Reduced computational time in 3D finite element simulation of high speed milling of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy

The finite element method is an important supplement to the experiment on the research of metal cutting mechanism. A 3D thermo-mechanical coupling model was established based on ABAQUS, in which a model of the tool with real structure and a simplified model of the work-piece based on the cutting zone were established. It can greatly improve the computational efficiency because the volume of the work-piece model can be reduced by 70% when compared with the traditional rectangle model. The validation shows that the prediction error of the cutting force is less than 15%, and the prediction results of the chip morphology are in good agreement with the experiment results. In order to reveal the mechanism of high speed milling of 6061-T6 Aluminum alloy, single factor experiments were carried out based on the established model. The results show that the cutting force and cutting temperature rapidly increase with the increase of the axial depth of cut ap and the feed per tooth fz, but slowly increase with the increase of the radial depth of cut ae. The cutting force decreases with the increase of the spindle speed n. However, the cutting temperature increases with the increase of n firstly, and tends to be stable when n is over than 10,000 r/min. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

The study establishes a 3D thermo-mechanical coupling model to accurately predict cutting force and chip morphology by reducing the volume of the workpiece model. Experiment on high-speed milling of 6061-T6 Aluminum alloy reveals varying effects of different factors on cutting force and temperature.