Surface roughness prediction in milling based on tool displacements

In this paper, an experimental device using non-contact displacement sensors for the investigation of milling tool behaviour is presented. It enables the recording of high frequency tool vibrations during milling operations. The aim of this study is related to the surface topography prediction using tool displacements and based on tool center point methodology. From the recorded signals and the machining parameters, the tool deformation is modeled. Then, from the calculated deflection, the surface topography in 3D can be predicted. In recent studies, displacements in XY plane have been measured to predict the surface topography in flank milling. In this article, the angular deflection of the tool is also considered. This leads to the prediction of surfaces obtained in flank milling as well as in end milling operations. Validation tests were carried out: the predicted profiles were compared to the measured profile. The results show that the prediction corresponds well in shape and amplitude with the measurement

Simulation of the deflected cutting tool trajectory in complex surface milling

Since industry is rapidly developing, either locally or globally, manufacturers witness harder challenges due to the growing competitivity. This urges them to better consider the four factors linked to production and output: quality, quantity, cost and price, quality being of course the most important factor which constitutes their main concern. Efforts will be concentrated—in this research—on improving the quality and securing more accuracy for a machined surface in ball-end milling. Quality and precision are two essential criteria in industrial milling. However, milling errors and imperfections, duemainly to the cutting tool deflection, hinder the full achieving of these targets. Our task, all along this paper, consists in studying and realizing the simulation of the deflected cutting tool trajectory, by using the methods which are available. In a future stage, and in the frame of a deeper research, the simulation process will help to carry out the correction and the compensation of the errors resulting from the tool deflection. The corrected trajectory which is obtained by the method mirror will be sent to the machine. To achieve this goal, the next process consists—as a first step—in selecting a model of cutting forces for a ball-end mill. This allows to define—later on—the behavior of this tool, and the emergence of three methods namely the analytical model, the finite elements method, and the experimental method. It is possible to tackle the cutting forces simulation, all along the tool trajectory, while this latter is carrying out the sweeping of the part to be machined in milling and taking into consideration the cutting conditions, as well as the geography of the workpiece. A simulation of the deflected cutting tool trajectory dependent on the cutting forces has been realized

Dynamic cutting process modelling and its impact on the generation of surface topography and texture in nano/micro cutting

In the nano/micro cutting process, the surface quality is heavily dependent on all the dynamic factors, including those from the material, tooling, process parameters, servo accuracy, mechanical structural stiffness, and non-linear factors as well. The machined surface is generated based on the tool profile and the real tool path combining with the various external and internal disturbances. To bridge the gap between the cutting process and the surface topography/texture generation, an integrated simulation-based approach is presented involving the dynamic cutting process, control/drive system, and the surface generation. The simulations take account of all the intricate aspects of the cutting process resulting in the surface topography and texture formation, such as material heterogeneity, regenerative chatter, built-up edge (BUE), tool wear, spindle runout, environmental vibration, tool interference, etc. Both the frequency ratio method and sampling theoremare used to interpret the surface topography and texture formation. The effects of non-linear factors on the surface generation are simulated and analysed through the power spectral density (PSD) and significance on surface texture. The relationships among cutting force, tool path, and surface profile are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the proposed systematic modelling approach is verified by cutting trials, which provide the coincident results of the surface topography and areal power spectral density (APSD)

Overcoming challenges of prototyping with single point incremental forming through formability and geometric accuracy analysis

With recent developments in rapid prototyping technologies, the automotive industry has been able to move away from costly and inefficient methods of prototyping. In fact, rapid prototyping techniques now exist for nearly all the components in a car, meaning time and money is saved in product development. One exception to this trend, despite their ubiquity in automotive applications, is formed sheet metal components. Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a sheet metal forming technique with a fast turnaround that uses little to no custom tooling. It is a promising method for filling the gap in rapid prototyping capability for sheet metal components. However, despite significant research over the last two decades, barriers to industrial viability still include the key issues of fracture occurring in the sheet metal, or a final part being rejected due to unacceptable dimensional error. These two issues are affected by SPIF process parameters, but the extent of their influences are not well understood. By investigating the effect of process parameters on material formability and geometric accuracy, this thesis seeks to address these issues. Case studies emphasise the impact of formability and geometric accuracy on prototyping automotive components with SPIF. Also emphasised is the importance of effective support walls and optimal design of the forming surface that is used to generate toolpaths for forming components. A systematic review of the literature regarding the first key issue, formability in SPIF, highlights significant inconsistencies in published research about the effects of process parameters. A hypothesis to explain this result presents the idea of non-linear effects and parameter interactions, which is supported by original experimental work. This shows the difficulty of empirical prediction of formability when, for example, a small change in one parameter may interact with another to significantly influence the outcome of the final part. Identifying and following safe formability limits will minimise the likelihood of fracture for the forming surface of a component. Research in this thesis looks at the thickness distribution of variable wall angle conical frustum (VWACF) parts as a basis for defining a safe formability limit. However, experimental results show this is not viable due to irregular trends in the thickness distribution close to the fracture point of the VWACF. The second key issue of geometric error in SPIF is approached by focusing on a single mode of error, namely `wall bulge', or springback in flat walls of components. Experiments studied how a variety of tool shapes and sizes affected its severity, and found a trade-off with `pillowing', another mode of geometric error. At the same time as flat-ended tools reduce pillowing in the base, the experimental results show an increase in the amount of bulging in the walls. The findings of this thesis demonstrate the impact that a single parameter change can have on multiple aspects of a component. Also highlighted are the complexities of the SPIF process that remain as barriers to industrial viability. This work contributes to overcoming these barriers and achieving efficient rapid prototyping of sheet metal components

Prediction of temperature induced shape deviations in dry milling

In this paper a model for a simulation based prediction of temperature induced shape deviations in dry milling is presented. A closed loop between Boolean material removal, process forces, heat flux and thermoelastic deformation is established. Therefore, an efficient dexel based machining simulation is extended by a contact zone analysis to model the local workpiece load. Based on the computed contact zone the cutting forces and heat flux are calculated using a semi-empirical process model. For a detailed consideration of the loads they are discretized and localized on the dexel-represented workpiece surface. A projection of the localized workpiece loads on the boundary of the finite element domain, taking into account the Boolean material removal during the process, allows the calculation of the current temperature and deformation of the workpiece. By transforming these thermomechanical characteristics back to the dexel-model a consideration in the machining simulation is possible. An extended contact zone analysis is developed for the prediction of the localized shape deviations. Finally, the results of the simulation are compared with measured data. The comparison shows that workpiece temperatures, workpiece deformation and shape deviations in different workpiece areas are predicted accurately.DFG/DE 447/90-2DFG/MA 1657/21-

Improvement of Shape Error for Slender Parts in Cylindrical Traverse Grinding by Part-Deformation Modelling and Compensation

Achieving geometrical accuracy in cylindrical traverse grinding for high-aspect slender parts is still a challenge due to the flexibility of the workpiece and, therefore, the resulting shape error. This causes a bottleneck in production due to the number of spark-out strokes that must be programmed to achieve the expected dimensional and geometrical tolerances. This study presents an experimental validation of a shape-error prediction model in which a distributed load, corresponding to the grinding wheel width, is included, and allows inclusion of the effect of steady rests. Headstock and tailstock stiffness must be considered and a procedure to obtain their values is presented. Validation of the model was performed both theoretically (by comparing with FEM results) and experimentally (by comparing with the deformation profile of the real workpiece shape), obtaining differences below 5%. Having determined the shape error by monitoring the normal grinding force, a solution was presented to correct it, based on a cross-motion of the grinding wheel during traverse strokes, thus decreasing non-productive spark-out strokes. Due to its simplicity (based on the shape-error prediction model and normal grinding force monitoring), this was easily automatable. The corrective compensation cycle gave promising results with a decrease of 77% in the shape error of the ground part, and improvement in geometrically measured parameters, such as cylindricity and straightness.This research was funded by The Basque Government and ELKARTEK program within the project OPTICED “Process optimization for Zero Defect Manufacturing of Big Parts”, grant number KK-2021/00003

Surface roughness prediction in milling based on tool displacements

In this paper, an experimental device using non-contact displacement sensors for the investigation of milling tool behaviour is presented. It enables the recording of high frequency tool vibrations during milling operations. The aim of this study is related to the surface topography prediction using tool displacements and based on tool center point methodology. From the recorded signals and the machining parameters, the tool deformation is modeled. Then, from the calculated deflection, the surface topography in 3D can be predicted. In recent studies, displacements in XY plane have been measured to predict the surface topography in flank milling. In this article, the angular deflection of the tool is also considered. This leads to the prediction of surfaces obtained in flank milling as well as in end milling operations. Validation tests were carried out: the predicted profiles were compared to the measured profile. The results show that the prediction corresponds well in shape and amplitude with the measurement

The comprehensive analysis of milling stability and surface location error with considering the dynamics of workpiece

Cutting movement is still one of the main means to obtain the desired machined surface. As the most representative cutting method in subtractive manufacturing, milling is widely used in industrial production. However, the chatter induced by the dynamic interaction between machine tool and process not only reduces the accuracy of the machined workpiece, but also increases the tool wear and affects the rotary accuracy of the spindle. The stability lobe diagram can provide stable machining parameters for the technicians, and it is currently an effective way to avoid chatter. In fact, the dynamic interaction between the machine tool and process is very complicated, which involves the machine tool, milling tool, workpiece and fixture. The induced mechanism of chatter depends on different machining scenarios and is not entirely dependent on the vibration modes of milling tool. Therefore, it is important to obtain stable machining parameters and to know the dynamic surface location error distribution, which can ensure machining quality and improve machining efficiency. In this dissertation, two methods for constructing stability lobe diagram are first introduced, and then two machining scales, macro milling and micro milling, are studied. For the macro-milling scale, the dynamic response of the in-process workpiece with time-varying modal parameters during the material removal process is analyzed. The stability lobe diagrams for thin-walled workpiece and general workpiece with continuous radial immersion milling are established respectively. Besides, the cumulative surface location error distribution is also studied and verified for the general workpiece. For the micro-milling scale, the dynamics at the micro-milling tool point is obtained by means of the receptance coupling substructure analysis method. The stability lobe diagram and surface location error distribution are analyzed under different restricted/free tool overhang lengths. The relationship between measurement results and burrs is further explained by cutting experiments, and the difference between the two milling scales is compared in the end