Mathematical Model and Simulation of Cutting Force in Plunge Milling Process

Plunge milling is a high-speed machining way and the cutter is fed in the direction of the Z axis, which is used to remove excess material rapidly in roughing operations. In this paper, the orthogonal cutting theory was used to study the plunge milling of LY12 alloy. A mathematic model for cutting force in plunge milling was established, and the milling process was simulated by using Matlab. It is found that the single tooth cutting experimental result is unstable because of unsymmetrical single tooth in the milling process, which leads to the difference between the simulation and experimental results. The trend of multiple teeth cutting experimental result is similar to that of the simulation result; however, the peak values in the experimental result are different, which is caused by the error of cutter's position, and the error of peak value is less than 10%.