In-process estimation of radial immersion angle using cutting force in face milling

In this paper, a on-line estimation method of the radial immersion angle using cutting force is presented. The ratio of cutting forces in feed and cross-feed directions acting on the single tooth at the immersion angle is a function of the immersion angle and the ratio of radial to tangential cutting force. It is found that the ratio of radial to tangential cutting force is not affected by cutting conditions and axial rake angle, which implies that the ratio determined by one preliminary experiment can be used regardless of the cutting conditions for a given tool and workpiece material. Using the measured cutting force during machining and predetermined ratio, the radial immersion ratio is estimated in process. Various experimental results show that the proposed method works within 5% error range.