Mathematical model for cutting force in rotary ultrasonic face milling of brittle materials

Rotary ultrasonic machining of brittle materials, such as glass, ceramics, silicon, and sapphire, has been explored in a large number of experimental and theoretical investigations. Mechanistic models have been developed to predict the material removal rate or cutting force in the rotary ultrasonic machining of brittle materials. However, most merely describe the rotary ultrasonic machining process of drilling holes in brittle materials. There are no reports on the development of a cutting force model for flat surface rotary ultrasonic machining, i.e., rotary ultrasonic face milling. This paper presents a mathematical model for the cutting force in the rotary ultrasonic face milling of brittle materials under the assumption that brittle fracture removal is the primary mode of material removal. Verification experiments are conducted for the developed cutting force model and show that the trends of input variables for the cutting force agree well with the trends of the developed cutting force model. The developed cutting force model can be applied to evaluate the cutting force in the rotary ultrasonic face milling of brittle materials.