Peripheral milling of thin titanium plates: modelling, analysis, and process planning

Abstract

This paper presents research conducted to model and analyse the peripheral milling of thin titanium plates. Impact tests are performed and the vibration characteristics of a thin titanium plate modelled empirically. The force process is described by a mechanistic model and experimental data are used to determine the model parameters. The particle swarm optimization technique is used to determine the parameters of the plate vibration and force process models, which are combined to create a complete model of the thin titanium plate peripheral milling operation. The models are validated experimentally and excellent agreement is shown between the simulation and experimental results. A process planning scheme for peripheral milling of thin titanium plates is developed and applied. In this scheme integer numbers of widths-of-cut and depths-of-cut are used and the optimal helix angle and feed are computed for each combination of width-of-cut and depth-of-cut. The process planning test case revealed that the optimal material removal rate decreases as the width-of-cut decreases, the optimal helix angle is independent of the width-of-cut, and the optimal feed increases as the width-of-cut decreases. The test case also revealed that the optimal material removal rate is independent of depth-of-cut, the optimal helix angle increases as the depth-of-cut decreases, and the optimal feed increases as the depth-of-cut decreases.

Modelling and simulation of surface topography machined by peripheral milling considering tool radial runout and axial drift

“…Surmann and Enk 24 and Surmann and Biermann 25 described a numerical model for predicting the surface generation resulting from peripheral milling operations when tool vibrations on the flank surface were present. Landers et al 26 took the modelling and analysis for peripheral milling of thin titanium plates as the research object. Impact tests were conducted, the force process was represented with a mechanistic model, and the vibrational characteristics of a thin titanium plate were modelled empirically.…”

Predictive modelling of cutting forces in end milling of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V

“…Uriarte et al 6 introduced an average force coefficient model for force prediction in the micro end milling, with consideration of the effect of the tool deflection on the uncut chip thickness. Landers et al 7 applied a mechanistic force model with the average coefficients to select the optimal cutting conditions in milling thin titanium plates. To improve the model accuracy, instantaneous force coefficients are used instead of the average force coefficients for force prediction in the milling process.…”

Optimization of support location in mirror-milling of aircraft skins

“…Zhao and his team established a stiffness model for a mirror machining device, obtained distribution of the synthetic stiffness, improved the synthetic stiffness by adding a redundant actuation, and optimized the branch position with the redundant actuation based on an algorithm of the self-adaptive differential evolutionary. 7,8 Most of the research about milling with low rigidity focuses on the cutting force prediction, 9,10 workpiece deformation, 2,11 cutting chatter, [12][13][14] and so on. However, as a new method of aircraft skin processing, MMS is quite different from the traditional milling in the fixture of a workpiece.…”