Tool Wear Prediction in Micro-end-milling with Hard Material

The applications of micro-machining have increased drastically in the last ten years. However, tools with less than 1mm diameter using for micro-mills have very short and unpredictable life when they are used to cut hard metals. In this study, preliminary design of experiment (DOE) test program was conducted to investigate and identify the factors affecting tool wear at the micro-scale with hard material. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Taguchi method were efficient to determine appropriate cutting condition and the effect of parameters. A simple model was also developed to predict the width of slots on the workpiece along the cutting length. The obtained results can provide the basic guidelines for parameter setting of micro-end-milling with hard material.