Surface roughness is one of the most important evaluation indexes in machine cutting. In order to analyze how the tool path affects the roughness of the surface after milling, series of simulations are implemented in MasterCAM. We set up the same processing conditions with same parameters such as speed, material and feed rate etc. in these simulations, but different processing paths are used. We choose three paths: the parallel milling along the X-Y axis direction, the parallel milling along the Z-X or Z-Y axis direction and the streamline processing in the simulations. At the same time, end miller, arc miller and ball miller are respectively selected in the software. So there are totally 9 simulations of the milling process that are performed. Then the experimental cutting processes are performed correspondingly and the surface roughness and the accuracy are measured. The results show that the milling effect of the arc is better and the waste is minimal in the parallel milling along the Z-X or Z-Y axis direction with the end mills.
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