Comparison and analysis of the machining performance of the ceramic end milling cutter

Comparison and analysis of the machining performance of the ceramic end milling cutter

In order to evaluate wear behavior of cutting tools, the maximum width of side wear area VBmax is usually used. The marginal quality of workpiece can also be evaluated as the wear standard for CFRP material which tends to be layered and worn. In order to compare the developed ceramic end mills with other types of tools, a comparative technical investigation was conducted. In addition to the ceramic cutter, the cemented carbide tools with the same geometry are used, and the quality of the workpiece is evaluated after the same tool life path. These two tools will cause the workpiece to wear completely, and the ceramic tool will produce better workpiece quality after the same tool life travel path. In milling process, these effects can go back to the forefront.

Therefore, the SEM photos of the two tools have been evaluated. Although the two tools appear to wear side wear, the surface structure of cutting materials is obviously different. It can be assumed that the cutting parameters such as cutting and radius are related to the observed difference in the quality of the workpiece. Due to brittleness of ceramic materials, they have higher possibility of cutting edge cracking and caving, though no breakthrough has been observed in these tests. In the future research activities, we will make a more detailed investigation of the impact of these on the quality of workpieces.

A greater force is related to lateral force, feed force and power on cemented carbide tool. Because they have the same tool geometry, they are grinding under the same conditions and using the same process parameters during the milling process. These differences may be related to the divergence microstructure of the cutting edge, the different friction conditions between the tool and the workpiece and the difference of the thermal conductivity of the cutting material.