Influence of the relative positions of tool and workpiece on tool life, tool wear and surface finish in the face milling process

The main goal of this work is to study the influence of the relative positions of tool and workpiece on tool life and on surface finish of the workpiece in the process of face milling flat surfaces. Aiming to achieve this goal, several milling experiments were carried out with different relative positions of tool and workpiece. The tool flank wear and the surface roughness of the workpiece were measured as cutting time elapsed. The tools were photographed at different stages in their lives. The main conclusion of this work is that, as the j parameter increases (this parameter measures the distance between the end of the mill diameter and the beginning of the workpiece, as can be seen in Fig. 1), tool life decreases. The surface roughness of the workpiece is not strongly influenced by the variation of this relative position and its growth is not closely related to the increase in wear of the primary cutting edge. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A, All rights reserved.