Design of a reference part for the comparison of tools in plastic milling operations

Abstract

In milling operations, the comparison between conventional and innovative tools is of great importance, both in tool development and in setting up processes. Reference parts should represent occurring geometric features of machined parts and applied machining modes of the tools as realistically as possible. However, existing reference parts often cover these inadequately and were mainly developed in the context of metal milling operations. The transfer to the application case of plastic milling operations is only possible to a limited extent, since geometric features and applied machining modes differ significantly from those in metal milling operations. This paper describes the design of a reference part, which is based on selected cross-industry components from plastic milling operations and thus comprehensively reflects their special geometric and machining features. The design of the reference part is based on the feature method following the DIN 14649 and VDI 2218 standards according to which the selected components are decomposed into their individual geometric features and the design of the reference component is derived from them. Based on the newly designed reference part, tools can be systematically and representatively compared within the framework of plastic milling operations with regard to energy efficiency, surface quality and tool life.