Development and Testing of a Cutting Force Dynamometer for Milling

The cutting forces generated in metal cutting have a direct influence on heat generation, tool wear or failure, quality of machined surface and accuracy of the workpiece. In this study, a milling dynamometer that can measure static and dynamic cutting forces by using strain gauge and piezo-electric accelerometer respectively has been designed and developed. The orientation of octagonal rings and strain gauge locations has been determined to maximize sensitivity and to minimize cross-sensitivity. The developed dynamometer is connected to a data acquisition system. Cutting force signals were captured and transformed into numerical form and processed using a data acquisition system consisting of necessary hardware and software miming on MS-Windows based personal computer. The obtained results of machining tests performed at different cutting parameters showed that the dynamometer could be used reliably to measure cutting forces. Although the dynamometer was developed primarily for milling operations, it can be used to measure cutting forces during nearly all machining operations (turning, drilling, grinding, shaping etc.).