Tool deflection error compensation in five-axis ball-end milling of sculptured surface

During the machining of sculptured surface, the tool deflection induced by cutting force has a great influence on the shape and dimensional accuracy of the machined components. Previous research attempts on this topic deal with error compensation in three-axis milling process. The purpose of this paper is to provide a novel methodology to compensate these deflections in five-axis ball-end milling of sculptured surface by modifying tool paths. The approach can be implemented in three steps. First, the representation of the five-axis machine configuration and kinematic transformations is given as the basis of the geometry analysis of five-axis milling operations. Second, through the analysis of tool deflection during the five-axis ball-end milling process, the mirror method can be applied to calculate the tool position and orientation. Meanwhile, the compensation reference can be modeled to optimize the tool paths. Finally, all experiments are carried out under the same cutting parameters to prove its effectiveness. The experimental results show effective improvement in the accuracy of the sculptured surface.