Milling Simulations for the PEEK Biomaterial

Abstract

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) material has attracted extensive attentions and research in the medical field due to its properties similar to biological bones. But there is a lack of cutting forces in PEEK machining. In this paper, the milling simulations and experiments are carried out taking the milling forces as the study index. The results show that the absolute value of the relative error between the simulation results and the experimental ones are less than 5.6%, which testifies the effectiveness of the finite element model. Through the analysis of variance of the orthogonal experimental data, it can be concluded that both the axial depth of cut ap and the radial depth of cut ae have more significant influences on milling forces than the feed engagement fz. The significance order from large to small is the radial depth of cut ap, the axial depth of cut ae, and the feed engagement fz. This study can provide a practical reference for the milling process optimization of the PEEK material.