Structured surfaces on metal are often employed to enhance lubricating features, reduce the hydrodynamic drag force along wings and also decorate the metal surfaces for architectural ornament. It is important to note that only horizontal movements of a ball-end mill at high feed speed generate the indented surface on metal surfaces. In this paper we propose a technique to estimate the dimples generated on the metal surfaces using a machining center with an oval-end mill. Firstly, a technique to simulate the generating process of the dimples with the machining center is explained. The technique is effective in forecasting the geometry of the dimples with accuracy. Secondly, a technique to determine the cutting condition to generate the desired dimpled surface is proposed. The design specifications of the dimpled surface are the geometry of the dimples and the spacing between the dimples. The proposed technique was successfully used to decorate a metal surface.

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Metal surfaces can be decorated with tiny dimples to have various geometries over the metal surface. A conventional milling technique is often employed to generate desired dimples over the target surface. However, the technique requires a lot of milling time. A new technique to generate dimples using the milling was developed by authors, where the endmilling tool is operated only in the horizontal direction with the significantly high feed rate while the depth of cut is kept a significantly low value. In this paper, a new simplified algorithm to estimate the geometry of dimples is proposed. In addition, a technique to obtain the milling condition to generate the desired dimples is proposed. The technique was applicable to generate sub-millimeter size dimples.