Research on the machined surface integrity under combination of various inclination angles in multi-axis ball end milling

Abstract

It is well known that the multi-axis machining technology has been developed into a key technique applied in the manufacturing field. The machined surface integrity is one of the most important factors influencing the performance of the produced components. Hence, this research concentrated on the machined surface integrity induced by the multi-axis milling operation with different inclination angle combinations. In this research work, the cutting conditions of the conventional or up-milling process with tool orientations were divided into eight different types, and the machining characteristics corresponding to different cutting strategies were discussed. The varying conditions of surface topography, texture and other machining features induced in machining process which corresponds to different inclination angle combinations were analyzed by geometrical analysis, and the surface roughness and linear profile along specific directions on the machined surface were also investigated. There is a special corresponding relationship between the rotation angle and tool tilt and lead angles. Better surface roughness could be achieved when rotation angles are 0° (positive lead), 60° (combination of positive tilt and positive lead), 90° (positive tilt) and 330° (combination of negative tilt and positive lead). Then, the samples used for study of the metamorphic layer were produced by lapping and polishing process, and the macro hardness (HL) and micro-hardness (HV) of the top machined surface were investigated. According to the measured results of both Leeb hardness and micro-hardness, higher surface hardness could be obtained under rotation angles of 60° (combination of positive tilt and positive lead), 120° (combination of positive tilt and negative lead) and 210° (negative tilt and negative lead). Moreover, the variations of the micro-hardness along the depth direction of the samples were studied. Finally, discussions on the machined surface residual stresses in both feed and cross-feed direction were carried out. Compressive surface residual stress in both feed and cross-feed direction could be generated when rotation angles are 210° (combination of negative tilt angle with smaller value and negative lead angle with larger value) and 330° (combination of negative tilt angle with smaller value and positive lead angle with larger value). Generally, the evaluation indicators of surface integrity are not all very satisfying under one special cutting condition with a certain inclination angle combination, and the optimal cutting parameters should be selected based on the specific application requirements. Finally, the optimal tool orientations and related cutting parameters were recommended, and further studies of the related topics were also presented.