Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132

Recording of real cutting forces along the milling of complex parts

L.N. Lopez de Lacalle *, A. Lamikiz, J.A. Sanchez, I. Fernandez de Bustos
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of the Basque Country, Faculty of Engineering of Bilbao, Alameda de Urquijo s/n 48013, Bilbao, Spain

Received 14 December 2004; accepted 13 September 2005

Abstract

In this paper, a data acquisition system that simultaneously allows the recording of cutting forces and cutting tool position (coordi-
nates X, Y and Z) is presented. Thus, the geometry of the surface being machined and the values of the cutting forces generated during
the surface milling can be correlated. In this manner, two usual problems in milling experimentation are solved. First, those derive from
the continuous changes in the feed rate value due to the special look ahead functions (being on-line applied by the numerical control in all
high-speed milling centres), which aects the correlation between part geometry and forces. Second, those originate by the presence of
unexpected stocks coming from previous semi-nishing operations, which changes the value of cutting forces respect to those calculated
taking into account the theoretical tool engagement into the part.
The objective of this work is the development of a diagnostics tool for allowing the detection of potential milling problems by
researchers, making more protable the performance of machining test on real complex parts. This tool can be used in the optimization
of the milling of test-parts, machining real geometries that incorporate problems dierent from those observed in the linear tests at con-
stant linear feeds (in end-milling conditions).
The nal goal of the system is the generation of cutting forces maps as a function of the geometry of real workpieces, which is an
advance respect the usual forces recording in function of time or tool rotation typical of linear machining tests. In order to do that,
the system incorporates a dynamometric plate for the measurement of the three components of the cutting force, as well as an acquisition
card connected to the analog output of the position control loops. After machining, the le containing position and force data is post-
processed and chromatic and vector maps are generated.
The force analysis utility has been applied to three cases, in order to assess its feasibility in machining research projects. The rst
example shows a reduction of the number of tests and therefore machining time (even by 18 times) in the validation of a mechanistic
cutting force model. Second example is focused on the detection of unexpected tool engagement conditions in complex parts. And
the last one addresses to the milling of thin walls, for investigation of static and dynamic milling problems.

2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Milling; Cutting forces; Complex surfaces; Data acquisition; Machining experimentation

1. Introduction Both force modulus and direction are directly related to

Cutting forces are widely recognized as an optimum
performance estimator of machining operations. Many
authors, compiled in the trend reports by Van Luttervelt
et al. [1] and Ehman et al. [2], have addressed their research
work to the prediction and measurement of these forces.
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +34 94 6014216; fax: +34 94 6014215.
E-mail address: implomal@bi.ehu.es (L.N. Lopez de Lacalle).
dierent aspects of the removal process, with a clear inu-
ence on the eciency of the operation and the quality of
the machined part.
Thus, cutting force is result of the extreme conditions
at the tool-workpiece interface. This interaction can be
directly related to the tool wear and, in the worst of the
cases, to the failure of the tool [3]. Consequently, tool wear
and cutting forces are related to each other, although that
relationship is dierent for each dierent wear mechanism
(ank, crater, tool breakage).

0957-4158/$ - see front matter
2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.mechatronics.2005.09.001
22 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132

Nomenclature

ae radial depth of cut, mm Kre, Kte, Kae edge specic cutting force coecients,
ap axial depth of cut, mm N/mm
Vc cutting speed, m/min, basic relation is Vc = p * ac undeformed chip thickness
D * N/1000 dFt, dFr, dFa dierential components of cutting force in
fz feed per tooth, mm the tool tangential, radial and binormal direc-
F actual linear feed or feed rate, mm/min, tions
S * z * fz, wji positioning angle of the element i of the j cutting
Fp programmed linear feed of machine, mm/min edge
S rotations spindle speed, rpm h spindle rotation angle
Fx, Fy, Fz components of the cutting force on the dyna- j positioning angle of the main cutting edge of
mometer, N each cutting edge element
S rotary speed of the spindle, rpm P1 look-ahead parameter, control based on the cur-
D tool diameter, mm vature radius
z number of teeth of the milling tool P2 look-ahead parameter, control based on the two
db length of dierential cutting edge perpendicular secant angle
to cutting speed P3 look-ahead parameter, maximum angle
dS dierential cutting edge length P4 look-ahead parameter, minimum angle
Krc, Ktc, Kac shear specic cutting force coecients, P5 look-ahead parameter, minimum speed
N/mm2

Cutting forces are also related with chatter and process

instability [4,5]. Chatter results in a loss of accuracy of
machined parts or in damages of the machines structure.
The unexpected variations of the cutting forces can be
responsible for the damage of the ceramic hybrid bearings
of the high-speed spindle, which means an important time
and money waste during repairs. The study of this situation
will be easier if cutting forces were recorded according with
the part geometry.
Finally, the machine and tool deformations due to cut-
ting forces aect the surface nish and the dimensions of
machined parts. The above commented problems are well
known in conventional milling, but new problems come
from the use of high-speed machining technique:
Fig. 1. Uncontrolled stock in sharp changes on the surface geometry.
At present, milling is used in the manufacturing of
moulds made on hardened steel at 4050 HRC [6].
Those types of moulds and dies require high slenderness responsible of a dangerous stuck of tools in workpieces;
(L3/D4) tools due to the high depth and low llet radii of this might lead even to a sudden tool breakage.
the cavities. In this case, cutting forces produce the tool Thin walls with very low stiness are dicult to be
deection, which produces dimensional errors on machined, giving problems such as the wall deection
machined parts (sometimes errors may be even larger or forced vibration and regenerative chatter. These
than 90 lm). So the precision of the milling process problems were studied in Smith and Dvorak [7]. At
requires the reduction of cutting forces in order to min- present, thin walls are interesting due to its application
imize the tool deection. in aeronautical and satellite components.
In the case of deep slots, it is very dicult to predict the
engagement cutting conditions of the tool, since the In order to minimize these problems, dierent
width of these slot is similar to the tool diameter. approaches can be followed. The empirical modelling of
The semi-nishing operation may leave unexpected the milling process is one of them. Special mention deserves
stocks of material on milled surfaces (see Fig. 1) in the the work of Altintas [8], because it includes the possibility
form of stair-steps with the same height the axial depth of taking into account complex tools as ball-end mills, bull
of cut of the semi-nishing operation. These can be nose mills, high performance insert mills, etc. A further
 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
development of this model [9] has been generalized for the
machining on slope, in order to estimate the cutting forces
in the high-speed machining of sculptured surfaces. Some
authors [10] have tried to analyze the cutting forces in com-
plex parts by extrapolating the results obtained from linear
cutting operations. However, this cannot be considered as
a valid technique, since some problems coming from an
excessive tool engagement into part are not present in
linear tests.
Bouzakis in [11] calculates the real undeformed chip sec-
tion using a geometry model of the part, calculating the
intersection of solids part and tool. After this, applying
an empirical model, the real forces at each part point are
calculated. But in complex parts the validation of estimated
forces is impossible due to the fact that recorded forces are
not correlated with the part geometry. In the VericutTM
software [12], the Optipath utility reads the NC toolpath
le and divides tool motion into a number of smaller seg-
ments. Where necessary, based on the amount of material
removed along each segment, it assigns the best-feed rate
for each tool engagement into part. But there is not a cal-
culation of the cutting forces. A similar idea is developed in
Guzel and Lazoglu [13] and Larue and Altintas [14].
Nowadays, the visual inspection of machined parts is a
reliable method to know if machining operations have been
successful. Chatter marks and actual dimensions of the
workpiece can be used as estimators. The premature or
the sudden failure of tools may also be considered to deter-
mine the origin of milling problems. In many cases these
problems are related to the geometry of the part, so the
current available models do not predict them.
Other usual approach is the tool monitoring based on
spindle current consumption or acoustic emission from
the machining process, as is explained in [1518]. In these
cases, the in-process detection of tool breakage or tool
wear is the main purpose, very useful for long-mass pro-
duction in unattended mode.
In investigations, cutting forces are usually measured in
linear machining tests using constant feed and always with
the same tool engagement conditions, that is, with the same
feed per tooth, and axial and radial depths of cut. In these
cases, cutting forces are recorded in relation to time or tool
rotation, but not in relation to part geometry. The typical
system is a piezoelectric plate connecting to a DAQ board,
working together with visualization software, in a similar
way to a digital oscilloscope. However, in complex test
parts with continuous changes of machining directions,
or when the previous operation does not produce a con-
stant stock, cutting forces recorded in relation to time
can not be correlated with the real conditions. That is the
case of high-speed milling: the look ahead functions of
the CNC control (see Appendix A) continuously change
the real value of feed rate respect to that programmed
one. With the above in-time recording system it is impossi-
ble to know where the variations of cutting force were pro-
duced. Guzel and Lazoglu [13] measure the values of
cutting forces along a surface machining, comparing values
23
from a cutting force modelling with real ones; in this work,
linear feed is 20 mm/min, which makes possible the com-
parison of predicted and actual forces in each spatial point
because there in no inuence of the look ahead. On the
contrary, in the present work, feed of 1000 mm/min is used.
In [14] an experimental recording system is used on the
milling of sculptured surfaces, but there, feed is kept con-
stant during the milling process.
In order to analyze the dierent situations that may arise
during a machining operation, in this paper a new analysis
utility, based on the simultaneous measurement of the
three orthogonal components of the cutting force (Fx,
Fy, and Fz, measured with a KISTLER
dynamometer)
and the current position of the tool in a high-speed machin-
ing centre, is presented. The diagnostic system can be
applied to forces analysis in real industrial complex parts.
At date, the utility is focused on performing laboratory
tests because the cost of dynamometer is too high. In indus-
trial production, other less expensive sensors are recom-
mended such as the spindle current signal or acoustic
emission from process. However, the performance of mill-
ing tests are a main step for milling optimization of di-
cult-to-cut materials or complex parts, and therefore this
utility has natural application in research laboratories
about machining.
In this paper, three case studies will be shown. Finally, it
must be remarked that the system has been developed only
for running machining tests and diagnostics, since in an
industrial environment dynamometric devices such as the
one here used are not applied because of their high cost.
2. Tool architecture
In Fig. 2, the general scheme of the developed utility is
detailed. First, during the milling process both the cutting
forces and the machine-tool positions are simultaneously
collected, as it will be explained below. This information
is recorded in a unique le, of several megabytes size in
ASCII code. This le is ready to post-processing, allowing
that simple operations with the cutting forces components
can be o-line done. Data are represented using graphical
tools, for example a general-purpose post-processor (we
use a specially developed one or the commercial TecplotTM),
allowing color maps or vector representations. At view of
the represented data, user can correlate the value of the cut-
ting forces with the surface visual inspection or with the
result of the coordinate measurement of parts.
The main stage of the above scheme is the simultaneous
recording of forces and positions. In Fig. 3, a global
description of the acquisition system is presented.
The dynamometric table KISTLERTM 9255B (features at
www.kistler.com), is a quartz three component dynamom-
eter for measuring the three orthogonal components of
a force and the three induced torque of them. The dyna-
mometer consists of four force sensors tted under a high
preload between a base plate and a top plate. Each sen-
sor contains three pairs of quartz plates, one sensitive to
24 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132

in our case is 8 (type 5059), but only three of them are used,
Data sampling and Utility as explained below.
recording With this 8 output signals, the six values of Fx, Fy, Fz,
Mx, My, and Mz can be calculated (see Kistler datasheet
Machining of part IN11.5017, 2002), with two methods. First, six digital sums
can be calculated in real time after the analog/digital
conversion in the PC. This method is a good way if the
[(Fxmax, Fy, Fz), Data frequency of forces is low, but not for high frequencies,
(Fx, Fymax, Fz), collected as it will be explained in the follow section.
(Fx, Fy, Fzmax), in a file Other possibility is to install an adapter plug which sums
x, y, z] and converts the 8 plate output signals in the three cutting
forces, before the amplier stage. In our case the Kistler
5090A1 has been used. The global system amplier sensi-
Post-processing
tivity is
8 pc/N in Fx and Fy, and 3.7 pc/N in Fz.
The positions of the three axes of the CNC machine tool
Graphical are collected from the internal programmable controller
representation (iPLC of the CNC equipment), which knows the axes posi-
tion directly from the linear encoders, which are installed in
Diagnosis by the guides of all CNC machines. No new devices are
the user required. Other possibilities like getting the machine posi-
tion from the user interface of the CNC (the FIDIA M2
Fig. 2. General scheme of the analysis utility.
control allows this possibility because it is a Pentium plat-
form under Windows NT) have been discarded due to the
lack of a quick refresh frequency in the CNC control.
pressure in Z direction and the other two responding to In this manner, the three force signals and the three ana-
shear in the X and Y directions respectively. The outputs log signals of the machine position are simultaneously
of the four sensors are connected inside the dynamometer acquired, ltered and le recorded. For this latter purpose
in such a way that multicomponent measurements of forces a high resolution-high frequency Analog/Digital data
and torques can be performed. The eight output signals of acquisition board has been selected. The main features of
the plates are Fx1+2, Fx3+4, Fy1+4, Fy2+3, Fz1, Fz2, Fz3, Fz4; this board are: resolution 12 bits, sampling frequency
these components are used to calculate the cutting forces 1.25 MHz, maximum number of channels 16 single-ended
Fx, Fy, and Fz, and the three cutting torques, Mx, My, Mz. (8 dierential). So, in our application the maximum sam-
In the plate output a compact and isolated 8-wire cable pling frequency per single-ended channel is 1.25 MHz/6:
(1677A5) is mounted. It is responsible for transporting 208 kHz, as explained in following paragraphs. The data
charge signals to the multichannel Kistler 5017A1800 acquisition board is controlled using well-known lab soft-
amplier. The number of plug-in charge amplier modules ware (LabviewTM V 6.0, 2002).

Fig. 3. System architecture. Left: Schematic system scheme. Right: Data sampled and recorded, each record is composed by 12 values
[(Fxmax, Fy, Fz), (Fx, Fymax, Fz), (Fx, Fy, Fzmax), x, y, z].
 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
Using this software, three types of operations are succes-
sively performed:
The instantaneous value of Fx, Fy, Fz, x, y, z during a
time period is recorded. Its duration is set as 1.5 times
the period of the force signal, with a number of points
that ensure enough resolution to determine the peak
value of the force (see next section).
The maximum values for Fx, Fy, and Fz are detected.
The data sets [(Fxmax, Fy, Fz), (Fx, Fymax, Fz), (Fx, Fy,
Fzmax), x, y, z] are forced to be disk-recorded each time
they are collected. The x, y, z position is common to
the three maximum force sets, since the measuring error
in the reading from the CNC is well over the deviation in
the position of the three maximum values.
Once the machining operation is over, the data le is
closed and o-line processing involving graphical data rep-
resentation can be carried out. During post-processing the
user-selected cutting force component can be represented in
a three dimensional (x, y, z) view. Composition of the dier-
ent vectors is also allowed, being previously calculated with
a simple le post-processor procedure. Usual calculations
are the resultant force in the plane perpendicular to tool
axis when one of the components is maximum
q hardened steels is never carried out over 300 m/min.
F max Fx2max Fy 2
h
1 Therefore, the error introduced by this eect is smal-
x
q ler than 15% in the case of C45 steel. Even if this error
F h max Fx2 Fy 2max 2 happens (it is usually very lower than this percent-
y
Representation is done using color or vector maps, as
shown for example in Fig. 10, in order to clearly appreciate
the zone of maximum value (positive or negative).
3. Problems derived from the high federate, cutting
speeds and resolution
The main problems found in the development of the
system are the ve pointed out below.
3.1. Maximum frequency of dynamometers
The rst problem is directly related to the intrinsic fea-
tures of the dynamometric device used. This device must
be able to monitor cutting forces at very high frequencies,
this is, over 800 Hz at 25,000 rpm with a tool of 2 teeth,
and over 1600 Hz with a tool of 4 teeth, avoiding resonance
or electric charge problems in the quartz crystal sensors.
The table 9255B, that because of its size (260 260 mm)
and force range (
20 to 20 kN in X and Y,
10 to 40 kN
in Z) is the most adequate to measure forces in milling,
shows a natural frequency mounted on anges of 1.7 kHz
in X, Y axes and 2 kHz in Z axis. It must be also taken into
account that parts of a certain weight are mounted on the
table, and this produces a decrease in the natural frequency
of the system to values below 1 kHz. The valid range for
measuring is below this natural frequency. Since Kistler
25
does not provide the entire calibration response chart (they
provide only the sensitivity values and the linearity of the
response), the dynamometer response was checked using
an eccentric mass motor bolt on the dynamometer, increas-
ing rotational speed up to 5800 rpm. No amplication was
detected respect to the theoretical value of the centrifugal
force.
Three solutions can be given to the impossibility to mea-
sure high frequencies forces:
(a) A specic table designed for high-speed applications
(e.g. Kistler 9256A1), showing natural frequencies
near to 5 kHz can be used. The problem in this case
is the small size of the table, and the reduced range
of forces (up to 250 N) which is not enough in many
machining operations.
(b) The measurement can be carried out at a lower rota-
tional speed (below 6000 rpm). In spite of this value
implies a lower cutting speed, keeping the feed rate
and the axial and radial depths of cut of the actual
operation, cutting forces do not change respect to
the usual higher cutting speed. Even though some
studies [19] show that an increase in the cutting speed
is related to a decrease in the cutting forces, it must be
taken into account that the high-speed milling of
age), the relative values and therefore the comparison
between cutting forces at dierent zones of a part
machined in the same test are useful to detect unex-
pected cutting conditions.
(c) Use of Kalman ltering [20] of the cutting force mea-
surement, which can raise the maximum sampled fre-
quency to twice or three times.
In any case, the monitoring of cutting forces at
high speed (>6000 rpm) may only be really solved if a
dynamometric table with natural frequency over 3 kHz
and maximum force of 1000 N is developed in the next
future.
3.2. Short force peaks
The second point is also derived from monitoring signals
at very high frequencies. In this case, if a tool with two
teeth and a rotational spindle speed of 10,000 rpm are used,
the frequency of the cutting force signal is 333 Hz. The
relation signal-no signal (in other words, the ratio between
the time during which the tooth is cutting and during which
the tooth is idle) depends on the radial depth of cut, which
in nishing operations is very small (e.g., 0.2 mm with a
16 mm diameter tool, see Fig. 4). Taking into account the
helix angle, the immersion angle h1 (in this case, 12.8) is
increased by h2 (which value is ap = tg i=R), in this case
20.6. The resultant total immersion angle is thus 33.4,
26 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
Fig. 4. Peak cutting force as a function of idle time for a high-speed
nishing operation.
approximately 18.5% of the total cutting force period. This
means signal amplitude of 0.55 ms.
In order to collect enough information for each cycle of
forces, at least 10 samples per peak are required, that is, a
sampling frequency of 18.2 kHz per channel. In other
words, the analog/digital converting acquisition card must
be specied for at least 18.2 3 kHz (three channels is the
minimum requirement for the system addressing to cutting
force, and three more for axes position).
In the case of ball-end mills, in nishing operations and
due to the inuence of workpiece slope, requirements are
even higher. For instance, if a 30 slope surface is nished
with a 16 mm diameter tool, in upward cutting, with ap
0.2 mm and ae 0.2 mm, at 10,000 rpm and feed of 4000 m/
min, the immersion angle is 15, and therefore the force
impulse length results in 0.26 ms. With 10 sampled points
per signal, a 37 kHz sampling frequency per channel is
needed. In Table 1 required sampling frequencies for dier-
ent workpiece slopes are showed. If the spindle rotational
speed increases to the machine maximum allowed value of
25,000 rpm, the sampling frequency must be higher than
79.25 kHz per channel (at 15 slope, a typical slope).
A combination of two techniques has solved this prob-
lem. First, an analog-sum device (5409A1, provided by
Kistler) that calculates Fx, Fy, Fz by adding the eight out-
put channels of the dynamometric table has been used. In
this way, the eight signals at the dynamometer output are
reduced to three at the data acquisition card input. Second,
the acquisition card has been selected under the require-
ment of a very high sampling frequency (1.25 MHz).
Table 1
Sampling frequency for nishing operations at 10,000 and 25,000 rpm for
ball-end mills
Slope () Sampling frequency (kHz)
10,000 rpm 25,000 rpm
0 21.8 54.5
15 31.7 79.25
30 37 92.5
45 40 100
60 43.2 108
75 44 110
3.3. Maximum of the force components at dierent
spatial points
When the forces are recorded, the maximum of the Fx,
Fy, and Fz values do not coincide at the same instant. This
is why three sets of values are recorded:
Fxmax ; Fy;Fz;x;y; z; Fx; Fy max ;Fz;x; y;z;Fx;Fy;Fzmax ;x;y; z
Although the maximum values of the forces occur at dier-
ent x, y, z positions, the error to consider only one x, y, z
position is negligible since the distance between those
points will be lower than the linear distance (travelled by
the tool) during the immersion of one tooth. Even thus,
the most signicant component in relation to the machin-
ing problems of a real workpiece is only one of the compo-
nents of the force (either Fx or Fy, depending on the
workpiece orientation). Therefore, diagnostic of problems
are usually done with the color chart of one of the compo-
nents (see for e.g. Sections 4.2 and 4.3).
3.4. Low cutting forces
An important problem arises when trying to measure
the value of the cutting forces in nishing operations.
The background noise (vibration of near engines, electrical
noise, etc.) is important compared with the magnitude of
the forces, and it can be hardly eliminated. However, two
aspects must be taken into account because their benecial
inuence: rst, cutting force monitoring is especially
important in the case of nishing operations of hardened
steels, in which the magnitude of the forces is high enough.
Second, in the case of light alloys, the immersion angle is
very high even in nishing operations (up to 1/2 the tool
diameter), so forces show a regular pattern.
There are also disturbances due to the unbalance of the
high-speed spindle, or due to an excessive tool runout. The
former must be solved with a careful balance of the spindle-
shank-tool system (following standard ISO 1940-1). The
latter is in our example less than 3 lm, using cylindrical
collet shanks or thermal shrinkage toolholders.
3.5. Spatial resolution
In what refers to the spatial resolution of the force mea-
surement respect to surface area, here the only limitation is
that the system must have enough time to record, calculate
the maximum values of the force and save to disk the three
data sets. That time is 2.5 times the period of the force
signal, about 810 ms. For instance, if the feed rate F is
10,000 mm/min, the distance between two sampled points
is 1.6 mm in the worst of the cases. In the typical range
of values of the feed rate (20004000 mm/min), the
distance between points is 0.30.6 mm.
The system takes advantage from two aspects: rst, in
the sharp changes on geometry, the look ahead control
function (see Appendix A) of the high-speed NC control
 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
Fig. 5. Eect of the look ahead function in the data acquisition points.
reduces the values of the actual feed to 5001000 mm/min,
as shown in Fig. 5; second, in a very next future, (probably,
in the editing time of this paper), hardware and data acqui-
sition technology will decrease the processing time of the
acquisition system.
The monitoring system is able to record more than an
hour of machining, giving a le of 20 Mbytes size. Only
those values that change respect the previous ones are
recorded, to get a not too big size le (usually lower than
10 Mbytes). Therefore, the machining of real moulds, com-
ponents and medium-size parts can be monitored.
4. Applications
The utility has been tested in dierent case studies
addressing the performance analysis of advanced machin-
ing operations, in [26] other examples are presented. The
below presented cases have been specially selected to show
the application of the developed tool, not for its own dis-
cussion (as milling problems) that is out of scope of this
paper. Nevertheless, a brief description of the detected
problems is included, to make easier its compression.
4.1. Application to time reduction in the validation
of a force model
As commented in the introductory section, some
research groups are working on the development of e-
cient machining simulation software [2123], some of them
releasing commercial software already in use [8,2428]. In
these works, the validation of the force models through
experimental linear machining tests is an important task.
The model by Altintas [27,28,9], which is used in this work,
divides the cutting force in two components.
The force due to the shear forces. This component is
assumed to be proportional to the chip thickness (ac).
The force due to the friction forces. This component is
assumed to be proportional to the cutting edge length dS.
The resulting forces will be the addition of these two
components, the contribution of each one being ruled by
27
Fig. 6. Three slope test part, cutting strategies and cutting conditions used
for the validation trials of machining simulation software.
empirical coecients K that depend on the workpiece
and tool materials. This is showed in Eq. (3).
8
< dF t h; z K te dS K tc ac W; h; j db
>
dF r h; z K re dS K rc ac W; h; j db 3
>
:
dF a h; z K ae dS K ac ac W; h; j db
where Krc, Ktc, Kac are in N/mm2, Kre, Kte, Kae are in N/
mm, and ac in mm. In the calculation of the three projec-
tions of the cutting force, showed in Eq. (3), it is necessary
to develop a geometric model of the tool edges. After inte-
gration of the dierential cutting force components, the
total cutting force is calculated.
The milling of sculptured surfaces (common in dies and
moulds) is an interesting operation to be modelled. There-
fore, it is necessary to take into account the eect of the rel-
ative tool-surface orientation on cutting forces. The slope is
calculated using a tangent plane, at the tool surface contact
point. A coordinate transformation is used to get the valid
expressions for slope machining; a deep explanation of this
model, out of the scope of this paper, can be found in Lam-
ikiz et al. [9].
The developed utility [26] allowed the model developer
to collect a huge amount of data in few tests, reducing thus
the testing time and giving a clear view of the inuence of
the slope of the workpiece, the cutting conditions and the
milling strategy.
Fig. 6 shows the test piece used, in which three zones of
dierent slope can be found: 15, 30, and 45. The
workpiece was machined using a zig-zag strategy in three
directions: upward-downward zig-zag cutting (zone A),
45 zig-zag cutting (zone B), and horizontal zig-zag cutting.
The total machining time for this test was 16 min.
Fig. 7 shows a diagram of forces positions obtained for
two of the three zones. It must be noted that the original
graphs were in color, using a chromatic scale ranging from
negative (red1) to positive (dark blue) values. Fig. 7
includes some auxiliary lines to help in the understanding
of the values after a color-to-grey conversion (required
1
For interpretation of color, the reader is referred to the web version of
this article.
28 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132

Fig. 7. Recorded cutting force Fx (N) in the machining of test part in zone A (left) and B (right). Arrow dashed lines are included to show the value of
forces (due to color-to-grey picture conversion). Original gures are in color.

for the edition of this paper). Therefore, user can study the
eect on the operation of three dierent geometries (the
three slopes of the workpiece) and two cutting strategies,
carrying out only one machining test. At view of Fig. 7,
results of position monitoring were in accordance with
the workpiece geometry.
In this gure, the variations in the value of Fx when
machining in dierent feed directions can be observed. Fx
is high when upward machining, and low when downward
machining. Similar graphs were obtained for Fy and Fz.
The values of the actual forces measured during the
cutting tests have been correlated with results from the
developed [9] simulation software. Table 2 includes the maxi-
imum Fx of both the estimated and the experimental
measured force. The error was below 15%, which can be
considered as good estimation.
Without this diagnostic tool, the total time required for
performing the simple linear tests on dierent slopes and
each in the down and upmilling cases was approximately
18 times longer; each test need a CNC program for machin-
ing at the specic plane. The whole experimentation plan
involved three part slopes (15, 30, and 45), ve cutting
directions (horizontal, 0, 45, upward and downward)
and two milling cases (downmilling and upmilling). Risk
of mistakes during the tests realization also increased.
4.2. Application to detect problems in the machining
of complex parts

The rst example is a zig-zag cutting of an aluminium

Table 2 cylindrical part, carrying out a slot with a ball-end mill.
Correlation between experimental cutting forces and estimated ones The diagrams shown in Fig. 8 have been obtained for the
Zone Cutting type Estimated Measured horizontal direction on a plane perpendicular to the cylin-
part slope () value (N) value (N) der axis (that is the Fy component). Control buttons allow
Zone A Upward 15 232.15 217.24 the user zooming, moving or rotating the view. The chro-
Upward 30 210 217 matic distribution is autoscaled in relation with the maxi-
Downward 45 182 174200 mum and minimum values.
Zone B Upward 30 280 260280 The second example is a typical part of stamping
Downward 30 170 150180 dies industry, and more exactly, one component of a body-
Upward 45 250 230
car. Some Spanish companies commonly use this part to

Fig. 8. Two dierent Fy mapping graphs of the machining of an aluminium cylinder, with two dierent zig-zag cutting directions.
 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132 29

evaluate the performance of their high-speed milling
machines [6]. The eects of the cutting conditions, tool
and machining strategies were analyzed by studying this
test part, which involves a short machining time, 26 min.
The study of the machining forces was here of maximum
interest.
Fig. 9 shows the post-processing of the cutting forces,
including the maximum Fy value given as a function of posi-
tion (up), and (down) two vector graphs (Fx, Fy, Fz). In this
case, a general-purpose post-processor (TecplotTM V 5.0) has
been used, which provides powerful graphics tools. From
the force analysis some conclusions were drawn:

Fig. 9. Real cutting force map (in both color and vector representation) of the supernishing operation of a stamping die (GGG70L). (A) Eect of residual
material on forces and (B) force changes in upward to downward milling surface at the peak point.
30 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
The cutting force was very stable, and its value was
highly dependent on the workpiece slope. This result
was in accordance with the operation being carried out
(super-nishing after a previous very uniform semi-n-
ishing operation).
In zone A, a higher value of the force corresponding
with an excess of material left by the semi-nishing oper-
ation was observed. Tool wear would produce a similar
eect, but in that case cutting forces were increasing
along the entire machining test, and not only in a small
zone of the part.
At the top of the B zone, milling process changes from
upward to downward, as shown by the change in the
direction of the cutting forces.
A technological conclusion extracted from this force
study was that more wear resistant tools made of PCBN
(Polycrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride) could be applied,
because cutting forces were steady. This fragile tool mate-
rial can suer a suddenly breakage due to sharp changes
of the cutting forces, caused by the tool hit against uncon-
trolled material stocks [6]. The developed diagnostic utility
allowed to check the success of some PCBN milling tests
(in the research project Reducing time in the production of
Fig. 10. (a) Mapping of the Fy (perpendicular to the wall) for the milling of a 0.45 mm thin wall (b). In pictures details (d,e,f) of marks due to vibrations.
Table (c) shows the value of Fx and Fy and the wall thickness for noted points.
stamping dies, 2000, carried out by ve companies of the
Basque Country), and lead to some practical conclusions
for its application in two stamping die manufacturers.
4.3. Application to thin walls milling
A third application involved the study of those phenom-
ena occurring during the milling of very thin walls. Here,
three types of problems may appear:
Problems caused by the wall static deformation pro-
duced by the cutting forces that generate an excess of
uncut material. Wall deformation reduces the tool
immersion into thin wall, and therefore, cutting forces
decrease. As the operation gets closer to the base of
the wall, the stiness becomes higher, and so the defor-
mation is smaller (and the tool engagement is higher). It
results in an increase of the cutting forces.
Dynamic problems, this problem being especially impor-
tant when the natural frequency of the wall is close to
the teeth passing frequency. It must be taken into
account that the natural frequencies of a wall is contin-
uously decreasing during milling due to the progressive
reduction of both the mass and stiness of the wall.
 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
In the case of self-excited vibration, it is the cutting pro-
cess itself that generates oscillations. The origin of these
oscillations, so-called chatter, is the dynamic excitation
produced by the (wavy) irregular part surface generated
by precedent tool tooth. This phenomenon is dicult to
detect because the natural frequency of walls changes
during machining.
The three types of problems may happen at the same
time, making very dicult to determine the true origin of
marks that can appear on a milled thin wall. The use of
the developed system was of great help. Fig. 10 shows
the force map, the wall surface and some details of the sur-
face marks in a milling operation performed on an Al7475
workpiece. The nal wall thickness is 0.45 mm, and the
wall height is 60 mm. The table includes numerical values
of Fx, Fy and the wall thickness at marked points (numbers
have been used for the back face and letter on the front
face). The cutting conditions were: hard metal end mill,
16 mm diameter, ap 5 mm, ae 2 mm, fz 0.07 mm/z, Vc
201 m/min, F 560 mm/min, N 4000 rpm.
It can be seen that marks on the wall (in gure marked
as (d), (e), (f)) coincide with a cutting force increase, which
is a sign of vibration-induced over-cuts. The points (marked
as 2, B, 5, E) correspond with the maximum displace-
ments of a mode at 145130 Hz (near to a wall natural
frequency).
This utility tool could also be applied to machining test
on parts with thin oor, where similar problems to thin
walls milling are described.
5. Conclusions
In the present work, a diagnostic tool for the machining
of complex workpieces (with features similar to real parts)
has been introduced. The system generates spatial maps of
the cutting forces, measured on-line during machining,
which allows further o-line cause-eect analysis.
This approach generates more information than the
classical linear-machining tests, in which forces are only
recorded in function of time, losing their relation with
the part geometry. Three case studies have been presented
in order to show the applications of this diagnostic tool, in
which well-known cutting problems appear. Other prob-
lems such as no homogeneity material zones, those related
with the machining of deep cavities or interrupted cutting
can be also detected.
The present solution solves problems derived from the
great number of information obtained during the machin-
ing of medium size parts, allowing more than an hour of
time recording (a le of 20 Mbytes size is recorded if for
each point only values of Fx, Fy, Fz, x, y, z changing from
previous ones are recorded). Other problems derived from
the high speed of sampling and recording were also
addressed. The main applications of the developed utility
is the investigation of milling of complex parts, usually
performed along successive optimization tests in research
31
projects, this utility allows to obtain information of real
forces related to part geometry.
In long mass production, recording the variation of cut-
ting forces with geometry, also aected by the tool wear,
would be a useful tool to study the evolution of a complex
process, if a disturbance has appear. However, this applica-
tion presents as main drawback the high cost of the Kistler
devices. For this reason, it is not an on-line utility to detect
problems in serial production. However, this approach can
be easily adapted, collecting the spindle current consump-
tion instead of cutting forces.
The spatial resolution will be improved by increasing
acquisition speed and data processing. At the same time,
the evolution of hardware will allow very important
improvements in the near future. Also, the graphical capa-
cities of the post-processor are being increased; the use of
commercial general-purpose post-processing software is a
good choice (Sections 4.2 and 4.3). In micromilling,
advanced dynamometric devices are being used in order
to make possible the measurement at higher cutting force
frequencies in micro moulds milling.
In short, the main advantage of using the above
approach is the correlation between cutting forces and their
actual point of generation, which introduces further infor-
mation in the analysis of the machining operations. In this
way, more useful machining test can be performed on com-
plex (and real) surfaces. The use of this diagnostic utility
improves the conclusions of machining investigations.
Acknowledgements
Grateful thanks are due to Unai Bravo and Julen
Munoa for assistance rendered in the machining opera-
tions. The article was sponsored by the project of the
Ministry of Education REF DPI2004-07569-C02 (project
Sky-Skin) and co-nancial support of the European Union
by means of the Interreg Action AEROSFIN (The Pyre-
nees Spanish French Interregional Aeronautical Manufac-
turing Network).
Appendix A.
Concept of look ahead function
The look-ahead functions of the machine tool Numerical
Control adapt the linear feed to the variations in surface
geometry. The greater the change in direction that the tool
has to follow, the lower the actual work feed. To each com-
mercial control there corresponds a certain nomenclature
for the look-ahead parameters, but in all cases calculations
are similar. User can vary these parameters to determine
the compromise between process rate and machining preci-
sion. Parameters are usually ve (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5).
Look-ahead calculations are performed with regard to
each successive three points determined by the numerical
control interpolator. The rst calculation relates to the
radius
32 L.N. Lopez de Lacalle et al. / Mechatronics 16 (2006) 2132
p
F 1 P1
radius 4 [12] Cgtech, 2003, Vericut software, Optipath utility. Available from:
www.cgtech.com.
The second relates to the angle between the two chords [13] Guzel BU, Lazoglu I. Increasing productivity in sculpture sur-
between the three points face machining via o-linepiecewise variable feedrate scheduling
based on the force system model. Int J Mach Tools Manufact 2004;
F 2 P 2
cosangle 5 44:218.
[14] Larue A, Altintas Y. Simulation of ank milling processes. Int J
A necessary condition is that the angle be not less than P4 Mach Tools Manufact 2005;45(45):54959.
and not greater than P3. Should it is down to P4, speed [15] Ulsoy AG, Koren Y, Rasmussen F. Principal developments in the
falls to 0 for an instant. Should it be more than P3, there adaptive control of machine tools. ASME J Dyn Syst Measur Control
is no fall in speed. When these two speeds (F1 and F2) have 1983;105:1057.
[16] Byrne G, Dornfeld D, Inasaki I, Ketteler G, Konig W, Teti R. Tool
been calculated, the numerical control applies the lesser. If
condition monitoring (TCM)the status of research and industrial
the speed corresponding to F1 is applied, the value applied application. Ann CIRP 1995;44:54167.
will never be less than P5. [17] Haber RE, Alique A. Intelligent process supervision for predict-
ing tool wear in machining processes. Mechatronics 2003;13:825
References 49.
[18] Huseyin ME, Cuneyt O. Drill wear monitoring using cutting force
signals. Mechatronics 2004;14/5:53348.
[1] Van Luttervelt S, Childs THC, Jawahir IS, Klocke F, Venuvinod PK.
[19] Brinskeimer E, Mayr P, Lubben T, Puteau P, Diersen P. The
Present situation and future trends in modelling of machining
inuence of material properties on surface integrity and chip
operations. Ann CIRP 1998;47(2):587626.
formation in high speed turning. In: Dudzinski D, Molinati A,
[2] Ehman KF, Kapoor SG, DeVor RE, Lazoglu I. Machining process
Schulz H, editors. Metal cutting and high speed machining. Dordr-
modeling: a review. J Manufact Sci Eng Trans ASME 1997;119:
echt: Kluwer; 2002.
65563.
[20] Altintas Y, Park SS. Dynamic compensation of spindle-integrated
[3] Lopez de Lacalle LN, Gutierrez A, Llorente JI, Sanchez JA, Alboniga
force sensors. Ann CIRP 2004;53(1):30512.
J. Using high pressure coolant in the drilling and turning of low
[21] Yang M, Park H. The prediction of cutting force in ball-end milling.
machinability alloys. Int J Adv Manufact Technol 2000;16(2):8591.
Int J Mach Tools Manufact 1991;31:4554.
[4] Tobias SA. Machine-tool vibration. London: Blackie; 1965.
[22] Lim M, Feng H-Y. The prediction of dimensional error for
[5] Tlustly J. Dynamics of high speed milling, handbook of high speed
sculptured surface productions using the ball-end milling process.
machining technology. London: Chapman and Hall; 1985. pp. 48
Part 1: Chip geometry analysis and cutting force prediction. Int J
153.
Mach Tool Manufact 1995;35:114969.
[6] Lopez de Lacalle LN, Lamikiz A, Sanchez JA, Arana JL. Improving
[23] Meng E, Menq C. Integrated planning for precision machining of
the surface nish in the high speed milling of stamping dies. J Mater
complex surfaces. Part 1: cutting-path and feedrate optimisation. Int J
Process Technol 2002;123(2):292302.
Mach Tool Manufact 1997;37(1):6175.
[7] Smith KS, Dvorak D. Tool path strategies for high speed milling
[24] MILLSIM. Manufacturing laboratories Inc., information available at
aluminum workpieces with thin ribs. Mechatronics 1998;8:291300.
http://www.mfg-labs.com/, 2004.
[8] Altintas Y. Manufacturing automation: metal cutting mechanics
[25] Dynamic face milling simulation program (DFMSIM), NSF/
machine tool vibrations and CNC design. United Kingdom: Cam-
DARPA machine tool agile manufacturing research Institute, infor-
bridge University Press; 2000, ISBN 0-521-65029-1.
mation available at http://mtamri.me.uiuc.edu/newsletters/mtamri.-
[9] Lamikiz A, Lopez de Lacalle LN, Salgado MA, Sanchez JA.
feb97/newprocess.html, 2004.
Estimation of cutting forces in the ball end machining of complex
[26] Lopez de Lacalle LN, Lamikiz A, Sanchez JA, Fernandez I.
surfaces. Int J Mach Tool Manufact 2004;44(14):151122.
Simultaneous measurement of forces and machine tool position for
[10] Kang MC, Kim KK, Lee DW, Kim JS, Kim NK. Characterization of
diagnostic of machining tests. IEEE Trans Instrument Measur
inclined planes according to the variations of cutting direction in high
2005;54(6):17.
speed ball-end milling. Int J Adv Manufact Technol 2001;17:3239.
[27] Cutpro V6.0, 2004, Manufacturing Laboratories Automation Inc.,
[11] Bouzakis KD, Aichouh P, Efstathiou K. Determination of the chip
information available at www.malinc.com.
geometry, cutting force and roughness in free form surfaces nishing
[28] Altintas Y, Lee P. A general mechanics and dynamics model for
milling, with ball end tools. Int J Mach Tools Manufact 2003;43(5):
helical end mills. Ann CIRP 1996;45(1):5964.
499514.