This paper describes the development of a simulation model for ball end milling with inclination angle based on a finite element method. The Johnson–Cook model and isotropic hardening rule were used to describe the properties of the workpiece material, and re-meshing technology was adopted to obtain accurate results. The Cockcroft–Latham criteria rule was used to determine the chip formation. The ball end mill was modelled, and then imported into a finite element analysis system for simulation of machining process. The heat conducted into the cutter was taken into account in the present simulation, giving a better accordance with the actual machining process. Thirty combinations of cutting parameters and inclination angle of the ball end milling process were simulated in the finite element environment, and the corresponding ball end milling experiments were conducted in a five-axis machine. Evolution of the chip and the effective stress predicted in the shear zone during simulation were presented. The cutting forces derived from the simulation were compared with the experimental results, and the overall trend of the maximum cutting forces in each direction showed a good agreement with the experimentally measured values. The potential possibility to study five-axis ball end milling with both inclination angle in feed and cross-feed direction was pointed out.

In the operation of bolter miners, the cutting arm is an essential and weak part and its fatigue life directly affects its performance. This study aimed to investigate the influence of the cutting head load on the fatigue life of a cutting arm using the DEM-MFBD (Discrete Element Method-Multi Flexible Body Dynamics) bi-directional coupling technique. The EJM340 bolter miner was chosen as the research object, and a three-dimensional solid model of the bolter miner was built using the RecurDyn software. The cutting arm was flexibly modelled, and the tunnel model was built using the EDEM software. The motion parameters of the bolter miner and cutting head load were transferred through the bi-directional coupling interface to obtain the loads and stress parameters during the entire tunnel cutting process. Based on the stress-time variation, the fatigue life of the cutting arm was calculated, the overall damage and crack initiation locations were obtained, and the minimum number of cutting arm cycles was determined. The accuracy of the virtual model is verified through field experiments. The analysis results indicated that the crack emergence location and fatigue life obtained from the simulation were in agreement with the experimental results.