A manufacturing model of an end mill using a five-axis CNC grinding machine

This paper presents a manufacturing model of a flat-end mill using a five-axis computer numerical control (CNC) grinding machine. The profile of the helical groove can be precisely calculated using a given wheel profile and the relative movements between the workpiece and the grinding wheel. The results of the calculation of the numerical control (NC) data for all the grinding processes of the end mill are fully presented in the paper. The NC data for the machining end mill were generated from the developed program by using the given design parameters of tool geometry, wheel geometry, wheel setting, and machine setting. The effects of the design and manufacturing of the end mill were analyzed based on the computer simulation and experiment results. This study provides a practical and efficient model for the manufacturing of an end mill using a CNC grinding machine with simple programming techniques. The prediction of the end mill geometry for the designing of the proper configuration of the end mill before manufacturing and generating the NC code for machining in a CNC machine is necessary to save time and to reduce the manufacturing cost.