Precise shoulder milling with an optimized 4-AXIS CNC-toolpath generation

Abstract

End mills with spiral flutes belong to the most frequently used for grooving and shoulder milling. The best progress is presented by the whole-carbide cutters today, but HSS cutters can not be substituted in all applications anyway. However, bigger deflections and more intensive wear can be expected for the HSS cutters due to their lower Young´s modulus and hardness in general. This deflection affects geometry, dimensions and quality of the machined surfaces. Calculations can be based on analytical method or the Finite Element Analysis (FEA). A precise geometrical model of the cutting tool, time series of the loading and material constants are needed for these computations which result in advanced CNC machining that is precise and economical.