Dimensional Error Evaluation of Five-Axis Flank Strategies for an Angled Thin-Walled Pocketing: Aerospace Part

Abstract

AbstractThe main aim of this research was to evaluate the impact of dimensional error during flank milling of angled thin-walled pocketing features by applying various five-axis flank milling cutting strategies. Two cutting strategies have been chosen in this work called Combin Parelm and Combin Tanto which was offered by CATIAV5 CAD/CAM platform. Meanwhile, the angled thin-walled feature selected were approximately between 95º to 105º respectively. The design of the angled thin-walled feature was determined from an actual aero-structural part obtained from a local industrial partner. Aluminum AA6063 series was used as the sample material which is exactly equivalent to the aerospace standard material. DMG MORI DMU60 has been used to perform the actual machining process. On the other hand, carbide K10 material of two flutes end mill with a diameter of 12 mm and 6 mm uncoated have been selected to be the main cutting tools. To evaluate the dimensional accuracy, Carl Zeiss Contura G2 Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) was utilized with three different sections namely top, middle, and bottom sections were probed and measured for the details analysis. As a result, the Combin Parelm strategy generated a better dimensional error result than the Combin Tanto strategy concerning the average sigma value obtained from the CMM evaluation.KeywordsDimensional errorAngled thin-walledFlank milling and five-axis cutting strategies