Practical and reliable carbide drill grinding methods based on a five-axis CNC grinder

Abstract

The carbide drill is an important hole-machining tool. Modern processing solutions set higher requirements for the accuracy and efficiency of carbide drill manufacturing. This paper presents a detailed study of mathematical models of the spiral groove, conical flank, and cutter clearance and proposes three practical and reliable grinding methods using only one standard straight wheel. The spiral groove is ground by controlling three crucial structure parameters: the spiral angle, core diameter, and rake angle. The conical flank is ground by controlling the relief angle, chisel edge angle, and apex angle. The cutter clearance is ground by controlling the ridge width and clearance depth. With these schemes, the wheel position parameters can be computed conveniently and quickly using computer programming, overcoming the low calculation accuracy of empirical formulae and thereby enhancing the efficiency. Using the wheel position parameters, the NC codes applicable to five-axis CNC grinders can be obtained. Furthermore, the reliability of the proposed grinding methods can be verified through CAD simulation and practical manufacture on a five-axis CNC grinder.