Machining chatter in flank milling

The axial depth of cut in flank milling is typically quite large, which makes this operation highly prone to machining chatter. Although considerable amount of research exists on geometrical aspects of flank milling, yet the dynamics of this efficient milling operation have not been given the proper attention. In this paper, a dynamic model is presented to study chatter in the flank milling of curved surfaces on a 5 axis machine. The actual feedrate is calculated by post-processing of the tool path. The grazing surfaces generated by the tool motion are used for the analytical calculations of the entry and exit angles in the finishing pass. The chatter simulation is conducted in the time domain. It is shown that the model is capable of predicting the stability conditions at different segments of the tool path accurately. Cutting experiments are also conducted and the results are shown to agree with the numerical predictions closely.