Effects of inclination angles on geometrical features of machined surface in five-axis milling

With the development of manufacturing technology, five-axis milling has been one of the most important solution strategies in machining field. To deepen the understanding of multi-axis processing and improve the application level of the technology, the current work was carried out. This paper investigated the effects of tilt and lead angle on the scallop height, surface roughness, surface topography, and surface damages in five-axis ball-end milling process. Both geometrical analysis and experiment research are conducted to investigate the scallop height after five-axis milling, and variation of the surface roughness and surface topography with tool inclination angle obtained from the experiments was analyzed. Surface damages under the different inclination angles were also observed and analyzed with optical profiler. Several conclusions are made as follows. The inclination angles of the ball-end mill have no effect on the scallop height when only the spherical part of the cutter participates in the cutting process according to the geometrical analysis. Surface roughness with regard to tilt angles presents symmetrical characteristic around 0°. Surface texture feature, especially the texture direction, is closely related with the tool posture. The surface concave pits, convex marks, microscopic cracks, and spot corrosions are mainly the damage forms of the machined surface. More surface blemishes appeared when small inclination angles are adopted in cutting. As a result, the recommendatory inclination angle values for inclination angle are proposed. A better understanding of the five-axis machining process would be given by the detailed analysis of generation reason of the machined surface features, and the results could provide support for process parameter optimization.     

Investigation of cutting forces,surface integrity,and tool wear when high-speed milling of high-volume fraction SiC<Subscript>p</Subscript>/Al6063 composites in PCD tooling

This paper focused on high-speed milling of Al6063 matrix composites reinforced with high-volume fraction of small-sized SiC particulates and provided systematic experimental study about cutting forces, thin-walled part deformation, surface integrity, and tool wear during high-speed end milling of 65% volume fraction SiC_p/Al6063 (Al6063/SiC_p/65p) composites in polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tooling. The machined surface morphologies reveal that the cutting mechanism of SiC particulates plays an important role in defect formation mechanisms on the machined surface. In high-speed end milling of Al6063/SiC_p/65p composites, the cutting forces are influenced most considerably by axial depth of cut, and thus the axial depth of cut plays a dominant role in the thin-walled parts deformation. Increased milling speed within a certain range contributes to reducing surface roughness. The surface and sub-surface machined using high-speed milling suffered from less damage compared to low-speed milling. The milling speed influence on surface residual stress is associated with milling-induced heat and deformation. Micro-chipping, abrasive wear, graphitization, grain breaking off, and built-up edge are the dominated wear mechanism of PCD tools. Finally, a series of comparative experiments were performed to study the influence of tool nose radius, average diamond grain size, and machining parameters on PCD tool life.     

A prediction of the machining defects in flank milling

In peripheral milling with great axial engagements, the tool deflections generate some geometrical defects on the machined surface. This article present a prediction method of these defects which is applicable on every ruled surface. The cutting forces are estimate with the cutting pressure notion. The parameters of the tool/workpiece material couple are identified by a test part. The prediction of the tool deflections requires controlling the tool immersion angle for each angular position of the tool. The deflections can be significant. An original procedure which is based on an engagement cards avoids an iterative calculation of the radial engagement. The experimental checking of the method of prediction is presented in a test.     

Experimental Study on Cutting Forces and Surface Integrity in High-Speed Side Milling of Ti-6Al-4V Titanium Alloy

This article is concerned with the cutting forces and surface integrity in high-speed side milling of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy. The experiments were conducted with coated carbide cutting tools under dry cutting conditions. The effects of cutting parameters on the cutting forces, tool wear and surface integrity (including surface roughness, microhardness and microstructure beneath the machined surface) were investigated. The velocity effects are focused on in the present study. The experimental results show that the cutting forces in three directions increase with cutting speed, feed per tooth and depth of cut (DoC). The widths of flank wear VB increases rapidly with the increasing cutting speed. The surface roughness initially decreases and presents a minimum value at the cutting speed 200 m/min, and then increases with the cutting speed. The microstructure beneath the machined surfaces had minimal or no obvious plastic deformation under the present milling conditions. Work hardening leads to an increment in micro-hardness on the top surface. Furthermore, the hardness of machined surface decreases with the increase of cutting speed and feed per tooth due to thermal softening effects. The results indicated that the cutting speed 200 m/min could be considered as a critical value at which both relatively low cutting forces and improved surface quality can be obtained.     

INDUCTION-HEATED TOOL MACHINING OF ELASTOMERS—PART 2: CHIP MORPHOLOGY, CUTTING FORCES, AND MACHINED SURFACES

The induction-heated tool and cryogenically cooled workpiece are investigated for end milling of elastomers to generate desirable shape and surface roughness. Elastomer end milling experiments are conducted to study effects of the cutting speed, tool heating, and workpiece cooling on the chip formation, cutting forces, groove width, and surface roughness. At high cutting speed, smoke is generated and becomes an environmental hazard. At low cutting speeds, induction heated tool, if properly utilized, has demonstrated to be beneficial for the precision machining of elastomer with better surface roughness and dimensional control. Frequency analysis of cutting forces shows that the soft elastomer workpiece has low frequency vibration, which can be correlated to the surface machining marks. The width of end-milled grooves is only 68 to 78% of the tool diameter. The correlation between the machined groove width and cutting force reveals the importance of the workpiece compliance to precision machining of elastomer. This study also explores the use of both contact profilometer and non-contact confocal microscope to measure the roughness of machined elastomer surfaces. The comparison of measurement results shows the advantages and limitations of both measurement methods.     

Cutting speed modelling in ball nose milling applications

Cutting speed is a key factor that influences machined surface quality and tool life in milling. To date, the study of its distribution over a machined surface has not been established. This paper presents a mathematical model to evaluate cutting speed on the machined surface in 3-axis ball nose milling. The approximation errors introduced by surface shape, step-over and CNC interpolation are analysed. The model is used to predict visible areas which have different colour intensities on finished surfaces in the machining of a wood-plastic composite. A good agreement is obtained between the prediction and experimental results.     

Experimental study of the effect of tool orientation in five-axis micro-milling of brass using ball-end mills

The effect of tool orientation on the final surface geometry and quality in five-axis micro-milling of brass using ball-end mills is investigated. Straight grooves with a semicircular cross section are cut with different tool inclination and tilt angles, and the resulting surfaces are characterized using an optical profilometer and microscope. Micro-milling cutting forces are recorded synchronously with spindle electric current and cutting motions in order to investigate the correlation between the tool orientation and the achieved surface quality. Results of various cutting experiments and analysis of the final surface geometry show that varying the tool orientation reduces rubbing of the material at the bottom of the grooves, which often occurs in ball-end milling of brass, and improves the final surface quality. The experimental analysis for surface roughness shows that applying a tool inclination angle of 15° can considerably improve the surface roughness at the bottom of the grooves. Analysis of static and averaged peak-to-valley (P-to-V) values of the cutting forces show that the static cutting force values are reduced by half when the tool inclination was increased from 0 to 15°. P-to-V cutting force values in along-the-feed direction were also decreased in the inclined machining.     

INDUCTION-HEATED TOOL MACHINING OF ELASTOMERS—PART 2: CHIP MORPHOLOGY,CUTTING FORCES,AND MACHINED SURFACES

ABSTRACT

The induction-heated tool and cryogenically cooled workpiece are investigated for end milling of elastomers to generate desirable shape and surface roughness. Elastomer end milling experiments are conducted to study effects of the cutting speed, tool heating, and workpiece cooling on the chip formation, cutting forces, groove width, and surface roughness. At high cutting speed, smoke is generated and becomes an environmental hazard. At low cutting speeds, induction heated tool, if properly utilized, has demonstrated to be beneficial for the precision machining of elastomer with better surface roughness and dimensional control. Frequency analysis of cutting forces shows that the soft elastomer workpiece has low frequency vibration, which can be correlated to the surface machining marks. The width of end-milled grooves is only 68 to 78% of the tool diameter. The correlation between the machined groove width and cutting force reveals the importance of the workpiece compliance to precision machining of elastomer. This study also explores the use of both contact profilometer and non-contact confocal microscope to measure the roughness of machined elastomer surfaces. The comparison of measurement results shows the advantages and limitations of both measurement methods.     

Cutting parameter and tool path style effects on cutting force and tool deflection in machining of convex and concave inclined surfaces

Convex and concave inclined surfaces are frequently encountered in the machining of components in industries such as aerospace, aircraft, automotive, biomedical, and precision machinery manufacturing and mold industries. Tool path styles, generated by different cutting strategies, result in various cutting forces and tool deflection values that might lead to poor surface integrities. In cost-effective manufacturing, it is helpful to make known their effects on machinability. Thus, the first aim of this study is to investigate optimum cutting parameter values in ball end milling of EN X40CrMoV5-1 tool steel with three coated cutters. The parameters taken into consideration are cutting speed, feed rate, step over, and tool path style. The second aim of the study is to determine the effects of tool path styles in ball end milling of inclined surfaces. As a result, the most effective parameter within the selected cutting parameters and cutting styles for both inclined surfaces and different coatings was step over. In terms of tool coatings, the most rapidly deteriorating coating was TiC coating for cutting forces in both inclined surfaces and for tool deflection in convex inclined surface. In addition, the response surface methodology is employed to predict surface roughness values, depending on the cutting forces obtained. The model generated gives highly accurate results.     

Realistic simulation of surface defects in five-axis milling using the measured geometry of the tool

Managing macro- and micro-geometry of surfaces during manufacturing processes is a key factor for their following uses. Indeed, micro-geometry and surface topography are directly linked to the performances of functions (contact, friction, lubrication, etc.) by texture parameters to ensure the desired local geometry. Common models for simulation of surface topography are based on ideal geometry of the machining tool and cannot represent surface defects. The actual prediction and simulation of defects are one step forward in a competitive context. In this paper, the realistic model proposed aims to simulate and predict as finely as possible local defects of machined surfaces taking into account the actual edge geometry of the cutting tool. The combined use of the machining kinematics and of the measured geometry of the cutting edges leads to the representation of the geometrical envelope of the surface using a Zbuffer technique. Simulation assessment is carried out by the analysis of 3D surface topography parameters such as surface complexity and relative area and by a comparison of simulation results to an experimental case of study.     

Analytical modelling of slot milling exit burr size

A computational model was recently proposed by authors to approximate the tangential cutting force and consequently predict the thickness of the exit up milling side burr. To calculate the cutting force, the specific cutting force coefficient with respect to material properties was used. The model was sensitive to material yield strength and few cutting and tool geometrical parameters. However, the effects of cutting speed, tool coating, and tool rake angle on burr size were neglected. Other phenomena that could affect the burr size such as friction and abrasion were not taken into account either. Therefore, in the current work, a mechanistic force model is incorporated to propose a burr size prediction algorithm. The tangential and radial forces are calculated based on using specific cutting force coefficients in each direction. Furthermore, using the new approach, the burr size is predicated and the effects of a broad range of cutting parameters on burr size and friction angle are evaluated. Experimental values of burr size correlated well with prediction. It was found that the cutting speed has negligible effects on force and burr size. Lower friction angle was recorded when using larger feed per tooth. Consequently, thinner exit up milling side burr was obtained under high friction angle.     

Improved dynamic cutting force model in ball-end milling. Part I: theoretical modelling and experimental calibration

An accurate cutting force model of ball-end milling is essential for precision prediction and compensation of tool deflection that dominantly determines the dimensional accuracy of the machined surface. This paper presents an improved theoretical dynamic cutting force model for ball-end milling. The three-dimensional instantaneous cutting forces acting on a single flute of a helical ball-end mill are integrated from the differential cutting force components on sliced elements of the flute along the cutter-axis direction. The size effect of undeformed chip thickness and the influence of the effective rake angle are considered in the formulation of the differential cutting forces based on the theory of oblique cutting. A set of half immersion slot milling tests is performed with a one-tooth solid carbide helical ball-end mill for the calibration of the cutting force coefficients. The recorded dynamic cutting forces are averaged to fit the theoretical model and yield the cutting force coefficients. The measured and simulated dynamic cutting forces are compared using the experimental calibrated cutting force coefficients, and there is a reasonable agreement. A further experimental verification of the dynamic cutting force model will be presented in a follow-up paper.     

Investigation on ball end milling of P20 die steel with cutter orientation

The generation mechanism of machining-induced residual stresses is a complex nonlinear and thermal–mechanical coupling problem. The cutting forces and cutting temperature produced in machining process must be considered simultaneously. The influence of cutter orientation and feed per tooth on the cutting speed, cutting forces, cutting temperature, and residual stresses is discussed in the present study. Effective cutting speed in accordance with the inclination angle in feed direction is analyzed. The cutting forces are gained by milling experiment, and the cutting temperature is obtained by finite element method. Moreover, the influence of the effective cutting speed on the cutting forces and cutting temperature is stated, and the relationship among the cutting forces, cutting temperature, and residual stresses is discussed. The experimental and numerical methods are both adopted in this study to give a better understanding of the milling process. After analysis of the phenomenon, several conclusions are made. The inclination angle in feed direction affects the effective cutting speed, and then the cutting forces, cutting temperature, and residual stresses are affected. Priority selection of inclination angle in feed direction is suggested from 5° to 30° in order to reduce the cutting forces. The overall trend of the workpiece temperature presents the parabolic shape, while the chip temperature increases with the increasing inclination angle in feed direction. Residual stress in feed direction almost increases with the increasing feed per tooth, which is not obvious in the general scope of the feed rate. The inclination angle of 5° and 15° is the priority in order to produce residual compressive stresses in cross feed direction.     

Low-frequency chatter genesis during inclined surface copy-milling with ball-end mill: Experimental study

In this study low-frequency chatter during machining of inclined surfaces with ball-end mills is experimentally investigated. An explanation of genesis of low-frequency vibrations have been proposed for various conditions: cutting direction, lead angle values, spindle speed, depth of cut. As a result, it has been proven that low-frequency chatter has more significant effect on machined surface than usual chatter. Low-frequency chatter occurs during downward milling, rather than upward milling, especially when lead angle increases. Furthermore, low-frequency chatter takes place in the beginning of cutting process, thereafter develops into steady state of usual chatter, which has no such significant effect on machined surface, as it has been shown. The results are in line with the supposition that low frequency vibrations are caused by sudden and irregular nature of shearing process, when magnitude is small.     

Prediction of cutting forces and machining error in ball end milling of curved surfaces -I theoretical analysis

This paper presents a theoretical model by which cutting forces and machining error in ball end milling of curved surfaces can be predicted. The actual trochoidal paths of the cutting edges are considered in the evaluation of the chip geometry. The cutting forces are evaluated based on the theory of oblique cutting. The machining errors resulting from force induced tool deflections are calculated at various parts of the machined surface. The influences of various cutting conditions, cutting styles and cutting modes on cutting forces and machining error are investigated. The results of this study show that in contouring, the cutting force component which influences the machining error decreases with increase in milling position angle; while in ramping, the two force components which influence machining error are hardly affected by the milling position angle. It is further seen that in contouring, down cross-feed yields higher accuracy than up cross-feed, while in ramping, right cross-feed yields higher accuracy than left cross-feed. The machining error generally decreases with increase in milling position angle.     

高速铣削铝合金时切削力和表面质量影响因素的试验研究

对高速铣削典型铝合金框架结构工件时的切削力和加工表面质量进行了试验研究。在高速进给铣削时 ,当进给方向发生改变 ,机床的加减速特性将导致在拐角处进给量减小、铣刀切入角增大 ,从而引起切削力增大和加工振动。在恒切削效率条件下高速铣削铝合金的试验结果表明 ,高速铣削时宜采用较小的轴向切深和较大的径向切深 ,以减小铣削力、提高加工表面质量 ;刀具动平衡偏心量是高速铣削时引起轴向振纹的主要原因     

Selection of the Machining Inclination Angle in High-Speed Ball End Milling

High-speed machining is a key issue for current die and mould manufacturing. Though this technology has great potential for high productivity, tool wear accelerated by high cutting speeds and hard materials is a barrier. In this work, we attempted to reduce tool wear by controlling the machining inclination angle between the tool and the workpiece. To do this, the range of cutting angles engaged in the cutting using a ball end cutter is obtained from the boundary lines describing machined sculptured surfaces represented by the cutting envelop condition and the geometric relationships of successive tool paths. Then, the chip cross-sectional area and chip length can be obtained from the calculated cutting edge and the rotational engagement angle. The simulation results showed that a machining inclination angle of 15° was good enough from the point view of machineability, and this value was verified by a cutting experiment using high-speed ball end milling.     

A NEW MECHANISTIC MODEL FOR PREDICTING WORN TOOL CUTTING FORCES

An enhanced model for predicting worn tool cutting forces in metal cutting without the need for any worn tool calibration tests is presented in this paper. The new model utilizes a previously developed slip-line field approach in conjunction with a mechanistic force model to predict the shear flow stress and shear angle for a range of cutting conditions with only a minimal number of sharp tool calibration tests. The shear flow stress and shear angle values are then used as inputs into a worn tool force model to predict the cutting forces due to tool flank wear. Predictions of worn tool cutting forces from the new model have been compared to experimental data from both a steel and a ductile iron workpiece. Ductile iron tests are significant because previous shear flow stress and shear angle models require chip measurements which cannot be made with the chips produced by iron workpieces. Model predictions are also compared to literature data obtained using an aluminum workpiece. An excellent comparison between the model predictions and the experimental data is found for all of the materials considered.     

Study on physical and technological effects of precise turning with self-propelled rotary tool

This study is focused on some physical and technological aspects of a precise turning with Self-Propelled Rotary Tool (SPRT). As part of experiment, the cutting forces, on-line insert run-out and machined surface topography were investigated. Turning tests were carried in the range of variable feeds, depths of cut and cutting speeds for a hardened 41Cr4 steel with the use of a coated carbide round indexable inserts. The effect of cutting conditions on the tool rotation and the dynamics of cutting force signal were evaluated. In particular, changes of cutting forces vs. cutting lengths for different cutting parameters were analyzed in terms of the cutting insert rotation, and Power Spectral Density (PSD) analysis. Moreover, the original method based on cutting force oscillations was employed to estimate the on-line insert run-out. Ultimately, the analysis of a machined surface topography was conducted, considering the interactions between the process inputs and outputs. It was shown that application of high cutting speeds and feeds during SPRT turning can lead to the improvements in surface finish, as well as the stabilization of cutting force values.     

Effect of cutting speed on cutting forces and wear mechanisms in high-speed face milling of Inconel 718 with Sialon ceramic tools

In this paper, a series of milling tests were carried out in order to identify the effects of cutting speed on cutting forces and tool wear when high-speed face milling Inconel 718 with Sialon ceramic tools. Both down-milling and up-milling operations were conducted. The cutting forces, tool wear morphologies, and the tool failure mechanisms in a wide range of cutting speeds (600–3,000 m/min) were discussed. Results showed that the resultant cutting forces firstly decrease and then increase with the increase of cutting speed. Under relatively lower cutting speeds (600 and 1,000 m/min), the dominant wear patterns is notching. Further increasing the speed to more than 1,400 m/min, the notching decreases a lot and flank wear becomes the dominant wear pattern. In general, at the same cutting speed, flaking on the rake face and notching on the flank face are more serious in down-milling operation than that in up-milling operation with the same metal removal volume. However, the surface roughness values for down-milling are lower than that for up-milling.