The profiling of disk tool for generation of discreetly known helical surfaces

Abstract

Most of the existing methods for profile calculation of cutting tools that work by wrapping are based on the envelope theory. For instance, methodologies for the determination of the peripheral primary tool surfaces of tools such as disk, front mill and ring tools designed to generate helical cylindrical surfaces with constant pitch are very well established for the case when an analytical description of the surfaces to be generated is available (Olivier, Gohman). However, analytical representations of the surfaces to be generated are not always available. For instance, sometimes only a 3D discrete representation of the surface obtained from a three-dimensional numerical measuring machine or a faceted representation from CAD packages is available. In this paper, we propose a solution for the case when the surface to be generated is known only approximately at discrete points. Bezier polynomials are used to elaborate a specific methodology for profiling tools bounded by primary surfaces of revolution, which generate in the relative motion between the tool and the blank a helical surface. The results we have obtained suggest that the tool profile errors are small enough to be used in engineering applications.