Finite Element Analysis for Machinability Test of Laser Sintered Material

In this paper, finite element analysis (FEA) on machinability of laser sintered material with mean of predicted cutting force and temperature distribution is explained. The process involved 2D orthogonal down-cut milling with the application of two dimension thermo mechanical plane strain model. The updated Lagrangian formulation was used where cutting simulation does not involve element separation but remesh automatically when element distorted critically. AISI1055 mild steel properties were used as the comparison. Various types of friction models were adopted in obtaining precise results. Predicted cutting force and cutting edge temperature are validated against corresponding experimental values by previous researchers. From the simulations, the shear friction model of 0.8 is the best friction model where 10% errors were obtained for comparison mild steel AISI1055 FEA results with the experimental approach for increasing radial depth. Lower cutting force predicted for laser sintered materials compared to AISI1055 due to lower Young modulus. Cutting edge temperature predicted for laser sintered material is higher due to its low thermal conductivity compared to AISI1055.