The Effect of Surface Roughness of End-Mills on Optimal Cutting Performance for High-Speed Machining

In this study, the effect of surface roughness of end-mills on the cutting performance of high-speed machining has been investigated. A novel optimization design approach of the processing parameters for the high-speed cutting of the DIN 1.2344 tool steel has been also proposed. The characteristics indices of cutting performance selected for this investigation are tool life and metal removal rate. The processing parameters include the surface roughness of the relief face of an end-mill, cutting speed, feed per tooth, axial cutting depth, and radial cutting depth. The process is integrated using multiple performance indices. Consequently, the optimal combination of processing parameters is determined by performing grey relational analysis. The analysis results indicate that the effect of cutting speed and feed per tooth are significant for multiple performance characteristics. Additionally, the surface roughness of the relief face of an end-mill essentially affects the surface roughness of the processed workpiece. Due to a slight effect on the cutting performance characteristics of rough machining, a surface roughness of the relief face of 0.43 +/- 0.02 mu m for grinding conditions can be used to improve tool grinding efficiency. Verification experiments revealed that the proposed optimization design approach to the processing parameters brings about improvements of 9.1 mm in tool life, 1200 mm(3)/min in metal removal rate, 230616 mm(3) in total metal removal volumes, and 0.044 mu m in average surface roughness of the workpiece with high-speed cutting.