Tool deflections during micro-end milling - Observations of deflection and its effect on processing accuracy

摘要

This paper discusses the deflection of a micro end-milling cutter and investigated its effects on the accuracy of the milling process. In each experiment, the deflection of the cutting tool used for the small-diameter end milling was measured on the basis of images of the tool captured by a high-speed camera; the machined shape error of the workpiece was also measured. Consequently, The experimental results indicate that the tool with a diameter of 1 mm was deflected by 100-800 μm during the milling and that such deflections represent relatively large deflections. Further, It was found that the deflection occurred when the depth of the cut was less, which allowed the cutting edge of the tool to rubs against the workpiece; the deflection also occurred when the cut was too deep for the tool to remain rigid. Furthermore, a correlation between the deflection of the tool and the milling accuracy was revealed. On the basis of the aforementioned results, we concluded that a preferable finishing surface with less deflection of the tool can be obtained under certain cutting conditions.