Investigation on cutting force modeling and numerical prediction of surface errors in peripheral milling of thin-walled workpiece

Cutting deformation is a key factor influencing the precision and quality of the machined thin-walled workpiece. A reasonable cutting force modeling constitutes the basis for the numerical prediction of surface errors. Based on two typical cutting force models, a finite element numerical simulation procedure is proposed to evaluate cutting forces and surface errors in peripheral milling of thin-walled workpiece. Some key techniques such as the iterative scheme for the calculations of tool-workpiece deflections with 3D irregular meshes and the modeling of material removal without remeshing in milling are proposed. Influences of the uncut chip thickness variation and different cutting coefficients upon the simulation results are fully taken into account. Based on the typical cutting case with titanium alloy, numerical results obtained are compared with the existing experimental and simulation results. It is shown that both cutting force models have a good coherence for the same cutting process.