An accurate method for five-axis flute grinding in cylindrical end-mills using standard 1V1/1A1 grinding wheels

Flute grinding is a critical process in end-mill manufacturing. The wheel geometry and position during the grinding process govern the flute profile and determine the flute parameters (i.e. rake angle, core radius, and flute width). Accuracy of these parameters should be ensured to obtain optimal cutting performance. For a given wheel geometry, the current technologies can only determine the wheel position for the desired rake angle and core radius without consideration of the flute width. This disadvantage seriously restricts the improvement of machining quality and the flexibility of flute grinding. To cope with this problem, this paper presents a novel method of five-axis flute grinding using standard 1V1/1A1 wheels to ensure the accuracy of the three flute parameters. Based on the theories of analytic geometry and envelope, equations for calculating the flute parameters are first derived. Afterwards, a system of nonlinear equations is created to calculate the wheel position for flute grinding. The validity of the proposed method is verified by 3D simulations and machining experiments. Lastly, the sensitivity of the valid flute width with respect to the wheel geometric parameters is further investigated in this work.