A cutting force model based on compensated chip thickness in five-axis flank milling

In the five-axis flank milling process, the instantaneous undeformed chip thickness (IUCT) and the entry/exit angles vary continuously because of the complex tool path and workpiece geometry. The changes result in time-varying cutting forces in consecutive cutting operations, which are difficult to predict. This paper comprehensively considers the effects of cutter runout on the IUCT and the influence of the curved tool path on the entry/exit angles in the calculation of cutting force. A simplified IUCT model is presented based on compensated chip thickness in five-axis flank milling. Compared with the existing IUCT model, it can achieve high precision and greatly improves the calculation efficiency. Subsequently, the entry angles of surface with varied curvature are verified. Five-axis flank milling experiment for a non-developable ruled surface was conducted to verify the proposed theory. The results show that the proposed cutting force model has the ability to predict the cutter forces with a high precision and can be used in simulations and optimizations of five-axis flank milling.