Abstract

CNC milling machines are widely used in the die and mould industry especially 3-axis CNC machines. Die and mould usually involves complex shapes on its surfaces and in its cavities. Spherical surfaces are among the hardest surface to be machined using 3-axis CNC milling. Despite the fact that die and mould making industry equipments is ever evolving, it still requires manual labour for finishing process. This is due to the burrs created during machining process, particularly milling operation. Burrs occur when the cutting tool does not manage to completely machined the required area because of problems like step over, sharp corners, complex shape, etc. Several studies on different approaches have been done to counter this problem. This particular study concentrates on tool path strategy planning and aims to select the best tool path strategy for machining the part designed. Tool path or cutter path is the series of movements made by the tip of a cutting tool. A good tool path strategy should impart specified surface finishes and achieve acceptable metal-removal rates and tool life. The method used in tackling this problem is by applying different cutter path strategies to machine the same part designed and selecting the strategy with the best surface finishing. In this study, parallel lace, an EdgeCAM tool path is used. This tool path is then conducted using three strategy conventional, climb and optimized. The machined parts were later analyzed by measuring machining parameter; surface roughness, tool wear and machining time. Using the result from this study, ANOVA was done to analyze the best tool path strategy. Based on the analyses, the optimum cutter path strategy selected was optimized parallel lace.

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