Innovation of helical cutting tool edge for eco-friendly milling of wood-based materials

An extreme inclination angle of helical cutting tool edge has been developed in milling of new commercially wood-based materials. The purpose of this research was to investigate wear resistance, chip flow and shape, surface roughness, and noise level of helical edge cutting tools in milling wood-based materials. The wood-based materials of wood plastic composite, laminated veneer lumber, and oriented strand board were cut by the helical edge cutting tools (inclination angle of 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, and 75 degrees) in the up-milling and down-milling processes on a computer numerical control router. Feed speed was set up in 2, 3, and 4 m/min. The results show that the helical edges provide better wear resistance, better surface quality, and lower noise emission compared to the conventional edge (0 degrees). Edge radius wear, chip flow area and flight speed, surface roughness, and noise level decreased with increasing the inclination angle of the cutting tool edges. The differences in the wood-based material structure, the milling process, and the feed speed resulted in the difference in cutting tool wear, chip flow and shape, surface roughness, and noise level phenomenon.