Research on chip flute design of variable pitch variable helix end milling cutter based on manufacturability

In this paper, a design method of chip flute structure of variable pitch variable helix (double variable) end milling cutter based on manufacturability is presented, which aims to improve the dynamic balance and milling performance of the tool. The feasible region for grinding the chip flute of a double variable end milling cutter is obtained by solving the numerical model for the shape of the radial cross-section curve of the chip flute, along with the position and orientation of the grinding wheel. The multiple tool-walking grinding method is proposed to avoid the interference and edge cutting between the grinding wheel profile and the chip flute section, and the chip flute structure design criterion is obtained. The error between the grinding simulation results and the design target parameters is about 1 %, which verifies the effectiveness of the design criteria. With the double variable end milling cutter designed by this criterion, the milling vibration amplitude is reduced by about 21 %, and the average surface roughness of the workpiece is reduced by 9.872 μm. The chip flute structure design method proposed in this paper not only meets the manufacturing feasibility, but also effectively improves the milling performance of the tool. On the premise of considering manufacturability, the design method of chip flute as the optimization objective provides a new idea for tool structure design.