A composite fitting model of discrete handbook data for peripheral end milling

Machining data handbooks are important reference books in the machining industry, as they provide recommended process parameter values for common machining operations. The machining data, although covering a wide range of relevant cutting conditions, are only listed under discrete cutting conditions. Rough interpolation-based calculations are often needed in order to estimate the process parameter values at the desired cutting condition. In this work, a composite fitting model is presented to fit a composite functional curve through the discrete handbook data of recommended cutting speeds and feeds with respect to the cutting condition of radial depth of cut for peripheral end milling. The objective is to establish a functional relationship from the handbook data such that recommended cutting speed and feed can be obtained for any given radial depth of cut. According to the tabulated layout of the machining data, the entire range of the radial depth of cut is divided into three segments having distinctive formulations and trends. Constraints are then imposed to preserve the trends and smoothly connect the adjacent segments. As a possible application of the presented model, a case study of machining a rectangular pocket is provided. Machining time of a potential process plan is readily evaluated based on the cutting speeds and feeds obtained from the composite model.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye