Influence mechanism of machining angles on force induced error and their selection in five axis bullnose end milling

In the machining of complicated surfaces,the cutters with large length/diameter ratios are used widely and the deformation of the machining system is one of the principal error sources.During the process planning stage,the cutting direction angle,the cutter lead and tilt angles are usually optimized to minimize the force induced error.It may lead to a low machining efficiency for bullnose end mills,as the material removal rates are different largely for different machining angles.In this paper,the influence mechanism of the machining angles on the force induced error is studied based on the models of the instantaneous cutting force when the cutter flute traveling through the cutting contact point and the stiffness of the machining system.In order to evaluate the machining angles,the force induced error/efficiency indicator(FEI)is defined as the division of the force induced error and the equal volume sphere of the removed material.FEI is dimensionless,with the lower FEI,the lower force induced error and the higher machining efficiency.For optimal selection of the machining angles,the critical FEI is calculated with the constraint of force induced error and the desired material removal rate,and the critical FEI separate the set of the machining angles into two subsets.After the feed rate scheduling process,the machining angles in the optimal subset would have higher machining accuracy and efficiency,while the machining angles in the other subset have lower machining accuracy and efficiency.Through the machining experiment of five axis machining and freeform surface machining,the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed FEI method is verified with a bullnose end mill,which can improve the machining efficiency with the constraint of force induced error.

Engagement Angle Modeling for Multiple-circle Continuous Machining and Its Application in the Pocket Machining

The progressive cutting based on auxiliary paths is an effective machining method for the material accumulating region inside the mould pocket. But the method is commonly based on the radial depth of cut as the control parameter, further more there is no more appropriate adjustment and control approach. The end-users often fall to set the parameter correctly, which leads to excessive tool load in the process of actual machining. In order to make more reasonable control of the machining load and toolpath, an engagement angle modeling method for multiplecircle continuous machining is presented. The distribution mode of multiple circles, dynamic changing process of engagement angle, extreme and average value of engage- ment angle are carefully considered. Based on the engagement angle model, numerous application techniques for mould pocket machining are presented, involving the calculation of the milling force in multiple-circle continuous machining, and rough and finish machining path planning and load control for the material accumulating region inside the pocket, and other aspects. Simulation and actual machining experiments show that the engagement angle modeling method for multiple-circle continuous machining is correct and reliable, and the related numerous application techniques for pocket machining are feasible and effective. The proposed research contributes to the analysis and control tool load effectively and tool-path planning reasonably for the material accumulating region inside the mould pocket.

Precision wire electrochemical machining of thick structures in powder superalloy René88DT using a partially insulated tube electrode

Wire electrochemical machining(WECM)is a potential method for manufacturing macrostructures from difficult-to-cut materials,such as turbine slots,with good surface integrity and low costs.In this study,a novel tube electrode with array holes in the front and insulation in the back was applied using WECM to improve the machining precision and efficiency.Additionally,assisted by an immersion electrolyte and axial flushing,the electrolyte-deficient gap was supplemented to achieve the cutting of a very thick workpiece.The simulation results indicated that this method could effectively reduce the machining gap and improve the uniformity of the electric-and flow-field distributions.Experiments verified that when the uninsulated range(machining angle)was reduced from 360°to 90°,the side machining gap was reduced from 462.5µm to 175µm.Finally,using optimized machining parameters,array slits with gaps as small as(175±10)μm were machined on a powder superalloy René88DT sample with a thickness of 10 mm at a feed rate of 16µm/s.The feasibility of fabricating complex profiles using this method was verified using a self-designed servo device.