Finite-Element Simulation of Conventional and High-Speed Peripheral Milling of Hardened Mold Steel

A finite-element model (FEM) with the flow stress and typical fracture is used to simulate a hard machining process, which before this work could not adequately represent the constitutive behavior of workpiece material that is usually heat treated to hardness levels above 50 Rockwell C hardness (HRC). Thus, a flow stress equation with a variation in hardness is used in the computer simulation of hard machining. In this article, the influence of the milling speed on the cutting force, chip morphology, effective stress, and cutting temperature in the deformation zones of both conventional and high-speed peripheral milling hardened mold steel is systematically studied by finite-element analysis (FEA). By taking into consideration the importance of material characteristics during the milling process, the similar Johnson–Cook’s constitutive equation with hardened mold steel is introduced to the FEM to investigate the peripheral milling of hardened mold steel. In comparison with the experimental data of the cutting force at various cutting speeds, the simulation result is identical with the measured data. The results indicate that the model can be used to accurately predict the behavior of hardened mold steel in both conventional and high-speed milling.