Enhanced simulation of the milling process for a novel roughing and finishing tool

For milling of aluminum alloys a roughing cutter is often used in the first step to achieve a high material removal rate. In order to obtain a high surface quality, the final contour is produced using a finishing cutter. By using a new and patented tool concept, both roughing and finishing operations can be carried out with this one tool. The special feature of this tool concept is based on the different geometric design of the individual cutting edges. A process-optimized design of the tool geometry of the prototype tool can be performed based on a preliminary calculation of the process forces and the dynamic behavior. The corresponding mathematical models have been developed for this purpose. On the basis of experimental investigations, the verification of the roughing and finishing capability of the tool concept was carried out. The results showed that the tool achieved comparable results in both cases to pure finishing and roughing cutters. It follows that the new tool concept can increase productivity by reducing the number of necessary end mills.