3-Dimensional kinematics simulation of face milling

Face milling is currently the most effective and productive manufacturing method for roughing and finishing large surfaces of metallic parts. Milling data, such as surface topomorphy, surface roughness, non-deformed chip dimensions, cutting force components and dynamic cutting behavior, are very helpful, especially if they can be accurately produced by means of a simulation program. This paper presents a novel simulation model which has been developed and embedded in a commercial CAD environment. The model simulates the true tool kinematics using the exact geometry of the cutting tool thus accurately forecasting the resulting roughness. The accuracy of the simulation model has been thoroughly verified, with the aid of a wide variety of cutting experiments. The proposed model has proved to be suitable for determining optimal cutting conditions for face milling. The software can be easily integrated into various CAD-CAM systems. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.