Analysis of chip morphology to understand the machining mechanism of micro end milling while machining Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract

Increasing demand for micro components and micro features has been on the rise due to the introduction of newer products and technologies. In order to cope up with this high demand, an efficient and high productive manufacturing technique is required. Micro end milling is considered to be one of the preferred micro machining techniques as it can easily produce complex 3D features. Even though micro milling is considered to be the downscaled version of the conventional macro milling process there is a significant difference in the machining mechanism when it comes to the micro machining process. This paper mainly focused on understanding the machining mechanism of micro end milling process by analysing the chip morphology. In micro end milling process it was observed that the feed/tooth and edge radius of the tool has got a significant influence on the machining mechanism. For feed/tooth much below the edge radius of the tool, ploughing is dominant and for feed/tooth greater than that of edge radius shearing mechanism is predominant. This was evident in the chip morphology. Similarly, influence of tool wear on chip morphology and thereby correlating with the machining mechanism was investigated. It was noted that enlargement of edge radius of the tool due to tool wear is also considered to be one of the tool wear modes in micro machining process.