The investigation of the chip behaviour during the end milling cutting process

Generally the study, evaluation and general understanding of end milling cutters are complicated by the complexity of the cutting process and of the cutting tool. The main performance factor of the end milling cutters is given by the durability of the tool. In practice the sound analysis of the tool engaged in the cutting process is used as a simple predictability mean to forecast the future durability of the tool. An alternative or complementary tool to predict future durability is the investigation of the chip behaviour. Chip behaviour investigations can also give clues concerning the possible improvement of the cutting tools. The current article presents a detailed chip behaviour investigation for 5-fluted end milling cutters with different performances and various geometries when approaching different types of metal cutting operations in 42CrMo4 alloy steel. Current study can be applied in future researches regarding the evaluation and the development of end milling cutters. Furthermore the current approach can be used on other types of cutting tools.