Optimal milling cutter helix selection for period doubling chatter suppression

Abstract

In high speed milling, interrupted cutting conditions can lead to period doubling chatter vibrations. While many studies have already confirmed that the use of helical tools can effectively shrink or remove these regions of unstable cutting, none of them has provided clear guidance to select the minimum helix that completely cancels the period doubling lobes. This study addresses this gap by introducing a novel analytical formula for a critical tool helix pitch: if the helix pitch is below the critical flip depth of cut of the straight helix cutter multiplied by $\pi$, the flip lobes will totally vanish. This rule is not only valuable for chatter-free process planning purposes, but it also establishes exact limit below which the fast and simple zeroth order stability algorithm can provide exact stability boundaries for helical tools. The effectiveness of the formula is numerically corroborated over three different milling scenarios: thin wall milling, slender tool and machine tool structure chatter cases. Finally, the findings are validated through experimental cutting tests.