This paper presents a method to reduce surface variation in face milling processes based on high-definition metrology (HDM) measurements. Our previous research has found and established the relations between surface variation patterns, cutting forces, and process variables. The findings revealed that varying feed rate and proper cutter path planning are the most feasible and cost-effective approaches for reducing variation along the feed direction. This paper explores the HDM data pattern that reflects surface tilting along the circumferential direction induced by cutter-spindle deflection. It is found that such a tilt is caused by the cutting load imbalance between the two sides of the cutter path. Cutting force modeling is then conducted to estimate such cutting load imbalance. Based on the model, a cutter load balancing algorithm is developed to reduce surface variations by adjusting cutter path and/or feed rate. A case study based on a cutting experiment is conducted to demonstrate that the proposed method can improve the surface flatness by 25%.
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