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.     

Tool wear measurement in turning using force ratio

The aim of this work was to develop a reliable method to predict flank wear during the turning process. The present work developed a mathematical model for on-line monitoring of tool wear in a turning process. Force signals are highly sensitive carriers of information about the machining process and, hence, they are the best alternatives for monitoring tool wear. In the present work, determination of tool wear has been achieved by using force signals. The relationship between flank wear and the ratio of force components was established on the basis of data obtained from a series of experiments. Measurement of the ratio between the feed force and the cutting force components (F_f/F_c) has been found to provide a practical method for an in-process approach to the quantification of tool wear. A series of experiments was conducted to study the effects of tool wear as well as other cutting parameters on the cutting force signals, and to establish a relationship between the force signals, tool wear and other cutting parameters. The flank wear and the ratio of forces at different working conditions were collected experimentally to develop a mathematical model for predicting flank wear. The model was verified by comparing the experimental values with the predicted values. The relationship was then used for determination of tool flank wear.     

The total energy and the total entropy of force signals — new parameters for monitoring oblique turning operations

In unmanned CNC turning operations, the accuracy of tool wear predictions is very important for accurate tool replacement policies and avoiding unnecessary tool insert changes. This paper introduces two new parameters, namely the total energy and the total entropy of force signals, for tool condition monitoring. The correlation between the new parameters, tool wear and a wide range of cutting conditions is examined. The experimental results show that the energy of force signal can be reliably used to monitor tool flank and crater wear over a wide range of cutting conditions. However, the total entropy of forces does not appear to be sensitive to feed rate, rake angle and tool wear. The experimental results also indicate that crater wear causes an increase in the effective rake angle resulting in lower total energy of forces. For some particular shapes of worn tool, however, the crater wear results in a decreased rake angle which increases the total energy of forces. The influence of crater wear on forces and the root mean square of acoustic emission (AErms) signals is also observed in this research.     

刀具磨损对单晶铝纳米切削过程的影响

基于分子动力学的理论建立了单晶铝的纳米切削仿真模型,比较研究了在刀具未磨损和刀具磨损条件下对切削过程的影响。研究表明：相比于刀具未磨损,在刀具磨损的情况下,已加工表面质量有所下降,基体上出现了大量的位错等缺陷;切削力也全部有所升高,其中刃口半径磨损对切削力影响最为显著,在相同的切削条件,相比于刀具未磨损升高约为17.78%,后刀面磨损和前刀面磨损对切削力的影响基本相同,提高了约7.98%;刀具温度和工件的温度也都有不同程度的升高,其中,工件的温升更高。刀具刃口半径磨损对温升影响最大,达到稳定切削时,刀具的平均温度相比于刀具未磨损升高约为7.2%。     

A worn tool force model for three-dimensional cutting operations

Previous studies have shown that there is a region on the flank of a worn cutting tool where plastic flow of the workpiece material occurs. This paper presents experimental data which shows that in three-dimensional cutting operations in which the nose of the tool is engaged, the region of plastic flow grows linearly with increases in total wearland width. A piecewise linear model is developed for modeling the growth of the plastic flow region, and the model is shown to be independent of cutting conditions. A worn tool force model for three-dimensional cutting operations that uses this concept is presented. The model requires a minimal number of sharp tool tests and only one worn tool test. An integral part of the worn tool force model is a contact model that is used to obtain the magnitude of the stresses on the flank of the tool. The force model is validated through comparison to data obtained from wear tests conducted over a range of cutting conditions and workpiece materials. It is also shown that for a given tool and workpiece material combination, the incremental increases in the cutting forces due to tool flank wear are solely a function of the amount and nature of the wear and are independent of the cutting condition in which the tool wear was produced.     

A model for thread milling cutting forces

This paper presents a mechanistic model for prediction of the thread milling forces. The mechanics of cutting for thread milling is analyzed similar to the end milling process but with modified cutting edge geometry. The chip thickness and cutting force models are developed considering the unique geometry of the tool. The model has been calibrated for 6061 Aluminum and validated. The effects of tool and thread geometry have been studied using the model.     

An experimental investigation on effect of minimum quantity lubrication in machining AISI 1040 steel

The growing demands for high productivity of machining need use of high cutting velocity and feed rate. Such machining inherently produces high cutting temperature, which not only reduces tool life but also impairs the product quality. Application of cutting fluids changes the performance of machining operations because of their lubrication, cooling, and chip flushing functions. But the conventional cutting fluids are not that effective in such high production machining, particularly in continuous cutting of materials likes steels. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) presents itself as a viable alternative for turning with respect to tool wear, heat dissipation, and machined surface quality. This study compares the mechanical performance of MQL to completely dry lubrication for the turning of AISI-1040 steel based on experimental measurement of cutting temperature, chip reduction coefficient, cutting forces, tool wears, surface finish, and dimensional deviation. Results indicated that the use of near dry lubrication leads to lower cutting temperature and cutting force, favorable chip–tool interaction, reduced tool wears, surface roughness, and dimensional deviation.     

On-line tool wear estimation in CNC turning operations using fuzzy neural network model

In recent past, several neural network models which employ cutting forces and AErms or their derivatives for estimation as well as classification of flank wear have been developed. However, a significant variation in mean cutting forces and AErms at the start of cutting operation for similar new tools can result in estimation and classification error. In order to deal with this problem, a new on-line fuzzy neural network (FNN) model is presented in this paper. This model has four parts. The first part of the model is developed to classify tool wear by using fuzzy logic. The second part of this model is designed for normalizing the inputs for the next part. The third part consisting of modified least-square backpropagation neural network is built to estimate flank and crater wear. The development of forth part was done in order to adjust the results of the third part. Several basic and derived parameters including forces, AErms, skew and kurtosis of force bands, as well as the total energy of forces were employed as inputs in order to enhance the accuracy of tool wear prediction. The experimental results indicate that the proposed on-line FNN model has a high accuracy for estimating progressive flank and crater wear with small computational time.     

Effects of tool flank wear on orthogonal cutting process of aluminum alloy

The tool flank begins to wear out as soon as cutting process proceeds. Cutting parameters such as cutting forces and cutting temperature will vary with increasing degree of flank wear. In order to reveal the relationship between them, the theoretical situations of cutting process were analyzed considering the tool flank wear effect. The variation rules of cutting force, residual stress and temperature distributions along with the tool flank wear were analyzed comparing with the sharp tool tip. Through FEM simulation method, affections of the tool flank wear value VB on cutting forces, residual stress and temperature distributions were analyzed. A special result in this simulation is that the thrust force is more sensitive to tool flank wear, which can be used as a recognition method of tool condition monitoring. The FEM simulation analysis result agrees well with the experimental measuring data in public literatures and some experiments made also by the authors.     

Identification of the specific cutting force for geometrically defined cutting edges and varying cutting conditions

Cutting force modeling is a major discipline in the research of cutting processes. The exact prediction of cutting forces is crucial for process characterization and optimization. Semi-empirical and mechanistic force models have been established, but the identification of the specific cutting force for a pair of tool and workpiece material is still challenging. Existing approaches are depending on geometrical idealizations and on an extensive calibration process, which make practical and industrial application difficult. For nonstandard tools and five axis kinematics there does not exist a reasonable solution for the identification problem.In this paper a co-operative force model for the identification of the specific cutting forces and prediction of integral forces is presented. The model is coupled bidirectionally with a multi-dexel based material removal model that provides geometrical contact zone information. The nonlinear specific forces are modeled as polynomials of uncut chip thickness. The presented force model is not subjected to principal restrictions on tool shape or kinematics, the specific force and phase shift are identified with help of least square minimization. The benefit of this technique is that no special calibration experiments are needed anymore, which qualifies the method to determine the specific forces simultaneously during the machining process. In this paper, experiments with different cutting conditions are analyzed and systematically rated. Finally, the method is validated by experiments using different cutting conditions.     

A new method of cutting force measurement based on command voltages of active electro-magnetic bearings

In this paper, a new indirect method of measuring dynamic cutting forces is proposed. Milling tests have been performed on a five-axis machine, Gambin 120CR, fitted out with an electro-spindle with magnetic bearings developed by the company S2M, and named SMB30. These bearings are not affected by friction and wear. An experimental approach has been developed to determine the cutting forces as a function of the measured command voltages of the milling spindle’s magnetic bearings. The spindle is treated as a “black box”, where the transfer functions linking the unknown cutting force with command voltages are established experimentally. The cutting forces calculated from the command voltages of magnetic bearings are in good agreement with the ones measured with a Kistler four-component dynamometer. This indirect method of cutting force determination provides a useful way to estimate tool wear and monitor product quality in high-speed milling on-line.     

Dynamic Compensation of Spindle-Integrated Force Sensors

This paper presents a dynamically compensated Spindle-Integrated Force Sensor system to measure cutting forces. Piezo-electric force sensors are integrated into the stationary spindle housing to measure cutting forces in three directions. The transfer function of the spindle structure between the cutting forces acting on the tool tip and the measured forces at the spindle housing are identified. Using the cutting force signals measured at the spindle housing, a Kalman filter is designed to filter the influence of structural modes on the force measurements. The frequency bandwidth of the force measurement system is significantly increased with the proposed sensor and the signal processing method. Milling experiments with tooth passing frequencies up to 1000 Hz are presented with effective removal of cutting force distortions caused by three structural modes of the spindle.     

Prediction of chatter in NC machining based on a dynamic cutting force model for ball end milling

Ball end milling is one of the most widely used cutting processes in the automotive, aerospace, die/mold, and machine parts industries, and the chatter generated under unsuitable cutting conditions is an extremely serious problem as it causes excessive tool wear, noise, tool breakage, and deterioration of the surface quality. Due to the critical nature of detecting and preventing chatter, we propose a dynamic cutting force model for ball end milling that can precisely predict the cutting force for both stable and unstable cutting states because our uncut chip thickness model considers the back-side cutting effect in unstable cutting states. Furthermore, the dynamic cutting force model considers both tool runout and the penetration effect to improve the accuracy of its predictions. We developed software for calculating the cutting configuration and predicting the dynamic cutting force in general NC machining as well as single-path cutting. The chatter in ball end milling can be detected from the calculated cutting forces and their frequency spectra. A comparison of the predicted and measured cutting forces demonstrated that the proposed method provides accurate results.     

Effects of micro-milling conditions on the cutting forces and process stability

Determining stable cutting conditions for corresponding cutting tools with specific geometries is essential for achieving precision micro-milling with high surface quality. Therefore, this paper investigates the influence of the tool rake angle, tool wear and workpiece preheating on the cutting forces and process stability. An advanced micro-milling cutting force model considering the tool wear is proposed. The micro-milling cutting forces are predicted and compared with experimentally obtained results for two cutting conditions and four edge radii measured at different stages of the tool wear. It is found that the cutting forces increase by increasing the edge radius. It is also observed that the cutting forces are higher at a rake angle of 0° compared with a rake angle of 8°. The increase of the cutting forces is mainly associated with the change of the friction conditions between the tool and workpiece contact. Stability lobes are obtained for different edge radii, rake angles of 0° and 8°, initial workpiece temperature and different measured static run-outs. The predicted stability lobes are compared with the micro-milling force signals transformed into the frequency domain. It is observed that the predicted stability limits result in good correlation with the experimentally obtained chatter free conditions. Also, the stability limits are higher at smaller edge radii, higher preheating workpiece temperature and positive rake angles.     

Prediction of tool life for restricted contact and grooved tools based on equivalent feed

This paper begins with a review of the recently developed semi-empirical methods for predicting cutting forces and tool life in machining with restricted contact (RC) and grooved tools which have used Oxley’s machining theory as a basis. The paper then presents a new method for predicting the tool life (based on flank wear) for RC/grooved tools using an equivalent feed based on the cutting force for the RC/grooved and corresponding plane face tools. The required cutting force and tool temperature for the plane face tool are determined from Oxley’s theory. This new method has been applied for RC and grooved tools. A comparison between predicted and experimental results shows good agreement.     

Cutting forces and surface finish when machining medium hardness steel using CBN tools

Cutting forces generated using CBN tools have been evaluated when cutting steel being hardened to 45–55 HRC. Radial thrust cutting force was the largest among the three cutting force components and was most sensitive to the changes of cutting edge geometry and tool wear. The surface finish produced by CBN tools was compatible with the results of grinding and was affected by cutting speed, tool wear and plastic behaviour of the workpiece material.     

Effect of chamfer angle on wear of PCBN cutting tool

In precision hard turning, a remaining problem is to minimise tool wear to maintain the accuracy of geometry and surface finish. Tool wear not only directly reduces the part geometry accuracy but also increases cutting forces drastically. The change in the cutting forces also causes instability in the tool motion, which results in more inaccuracy. PCBN cutting tools are often used in hard turning. However, they are still relatively expensive compared to ordinary carbide cutting tools. In order to attain sufficiently high production rates at minimum cost, increase of knowledge on cutting tool geometry is necessary. This article presents a study of the effect of chamfer angle on tool wear of PCBN cutting tool in the super finishing hard turning. The correlation between cutting force, tool wear and tool life were investigated. The optimised chamfer angle for PCBN cutting tool is suggested. Finally, the distribution of stresses and maximum principal stress working on the tool edge were calculated with the use of finite element method.     

Mechanistic modeling and accurate measurement of micro end milling forces

Micro milling operations can fabricate miniaturized components with high relative accuracy. Since micro machining operations are different than conventional macro machining processes, due to the large negative rake angle and elasto-plastic effects, it is important that the modeling of micro end milling forces incorporates the dynamics of the tool, ploughing and elastic recovery. This study examines the mechanistic modeling of shearing and ploughing domain cutting regimes to accurately predict micro milling forces. The tool dynamics are indirectly identified by performing receptance coupling analysis. Furthermore, the Kalman filter compensation method is used to precisely measure the forces to obtain the cutting constants.     

Effects of the cutting edge microgeometry on tool wear and its thermo-mechanical load

Tailored cutting edge micro geometries lead to a significant enhancement of the cutting tool performance and increase its tool life. This paper presents the influence of honed cutting edge geometries on the tool wear behavior, process forces and thermal load of the inserts during turning operations. Tool life maps, which show the influence of the honed cutting edge on the wear behavior, are developed for different thermomechanical load profiles of the cutting tool. Furthermore, an approach for space resolved temperature measurements near the cutting edge via two-color ratio pyrometer is presented.     

High-speed five-axis milling of hardened tool steel

This paper investigates critical issues related to high-speed five-axis milling of hardened D2 tool steel (hardness HRc 63). A forging die cavity was designed to represent the typical features in dies and molds and to simulate several effects resulting from complex tool path generation. Cutting tool materials used were coated carbide for the roughing and semi-finishing processes and polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) for the finishing process. The effects of complex tool paths on several critical machining issues such as chip morphology, cutting forces, tool wear mechanisms, tool life and surface integrity were also investigated. The main tool failure mode was chipping due to the machine tool dynamics. A five-axis analytical force model that includes the cutter location (CL) data file for computing the chip load has been developed. The effect of instantaneous tilt angle variation on the forces was also included. Verification of the force model has been performed and adopted as a basis for explaining the difficulties involved with high-speed five-axis milling of D2 tool steel.