Investigation of the cusp height when ball-end milling form shaped surfaces

This paper presents a model for cusp height in the ball-end milling process. In many milling operations, the cutting tool performs step over and makes adjacent cuts to complete machining of any feature. As a result, a small cusp of material, called a cusp height, will remain between these cuts on the surrounding walls or on the machined surface if a ball-end mill is used. This procedure presents application of software to evaluate cusp height in milling process. The height of cusp is examined in surfaces having different curvature ratio and different orientation. The model for the mathematical prediction of the cusp height has been developed in terms of axial and radial depth of cut, surface curvature and tool diameter. The application of the DOE technique by Taguchi gives the process parameter values that lead to the minimum machining time and achievement of the desired surface texture.

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