Investigation of Surface Roughness and Tool Wear in Helical Plunge Milling of AISI 1045 Material

Abstract

Pocket milling operations are one of the most common machining operations. In pocket milling operations, various cutting methods can be adopted according to the geometry of the workpiece. The helical plunge milling method (helical interpolation) can be advantageous in tight cavity geometries as a high-speed machining technique. In this method, parameters such as helix angle, depth of cut, cutting speed, and feed rate have a direct effect on both surface roughness and tool life. With the increasing demand for high-speed machining, it is crucial to investigate this method. In this study, AISI 1045 (C45W) steel was machined using helical plunge milling. The helix angle used was 1°. The axial and radial depths of cut values were set to 1 mm and 0.2 mm, respectively. A total of 16 passes were performed, and surface roughness values were measured at each pass. In general, the surface roughness values deteriorated after each experiment. After the experiments, the sharp corners of the tool were fractured, and evident built-up edge (BUE) formations were observed.

Keywords

• Machining
• AISI 1045
• Helical milling
• Surface roughness
• Tool wear

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