A Review of the Main Modeling Methods for Ball Nose End Milling Processes

Abstract

The ball nose end mills are highly used for complex sculptured surfaces in 3-5 axes milling. The modeling of the cutting process using ball nose end mills is more complex than in the case of simple end mills due to the fact that the cutting speed varies continuously along the cutting edge. By tilting the cutting tool relative to the surface to be machined, the modeling is getting more complicated due to the large number of input variables. This paper presents a review of the main modeling types, underlining the specificity, the advantages and disadvantages for each type in comparison to an own research on a parametric CAD model. There are also recommendations made towards the modeling process, based on the results obtained by the authors.