Experimental studies of cutting force variation in face milling

The purpose of this paper is to present a developed cutting force model for multi-toothed cutting processes, including a complete set of parameters influencing the cutting force variation that has been shown to occur in face milling, and to analyse to what extent these parameters influence the total cutting force variation for a selected tool geometry. The scope is to model and analyse the cutting forces for each individual tooth on the tool, to be able to draw conclusions about how the cutting action for an individual tooth is affected by its neighbours.A previously developed cutting force model for multi-toothed cutting processes is supplemented with three new parameters; eccentricity of the spindle, continuous cutting edge deterioration and load inflicted tool deflection influencing the cutting force variation. A previously developed milling force sensor is used to experimentally analyse the cutting force variation, and to give input to the cutting force simulation performed with the developed cutting force model.The experimental results from the case studied in this paper show that there are mainly three factors influencing the cutting force variation for a tool with new inserts. Radial and axial cutting edge position causes approximately 50% of the force variation for the case studied in this paper. Approximately 40% arises from eccentricity and the remaining 10% is the result of spindle deflection during machining. The experimental results presented in this paper show a new type of cutting force diagrams where the force variation for each individual tooth when two cutting edges are engaged in the workpiece at the same time. The wear studies performed shows a redistribution of the individual main cutting forces dependent on the wear propagation for each tooth.     

On cutting parameters selection for plunge milling of heat-resistant-super-alloys based on precise cutting geometry

In plunge milling operation the tool is fed in the direction of the spindle axis which has the highest structural rigidity, leading to the excess high cutting efficiency. Plunge milling operation is one of the most effective methods and widely used for mass material removal in rough/semi-rough process while machining high strength steel and heat-resistant-super-alloys. Cutting parameters selection plays great role in plunge milling process since the cutting force as well as the milling stability lobe is sensitive to the machining parameters. However, the intensive studies of this issue are insufficient by researchers and engineers. In this paper a new cutting model is developed to predict the plunge milling force based on the more precise plunge milling geometry. In this model, the step of cut as well as radial cutting width is taken into account for chip thickness calculation. Frequency domain method is employed to estimate the stability of the machining process. Based on the prediction of the cutting force and milling stability, we present a strategy to optimize the cutting parameters of plunge milling process. Cutting tests of heat-resistant-super-alloys with double inserts are conducted to validate the developed cutting force and cutting parameters optimization models.     

Time domain model of plunge milling operation

Plunge milling operations are used to remove excess material rapidly in roughing operations. The cutter is fed in the direction of spindle axis which has the highest structural rigidity. This paper presents time domain modeling of mechanics and dynamics of plunge milling process. The cutter is assumed to be flexible in lateral, axial, and torsional directions. The rigid body feed motion of the cutter and structural vibrations of the tool are combined to evaluate time varying dynamic chip load distribution along the cutting edge. The cutting forces in lateral and axial directions and torque are predicted by considering the feed, radial engagement, tool geometry, spindle speed, and the regeneration of the chip load due to vibrations. The mathematical model is experimentally validated by comparing simulated forces and vibrations against measurements collected from plunge milling tests. The study shows that the lateral forces and vibrations exist only if the inserts are not symmetric, and the primary source of chatter is the torsional–axial vibrations of the plunge mill. The chatter vibrations can be reduced by increasing the torsional stiffness with strengthened flute cavities.     

Modelling and simulation of chatter in milling using a predictive force model

A predictive time domain chatter model is presented for the simulation and analysis of chatter in milling processes. The model is developed using a predictive milling force model, which represents the action of milling cutter by the simultaneous operations of a number of single-point cutting tools and predicts the milling forces from the fundamental workpiece material properties, tool geometry and cutting conditions. The instantaneous undeformed chip thickness is modelled to include the dynamic modulations caused by the tool vibrations so that the dynamic regeneration effect is taken into account. Runge–Kutta method is employed to solve the differential equations governing the dynamics of the milling system for accurate solutions. A Windows-based simulation system for chatter in milling is developed using the predictive model, which predicts chatter vibrations represented by the tool-work displacements and cutting force variations against cutter revolution in both numerical and graphic formats, from input of tool and workpiece material properties, cutter parameters, machine tool characteristics and cutting conditions. The system is verified with experimental results and good agreement is shown.     

An experimental study of tool wear and cutting force variation in the end milling of Inconel 718 with coated carbide inserts

Inconel 718 is a difficult-to-cut nickel-based superalloy commonly used in aerospace industry. This paper presents an experimental study of the tool wear propagation and cutting force variations in the end milling of Inconel 718 with coated carbide inserts. The experimental results showed that significant flank wear was the predominant failure mode affecting the tool life. The tool flank wear propagation in the up milling operations was more rapid than that in the down milling operations. The cutting force variation along with the tool wear propagation was also analysed. While the thermal effects could be a significant cause for the peak force variation within a single cutting pass, the tool wear propagation was believed to be responsible for the gradual increase of the mean peak force in successive cutting passes.     

Feedrate scheduling for indexable end milling process based on an improved cutting force model

In CNC machining, an optimal process plan is needed for higher productivity and machining performance. This paper proposes a mechanistic cutting force model to perform feedrate scheduling that is useful in process planning for indexable end milling. Indexable end mills, which consist of inserts and a cutter body, have been widely used in the roughing of parts in the mold industry. The geometry and distribution of inserts compose a discontinuous cutting edge on the cutter body, and tool geometry of indexable end mill varies with axial position due to the geometry and distribution of inserts. Thus, an algorithm that calculates tool geometry data at an arbitrary axial position was developed. The developed cutting force model uses cutting-condition-independent cutting force coefficients and considers run out, cutter deflection, geometry variation and size effect for accurate cutting force prediction. Through feedrate scheduling, NC code is optimized to regulate cutting forces at given reference force. Experiments with general NC codes show the effectiveness of feedrate scheduling in process planning.     

硬质合金涂层刀片铣削AISI410不锈钢刀具寿命研究

AISI410不锈钢广泛应用于各种工业设备的制造,如汽轮机叶片,各种泵的机械零件和蒸汽设备等。加工过程中存在着导热率低、加工硬化严重、切削力大等问题,属于典型的难加工材料。本文通过硬质合金涂层刀片铣削AISI410不锈钢正交试验,研究了硬质合金涂层刀片铣削AISI410不锈钢时刀具寿命的变化规律,归纳了相应的刀具寿命模型,并对其中的各影响因素的独立作用效果进行了分析。试验结果表明:硬质合金涂层刀片加工AISI410不锈钢时,铣削方式、每齿进给量、切削速度、轴向切削深度对刀具寿命的影响依次减小;切削速度越低,每齿进给量对于刀具寿命的影响越大;切削效率一定时,降低切削速度增大每齿进给量有利于延长刀具寿命。     

Measurement of milling tool vibrations during cutting using laser vibrometry

Spindle and tool vibration measurements are of great importance in both the development and monitoring of high-speed milling. Measurements of cutting forces and vibrations on the stationary spindle head is the most used technique today. But since the milling results depend on the relative movement between the workpiece and the tool, it is desirable to measure on the rotating tool as close to the cutters as possible. In this paper the use of laser vibrometry (LDV) for milling tool vibration measurements during cutting is demonstrated. However, laser vibrometry measurements on rotating surfaces are not in general straight forward. Crosstalk between vibration velocity components and harmonic speckle noise generated from the repeating revolution of the surface topography are problems that must be considered. In order to overcome the mentioned issues, a cylindrical casing with a highly optically smooth surface was manufactured and mounted on the tool to be measured. The spindle vibrations, radial tool misalignment, and out-of-roundness of the measured surface were filtered out from the signal; hence, the vibrations of the cutting tool were resolved. Simultaneous measurements of cutting forces and spindle head vibrations were performed and comparisons between the signals were conducted. The results showed that vibration velocities or displacements of the tool can be obtained with high temporal resolution during cutting load and therefore the approach is proven to be feasible for analysing high-frequency milling tool vibrations.     

Influence of the number of inserts for tool life evaluation in face milling of steels

Tool life tests are often employed to verify the behaviour of one or more inserts in a cutter in order to optimise machining productivity and minimise cost. In milling process, such tests are expensive and require many of tools and a lot of work material to achieve any of the stipulated tool rejection criterion in any of the inserts. In practice, tool life tests are usually carried out using only one or few edges in a face milling cutter in order to minimise cost. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the number of tools used in face milling operation and how they relate to the establishment of tool life under specified cutting conditions. Flank wear curves were evaluated for AISI 1045 and 8640 steels using 1, 2, 3 and 6 inserts in a face milling cutter. Test results show that reduction in the number of inserts in the milling cutter led to a reduction in the amount of material removed and also tend to increase tool life when machining at the same feed per tooth. Results obtained using reduced number of inserts in a milling cutter should only be used for comparison between two or more conditions and should not be used to establish tool life.     

切削刃数量对球墨铸铁铣削性能及表面形貌特征的影响

目的 提高球墨铸铁铣削表面质量和刀具寿命。方法 通过刀具轨迹计算和切削试验,研究球墨铸铁平面铣削过程中切削刃数量对切削性能、刀具磨损和表面形貌特征的影响,并用分形维数和表面粗糙度共同表征表面形貌。结果 刀具轨迹分析表明,由于铣削过程中,刀具切削方向和进给方向间的夹角不断变化,铣削表面不同位置和方向的表面形貌存在差异,进而导致表面粗糙度存在较明显的差异。通过铣削试验研究切削刃数量对铣削表面不同位置和方向的几何特征的影响规律发现,随着切削刃数量的成倍增加,切削力显著增加,同时刀具磨损量降低了36.5%,表面粗糙度值降低了39.2%,表面轮廓分形维数值增加了4.8%。结论 增加切削刃数量可以使每齿切削力和刀具磨损均显著减小,刀具寿命显著增加,同时表面粗糙度减小,分形维数增大,即切削刃数量的增加使表面质量更好,表面轮廓结构更复杂。     

A three-dimensional analytical cutting force model for micro end milling operation

In the present day manufacturing arena one of the most important fields of interest lies in the manufacturing of miniaturized components. End milling with fine-grained carbide micro end mills could be an efficient and economical means for medium and small lot production of micro components. Analysis of the cutting force in micro end milling plays a vital role in characterizing the cutting process, in estimating the tool life and in optimizing the process. A new approach to analytical three-dimensional cutting force modeling has been introduced in this paper. The model determines the theoretical chip area at any specific angular position of the tool cutting edge by considering the geometry of the path of the cutting edge and relates this with tangential cutting force. A greater proportion of the helix face of the cutter participating in the cutting process differs the cutting force profile in micro end milling operations a bit from that in conventional end milling operations. This is because of the reason that the depth-of-cut to tool diameter ratio is much higher in micro end milling than the conventional one. The analytical cutting force expressions developed in this model have been simulated for a set of cutting conditions and are found to be well in harmony with experimental results.     

Coated tools’ wear description in down and up milling based on the cutting edge entry impact duration

Milling operations are associated with significant tool impact loads. In the present investigations, coated carbide inserts were employed in down and up milling hardened steel, at appropriate cutting conditions and tool diameters, for attaining various cutting edge entry impact durations (CEEID). The unexpected tool life improvement in up milling, when inserts with rake chamfer instead of sharper round ones were applied, was explained via FEM-determined tool loads and their duration during the material removal. The effect of CEEID on the film failure was quantified by impact tests at various force data. The tool life was effectively described dependent on CEEID.     

Sensing tool breakage in face milling with a neural network

A new approach using a neural network to process the features of the cutting force signal for the recognition of tool breakage in face milling is proposed. The cutting force signal is first compressed by averaging the cutting force signal per tooth. Then, the average cutting force signal is passed through a median filter to extract the features of the cutting force signal due to tool breakage. With the back propagation training process, the neural network memorizes the feature difference of the cutting force signal between with and without tool breakage. As a result, the neural network can be used to classify the cutting force signal with or without tool breakage. Experiments show this new approach can sense tool breakage in a wide range of face milling operations.     

The estimation of cutting forces and specific force coefficients during finishing ball end milling of inclined surfaces

The majority of cutting force models applied for the ball end milling process includes only the influence of cutting parameters (e.g. feedrate, depth of cut, cutting speed) and estimates forces on the basis of coefficients calibrated during slot milling. Furthermore, the radial run out phenomenon is predominantly not considered in these models. However this approach can induce excessive force estimation errors, especially during finishing ball end milling of sculptured surfaces. In addition, most of cutting force models is formulated for the ball end milling process with axial depths of cut exceeding 0.5 mm and thus, they are not oriented directly to the finishing processes. Therefore, this paper proposes an accurate cutting force model applied for the finishing ball end milling, which includes also the influence of surface inclination and cutter's run out. As part of this work the new method of specific force coefficients calibration has been also developed. This approach is based on the calibration during ball end milling with various surface inclinations and the application of instantaneous force signals as an input data. Furthermore, the analysis of specific force coefficients in function of feed per tooth, cutting speed and surface inclination angle was also presented. In order to determine geometrical elements of cut precisely, the radial run out was considered in equations applied for the calculation of sectional area of cut and active length of cutting edge. Research revealed that cutter's run out and surface inclination angle have significant influence on the cutting forces, both in the quantitative and qualitative aspect. The formulated model enables cutting force estimation in the wide range of cutting parameters, assuring relative error's values below 16%. Furthermore, the consideration of cutter's radial run out phenomenon in the developed model enables the reduction of model's relative error by the 7% in relation to the model excluding radial run out.     

Modelling the cutting edge radius size effect for force prediction in micro milling

This paper presents a theoretical model for cutting force prediction in micro milling, taking into account the cutting edge radius size effect, the tool run out and the deviation of the chip flow angle from the inclination angle. A parameterization according to the uncut chip thickness to cutting edge radius ratio is used for the parameters involved in the force calculation. The model was verified by means of cutting force measurements in micro milling. The results show good agreement between predicted and measured forces. It is also demonstrated that the use of the Stabler's rule is a reasonable approximation and that micro end mill run out is effectively compensated by the deflections induced by the cutting forces.     

Predicting the dynamic behaviour of torus milling tools when climb milling using the stability lobes theory

This paper investigates stability and dynamic behaviour of torus tool in climb milling on 5 positioned axes. The stability lobes theory is used to enable stable cutting conditions to be chosen. As the adaptation of such a theory to complex milling configurations is a difficult matter, new methods are presented to identify the dynamic parameters. Tool dynamic characteristics (stiffness and natural pulsation) are determined with an original coupled calculations-tests method. Start and exit angles are computed exactly using an original numerical model. A sensitivity analysis highlights the influence of machining parameters on stability of climb milling. This shows that a third region of “potential instability” must be taken into account in plotting stability lobes, due to the uncertainty of prediction due to modelling and identification of parameters. The results were validated experimentally with an innovative approach, especially through the use of high-speed cameras. Analysis of vibrations and the surface roughness allowed the analytical model to be verified so as to optimise the inclination of the tool on the surface.     

钛合金腹板高速超声椭圆振动铣削力研究

高速超声椭圆振动切削是使切削刀具刀尖附加椭圆振动进行的超声频断续切削,突破了超声振动加工对临界速度的限制。采用自行研制的螺纹式椭圆激励式超声振动铣削刀柄装置对钛合金腹板进行铣削试验,结果表明:随着高速超声椭圆振动切削的速度增大,切削力增幅明显,且相比于普通铣削所受到的切削力约少20%。     

An examination of the fundamental mechanics of cutting force coefficients

In metal cutting, the cutting force is the key factor affecting the machined surface, and is also important in determining reasonable cutting parameters. The research and construction of cutting force prediction models therefore has a great practical value. The accuracy of cutting force prediction largely depends on the cutting force coefficients of the material. In the average cutting force model, cutting force coefficients are considered to be constant. This study makes use of experiments to investigate the cutting force coefficients in the average cutting force model, with a view to accurately identifying cutting force coefficients and verifying that they are related only to the tool–workpiece material couple and the tool geometrical parameters, and are not affected by milling parameters. To this end, the paper first examines the theory behind identifying cutting force coefficients in the average cutting force model. Based on this theory, a series of slot-milling experiments are performed to measure the milling forces, fixing spindle speeds and radial/axial depths of cutting, and linearly varying the feed per tooth. The tangential milling force coefficient and the radial milling force coefficient are then calculated by linearly fitting the experimental data. The obtained results show that altering the milling parameters does not change the milling force coefficients for the selected tool/workpiece material combination.     

A study of high efficiency face milling tools

A new predictive force model for a single-tooth face milling cutter with a chamfered main cutting edge has been derived. Machining tests has been conducted for fly cutting with a chamfered main cutting edge tools on plane surfaces. An S45C medium carbon plate has been used as the workpiece matrial. Force data from these tests were used to estimate the empirical constants of the mechanical model and to verify its prediction capabilities. The results show a good agreement between the predicted and measured forces.Since tool manufacturers does not provide tools with selected combinations of chamfered main cutting edge, radial angle, axial angle and inclination angles, tool holders manufactured in-house were used in the tests. The tips were prepared to the required geometry using a tool grinder.     

Analytical prediction of chatter stability in ball end milling with tool inclination

The paper presents an analytical method to predict chatter stability in ball end milling with tool inclination. The chatter stability limits in ball end milling without the tool inclination have been predicted in the previous study by deriving directional milling force coefficients and then solving a simple quadratic equation. However, the tool is generally inclined and not perpendicular to the cut surface in practice. Therefore, a new method is developed to compute the directional milling force coefficients considering the tool inclination. It is confirmed that the chatter stability predicted by the proposed method agrees well with the experiments.