Irregular Insert Milling Tool Layout for Vibration Damping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Milling tools face significant challenges in preventing vibrations during machining operations, which lead to reduced accuracy, surface finish issues, and tool wear, with existing solutions either being costly or compromising tool life.
Innovation Solution
A milling tool design featuring unevenly distributed insert seats and cutting inserts with irregular angular distances, where one cutting insert is axially protruding to interfere with vibrational resonance, reducing vibrations while minimizing wear and maintaining tool life.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If irregularly arranged cutting inserts are used to reduce vibrations, then vibration amplitude is reduced, but tool life is substantially shortened due to increased wear on specific inserts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by positioning one cutting insert (the compensating insert) at a different axial location than the others, creating an intentional asymmetric configuration. This asymmetric positioning allows the compensating insert to engage the workpiece at a different depth, generating cutting forces that counterbalance the vibrations produced by the other inserts, thereby reducing overall vibration amplitude while maintaining regular angular spacing for uniform wear distribution
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the axial position parameter of one cutting insert relative to the others. By adjusting the axial location of the compensating insert, the cutting depth and resulting cutting forces are modified to specifically counteract vibration tendencies. This parameter change enables vibration reduction without requiring irregular angular spacing that would cause uneven wear and reduced tool life
2Object-affected harmful factors
If damped tool body is used to reduce vibrations, then vibration amplitude is reduced, but manufacturing cost increases substantially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the cutting tool into multiple independent cutting inserts positioned in a regular angular pattern, with one insert (the compensating insert) having a modified axial position. This segmentation allows each insert to function independently, with the compensating insert specifically tasked with vibration counteraction. The modular insert design avoids the need for complex damped tool bodies while achieving vibration reduction through strategic positioning of individual cutting elements
Solution Approach 2:
The compensating insert acts as an intermediary element that mediates between the cutting process and vibration reduction goal. By positioning this insert to engage the workpiece at a different axial depth, it generates cutting forces that counterbalance the vibrations produced by the other inserts. This intermediary approach achieves vibration damping effects without requiring a specially designed damped tool body structure
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design effectively dampens vibrations, reducing tool wear and maintaining a favorable service life, while maintaining the milling tool's efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
an axially foremost cutting insert located so as to define an axially foremost portion of the milling tool and located more forwardly in the longitudinal direction of the tool body... to interfere with the vibration resonance thereby stopping an escalation of the amplitude to a critical level
Data Source
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AI summary
A milling tool (101) comprises a tool body (102) and replaceable cutting inserts (109a-h) mounted in associated insert seats (108a-h) arranged in succession one after the other in the front end (103) of the tool body. The insert seats are unevenly distributed in the tool body to provide irregular angular distances between cutting edges (113) of each pair of consecutive cutting inserts. A first insert seat (108a) is configured to keep the cutting edge of a first cutting insert (109a) axially more forwardly than the cutting edges of the other inserts (109b-h) and the angular distance between the first cutting insert and the insert immediately in front of it is smaller than the angular distance between any other pair of consecutive cutting inserts. The invention also relates to a tool body (102) for such a milling tool (101).