Efficient simulation model of material removal in peripheral milling of thin-walled workpiece

For form error prediction of thin-walled workpiece in peripheral milling process, a new efficient methodology is presented to rapidly simulate the material removal process. Using the nominal value of the radial depth of cut, the element stiffness is corrected in terms of the ratio between the remaining and the nominal volume of each element. With this methodology, the finite element remeshing is not needed. As a result, the simulation procedure is simplified and the computing efficiency is improved greatly without the loss of accuracy. The comparison between the simulation results and the experimental results shows that the proposed methodology is efficient and useful.