Experimental Investigation on the Effect of Tool Geometry and Cutting Conditions Using Tool Wear Prediction Model for End Milling Process

Abstract

Tool wear of a cutting tool has a significant impact on the tool life and surface quality of the finished product. Tool wear is influenced by many factors such as cutting parameters, tool geometry, coating type, work piece material, chatter, and cutting condition. In the present work, the design of experiments (DOE) technique has been used for four factors at five levels to conduct experiments. Tool wear is taken as the response variable measured during end milling, while helix angle, spindle speed, feed and depth of cut are taken as the input parameters. The material and tool selected for this study are AISI 304 stainless steel and uncoated solid carbide end mill cutter respectively. The tool wear was measured using tool maker's microscope. The experimental values are used in six sigma software for finding the coefficients to develop the regression model. The direct and interaction effect of the machining parameter with tool wear were analyzed using contour graphs, which helped to select process parameters for reducing tool wear and also ensure quality of milling.