Cutting force estimation in a micromilling process

The cutting force estimation of a micro-mill in a milling process was investigated in the present study. As the micro-machining cutting force is so small, the force is difficult to measure using the traditional load cell and therefore cutting force estimation in a milling process was considered. The finite element method and experimental analyses were employed to estimate the micro-milling cutting force in this work. The vibration amplitude in a milling process is dependent on the cutting force, so this vibration amplitude was used to estimate the cutting force. To make it easier, only the maximum cutting force was estimated. Moreover, only the maximum vibration amplitude was measured and simulated to estimate the maximum cutting force. The results indicate that the vibration amplitude could be used to estimate the cutting force. It was found that the estimated micro-milling force agreed with the results from a previous published investigation. The vibration of a micro-mill in the milling process was also considered.