Surface quality in micro milling: Influences of spindle and cutting parameters

Micro milling is a competitive process to manufacture small parts and to structure surfaces in high quality with low set-up costs. However, the micro milling process poses many challenges and basic mechanisms are still to be researched. In addition, process-machine interactions are much more pronounced in micro than in macro machining. In this paper, the influence of the tilt angle of the spindle on the generated surface quality is investigated by kinematic simulations and experiments. Single edge micro end mills with an effective milling cutter diameter of 50 μm are applied. Recommendations are given to enhance process stability and surface quality.