Predicting cutting forces in 5-axis milling of sculptured surfaces directly from a CAM tool path

The present work is motivated by the fact that for predicting the cutting forces which arise under various cutting conditions, workpiece-tool pairs, machining depths and tool orientation, numerical methods are slower and less efficient than analytical methods. In addition, recent developments in Computer Assisted Machining (CAM) techniques have enabled analytical methods to be applied even with complex workpiece geometry. The method developed in this paper is both practical and inexpensive. It is based on an analytical method using only few approximations and uses the toolpath file as the main information source for the machined surface. This method takes into account both tool position and orientation in a 5-axis finishing milling process with ball-end cutter, independent of the machining parameters and the couple of tool-workpiece materials. However, this calculation must be supplemented by a mechanistic approach in order to obtain results equivalent to those of the experiment. The result is a model which is implemented in a program allowing the visualization of the cutting forces along a given path. The program is easy to apply in practical cases with the possibility of implementing it in a machining software.