How to understand and control tool wear

FEA Simulation fuses material, temperature, and stress information to predict tool wear

As TWS’ flagship technology, AdvantEdge™ is a CAE product for modeling material removal processes. The experimentally validated material modeling technology, coupled with advanced FEA, gives engineers access to more information than trial-and-error testing, enables them to make better decisions.

Quick and accurate measurements enable model validation

"Tool wear is an unavoidable reality of any machining process that must be understood and controlled. It significantly affects the quality of the machined workpiece due to the higher temperatures and stresses that a worn tool imposes into the machined surface,” says Tyler Roth. TWS is developing models that account for process physics to accurately predict tool wear. This will allow customers to innovate faster to produce higher quality parts. Furthermore, TWS is using their FEA simulations to better understand the complex interactions between the tool and the material, so that they can implement accurate tool wear models into their software.

Using the InfiniteFocus G5 system from Bruker Alicona, TWS is performing controlled machining tests and measuring the tool profile as it wears. These scans are then put in directly into AdvantEdge™ to perform simulations with the worn profile to understand how the machining process evolves. These simulation results are validated with measurements acquired during the machining tests and are then being used to create tool wear models.

Cutting tools, e.g., have very critical features like the cutting-edge radius, corner radius, rake angles or helix angles that impact material flow during machining and consequently impact power requirement during the machining process. Flute and gash design are critical for chip evacuation.

An application example: A customer from the aerospace and defense industry needed to pick the best tool for machining Titanium components using High Efficiency Machining techniques which involve high axial depth, low radial depth and aggressive speeds and feeds to take advantage of low chip loads. Three tools were shortlisted for the job, and it was the InfiniteFocusG5 system that delivered crucial information for the improvement and extension of their tool life: The tools were scanned and converted to solid models in STEP file format. Once the tools were converted to the solid model, they were analyzed in AdvantEdge™ to understand the temperature and stress profiles for the speeds and feeds that were originally identified.

Future work

TWS will extend this effort to develop wear models for a wide range of cutting tool and workpiece materials. This will rely on increased usage of the Bruker Alicona InfiniteFocusG5 system to acquire more validation data so that TWS’ customers have the confidence they required to forego slow and costly trial-and-error testing and rely on TWS’ tool wear models.