A Study on the Optimum Machining Conditions and Energy Efficiency of a Laser-Assisted Fillet Milling

Abstract

Laser-assisted machining (LAM) is known to be an effective and economical technique for improving the machinability of difficult-to-machine materials. In the LAM method, material is preheated using a laser heat source and then the preheated area is removed by following cutting tool. For laser-assisted turning (LAT), the configuration of the system is not complicated because laser irradiates from a fixed position. In contrast, laser-assisted milling (LAMill) system is not only complicated but also difficult to control because laser heat source must always move ahead of the cutting tool along a three dimensional (3D) tool path. LAMill is still early stage and cannot yet be used to machine finished products with 3D shapes. In this study, a laser-assisted fillet milling process was developed for machining 3D shapes. There are no prior studies combining fillet milling and LAMill. Laser-assisted fillet milling strategy was proposed, and effective depth of cut (EDOC) was obtained using thermal analysis. Experiments were designed using response surface method and cutting force prediction equations were developed using statistical analysis and regression analysis. The optimum machining conditions were also proposed, and energy efficiency of the LAMill was analyzed by comparing the specific cutting energy of conventional machining (CM) and LAMill.