Design And Experimental Researsh Of Helical Milling Prototype

Nowadays, demand for material with high strength, low density performance inthe aerospace industry such as titanium alloy and composite materials became moreand more urgent. Helical milling process which was designed for milling hole ondifficult-to-machine material such as titanic and compound material has attractedbroad attention. Firstly, it has small cutting force in Z axle. Secondly, it belongs tointermittent cutting which can supply more space for chip removal and heatdissipating. Besides, it can reduce the probability of occurrence of stratification andexport defect from composite holes due to great cutting force and have better coolingperformance. Therefore, helical milling devices are widely used for making holes indifficult-to-machine materials. The paper has developed a special equipment based onhelical milling process and carried out a series of work as follows.Firstly, two kinds of helical milling schemes were proposed based on the researchof helical milling process. By comparing the schemes, the helical milling device withblock-offset mechanism for radial offset was chosen and the relevant structures andcomponents were designed. Besides, design of virtual prototype, virtual assemblage,motion simulation and interference checking were accomplished bySolidworks.Secondly, finite element analysis (FEA) for the virtual prototype of helicalmilling device was carried out. Statics and dynamics analysis were carried out tosimulate the cutting forces in the working environment and the weak componentswere improved to meet the design requirements based on the simulation results.Finally, assemblage and commissioning of the helical milling device wereconducted. Then modal test was carried out to get prototype's actual performance. Bycomparing the experiment result and simulation result, the function of FEA softwarein the design process was confirmed and the reason for error generation is alsoanalyzed, which make preparation for the improvement of the prototype.This paper completed the development of the helical milling equipment. Itprovides guidance and platform for the optimization of cutting parameters andimprovement of the prototype.