2010•Advanced materials researchOpen access
Numerical Simulation and Experimental Investigation of Tool Edge Radius Effect on Micro-Cutter Wear in Micro-End-Milling Process
Kai Yang, Qingshun Bai, Liang Ying
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Abstract
The micro-end-milling process of aluminum alloy Al2024-T6 has been investigated by numerical simulations and experimental approach. The effects of different tool edge radii on the micro-cutter wear were investigated. A three-dimensional finite element model is adopted to determine the effects of tool edge radii on the effective stress and micro-cutter wear during the micro-end-milling process. It is observed that the the tool nose wears out much more quickly due to the high maximal effective stress occurring in this zone. The experimental verification of the simulation model is carried out on a micro-end-milling process of aluminum alloy 2024-T6. The experimental results of the micro-cutter morphologies are in a good agreement with the simulation results. The experimental results show that the model is suitable for studying the mechanism of micro-cutter wear.