Arc-Edge End Mill for Accurate Fillet Surface Machining
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing end mills struggle to process planar portions with fillets accurately, leading to errors in compound curved surfaces due to the generation of uncut portions and limitations in CAM control and tool center control.
Innovation Solution
An end mill design featuring a bottom edge with a curved convex shape in an arc form and a radial edge at the corner also formed in an arc shape, where the radius of the arc portion of the radial edge matches the fillet's radius, and the bottom edge's radius is equal to or less than the minimum radius of adjacent planar portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a lens tool with a large curvature radius arc portion is used to form the bottom surface, then the feed interval can be made larger and processing time is reduced, but uncut portions are generated on the bottom surface and side surface depending on the fillet curvature radius
Solution Approach 1:
The end mill is divided into two distinct functional portions: a bottom edge portion with a first curvature radius optimized for planar surface machining, and a radial edge portion with a second curvature radius matched to the fillet radius. This segmentation allows each portion to independently perform its specific function without interference, eliminating uncut portions while maintaining high feed intervals.
Solution Approach 2:
Different curvature radii are assigned to different portions of the end mill according to the local requirements of the workpiece geometry. The bottom edge has a curvature radius suitable for planar surfaces, while the radial edge has a curvature radius matching the fillet radius, allowing each local region to be processed with the optimal tool geometry.
2Manufacturing precision
If additional work such as filing is performed to correct shape errors, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity decreases due to extended processing time
Solution Approach 1:
The end mill is pre-configured with two curvature radii that are specifically designed to match the target shape's planar portion and fillet portion. This preliminary design of the tool geometry ensures that the correct shape is formed during the primary machining operation, eliminating the need for subsequent corrective operations like filing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If tip point control is used for machining compound curved surfaces, then adaptability to complex geometries is improved, but manufacturing precision decreases due to control limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the end mill itself rather than relying on complex control algorithms. By incorporating two specific curvature radii in the tool geometry, the system achieves adaptability to compound curved surfaces through physical tool design, which provides more stable and accurate results compared to software-based tip point control.
Data Source
AI summary
The purpose of the present invention is to precisely process a surface-shaped portion having a fillet. An end mill includes a bottom blade having a protruding curved surface and formed in an arc shape, and a radius blade provided in a corner portion and formed in an arc shape, wherein the radius of the arc portion of the radius blade matches the radius of the arc portion of a fillet-shaped portion of a shape to be processed, and the radius of the arc portion of the bottom blade is equal to or smaller than the minimum radius of the arc portion of a surface-shaped portion adjacent to the fillet-shaped portion.