel Grades (ISO M)

  • YG2035 — CVD coated, M15-M35 range. First choice for stainless steel. Handles work hardening.
  • YG2025 — CVD coated, M10-M25 range. Higher speed stainless turning.

Cast Iron Grades (ISO K)

  • YG1001 — Uncoated cermet/ceramic. Excellent for gray and ductile cast iron at high speeds.
  • YG1010 — CVD coated, K05-K20 range. General cast iron turning.
  • YG1020 — CVD coated, K10-K30 range. Tougher grade for interrupted cast iron.

Non-Ferrous Grades (ISO N)

  • YG10 — Uncoated, polished. For aluminum, copper, brass. Sharp edge, no built-up edge.
  • YG100 — PVD coated for non-ferrous. Longer life in abrasive aluminum alloys.

Heat-Resistant Super Alloy Grades (ISO S)

  • YG4005 — PVD coated for Inconel, titanium, cobalt alloys.

Multi-Purpose / Legacy Grades

  • YG401 — Cermet grade for steel and stainless finishing. Excellent surface finish.
  • YG211 — PVD coated, versatile for steel/stainless light turning.
  • YG213 — PVD coated, multi-purpose medium turning.
  • YG214 — PVD coated, multi-purpose including interruptions.
  • YT100 — Cermet, ultra-fine finishing grade.
  • YT100G — Cermet with gold coating, finishing grade.

Insert Chip Breaker Guide

YG-1 chip breakers are designated by 2-letter codes. The first letter indicates the material focus, the second indicates the cutting range.

Universal Series (U-prefix) — Steel & Stainless

  • UF — Ultra-Finishing. Very light DOC (0.004-0.040"), low feed. Mirror finish.
  • UL — Ultra-Light. Light cuts (0.012-0.060"), low to medium feed.
  • UG — Ultra-General. Most versatile. Medium DOC and feed. First choice for steel/stainless.
  • UM — Ultra-Medium. Medium roughing (0.040-0.160"), medium feed.
  • UC — Ultra-Chip control. Medium cuts with good chip breaking.
  • UH — Ultra-Heavy. Heavy roughing, high feed.
  • UR — Ultra-Roughing. Deepest cuts (0.100-0.400"), highest feed. Maximum MRR.
  • UT — Ultra-Tough. For heavy interruptions and unstable conditions.

Mold & Die Series (M-prefix) — Steel

  • MF — Mold Finishing. Fine finish on pre-hardened mold steel.
  • MG — Mold General. All-around for mold and die work.
  • MM — Mold Medium. Medium roughing in mold steel.
  • MR — Mold Roughing. Heavy material removal in mold steel.

Positive Rake Series (P-prefix) — Light Cuts

  • PF — Positive Finishing. Sharp edge, low cutting forces.
  • PM — Positive Medium. Medium cuts with positive rake.
  • PSF — Positive Super Finishing. Ultra-light cuts, best surface finish.
  • PWF — Positive Wiper Finishing. Wiper geometry for excellent finish at higher feeds.
  • PWM — Positive Wiper Medium. Wiper geometry for medium cuts.

Special Series

  • AL — Aluminum. Polished, sharp for non-ferrous.
  • KR — K-grade Roughing. Heavy roughing in cast iron.
  • SF — Stainless Finishing. Optimized for stainless steel finishing.
  • SM — Stainless Medium. Medium cuts in stainless.
  • SR — Stainless Roughing. Heavy cuts in stainless steel.
  • MA — Ungrooved. No chip breaker geometry (for cast iron, non-ferrous).
  • XPM — Extreme Performance Medium. Premium chip control.

ISO Insert Designation Decoder

YG-1 inserts follow the ISO/ANSI naming system:

Example: CNMG432-UF in YG3125

Position Code Meaning
1st letter C Shape: 80° diamond (C=80°, D=55°, T=60° triangle, V=35°, W=80° trigon, S=90° square, R=round, K=55° parallelogram)
2nd letter N Clearance angle: N=0° (negative rake), P=11° (positive), C=7°
3rd letter M Tolerance class: M=±0.002-0.005" (standard), G=±0.001" (precision), A=±0.001" ground
4th letter G Chip breaker: G=with chipbreaker groove, A=without groove, M=with groove both sides
1st digit 4 IC size in 1/8": 4=1/2", 3=3/8", 5=5/8", 6=3/4"
2nd digit 3 Thickness in 1/16": 3=3/16", 2=1/8", 4=1/4"
3rd digit 2 Nose radius: 2=1/32", 1=1/64", 3=3/64", 4=1/16", 5=none flat
Suffix -UF Chip breaker type (see guide above)
Grade YG3125 Carbide grade (see grade system above)

ISO Size Code (metric equivalent)

  • ANSI 432 = ISO 120408 (12mm IC, 4mm thick, 0.8mm nose radius)
  • ANSI 433 = ISO 120412 (12mm IC, 4mm thick, 1.2mm nose radius)
  • ANSI 332 = ISO 09T308 (9.52mm IC, T-style, 0.8mm nose radius)

Material Application Codes

  • P = Steels (carbon, alloy, tool steel, cast steel)
  • M = Stainless Steel (austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, duplex, PH)
  • K = Cast Iron (gray, ductile, malleable, CGI)
  • N = Non-Ferrous (aluminum, copper, brass, bronze, plastics)
  • S = Heat-Resistant Super Alloys (Inconel, titanium, cobalt-chrome, Hastelloy)
  • H = Hardened Steel (above HRc45)

Catalog Reference

  • YU25 — Current master catalog designation (covers all product lines)
  • YU-IT24 — Indexable insert catalog
  • YU-DD25 — Dream Drill catalog
  • YUTT15 — Tapping catalog

Technical Support

  • US Tech Support: 1-888-868-5988
  • Email: techsupport@yg1usa.com
  • Website: yg1usa.com
  • Online tools: Thread Mill Program Generator, Speeds & Feeds calculator, Conversion tables

Industry Solutions

YG-1 publishes application-specific catalogs:

  • Aerospace (catalog AM-23) — Ti-6Al-4V, Inconel, composites
  • Automotive (catalog AM-23) — High-volume production tooling
  • Medical Industry (catalog MI24) — Titanium, CoCr, PEEK
  • Die & Mold (catalog DM24) — Hardened steel, deep cavity work
  • Firearms — Barrel and receiver machining