Surface quality enhancement by constant scallop-height in three-axis milling operations

• Published in: Results in surfaces and interfaces Vol. 14; p. 100208
• Main Authors: Soori, Mohsen, Jough, Fooad Karimi Ghaleh, Arezoo, Behrooz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Engineering Sciences; Optimized machining parameters; Scallop‐Height; Surface quality; Three-axis milling; Virtual machining; Surface quality; Virtual machining; Three-axis milling; Optimized machining parameters; Scallop‐Height; Surface quality Scallop-Height Three-axis milling Optimized machining parameters Virtual machining
• ISSN: 2666-8459; 2666-8459
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rsurfi.2024.100208

The quality of machined part surfaces are under the impact of scallop height which should be analyzed and minimized. Achieving a uniform scallop-height is important for ensuring a smooth surface finish and maintaining consistent material removal across the machined surfaces during CNC machining operations. This approach helps to reduce material waste, tool wear and part production errors while ensuring consistent and high-quality of machined parts. Maintaining a constant scallop height can also help to reduce chatter and vibration during milling operations. The research work develops a virtual machining methodology to produce constant scallops through three-axis milling operations. The proposed approach examines free-form surfaces of workpiece in order to obtain free form surfaces curvatures. Then, free-form surfaces are separated into flat, convex and concave surfaces to provide optimized cutting tool variables in order to provide constant scallop height during CNC cutting tool paths. Achieving a constant scallop height involves optimizing cutting parameters such as feed rate, spindle speed, and step over. To calculate the optimized machining parameters of feed rate, speed of spindle and step over, the Taguchi optimization methodology is utilized in the study. Then, the machining variables of feed rate, speed of spindle and step over are optimized to achieve the uniform scallop height during milling potations of free-form surfaces. As a result, using optimized machining parameters during machining operations, the surface roughness of machined components are reduced by 23.8%. So, the proposed virtual machining method can enhance surface quality of machined parts during CNC milling operations of free-from-surfaces.