Analysis of Cutting Mechanism by Ball End Mill Using 3D-CAD

This paper deals with an analysis of the chip area by ball end milling of an inclined surface using a contour path method. At first, the modeling of a cutter, an edge, a rake surface and a workpiece with an inclined surface are carried out using 3D-CAD. Secondly, the chip area is calculated by the interference of the rake surface and the chip volume. The influence of the cutting method and the direction of pick feed on the behavior of the chip area and the influence of the inclination angle of the machined surface on the maximum chip area are shown. And, the evaluation value Ed for cutting performance with the multiple by the chip area and the distance from the spindle axis to the center of gravity of the chip area is proposed. The evaluation value of the condition by stepping up pick feed and the inclination angle α=20° shows minimum, so a good cutting performance would be expected for these cutting conditions.