Micromilling of high-aspect-ratio ceramic thin walls with customized micro PCD end mills

With the increasing application of ceramic structural parts, how to realize the ductile cutting of ceramics and high-quality machining of ceramic structural parts have become an important research direction. In this paper, the micromilling of fully sintered zirconia ceramics is studied using customized PCD end mills with three different rake angles. The critical thickness for microcutting of ceramics during the micromilling process is theoretically analyzed and experimentally identified. Then, the ductile cutting of ceramic materials is to be realized by controlling the key cutting parameter (feed per tooth fz) considering the critical cutting thickness. Under the condition of ductile cutting, the high-aspect-ratio vortex curved thin walls of fully sintered zirconia ceramics are successfully fabricated. Furthermore, the tool wear of the customized PCD end mill is analyzed. The tool geometric parameters that are beneficial to ensure both ductile cutting and high tool life are identified.