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Modelling and Simulation of Micro-Milling Process

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 Modelling and Simulation of Micro-Milling Process
1 2 1
T. Özel , X. Liu and A. Dhanorker
1
Manufacturing Automation and Research Laboratory, Dept. of Industrial & Systems Engineering
Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, U.S.A.
2
Microlution Inc., Chicago, IL 60612, USA

Abstract
Micro-milling is a direct operation to manufacture net-shaped small parts offering alternative to other
micromanufacturing processes. It is a flexible method of fabricating three-dimensional (3-D) features including
micro molds/dies and fully functional metal devices specifically with recently developed miniature machine
tools. Increasing popularity of micro-milling has sparked the interest of researchers to study the micro-milling
processes to improve the quality, reliability and productivity. In this paper, experimental and modelling studies
on micro-milling of AL 2024-T6 aluminum and AISI 4340 steel are presented. Micro-milling experiments are
conducted using 0.635 mm diameter end mill at spindle speeds up to 80,000 rpm. Experimental studies
include dynamic force measurements to understand the influence of feed rate and spindle speed on the
forces and surfaces generated. The finite element modelling of micro-milling based on large plastic
deformations is also conducted to predict chip formation and temperature fields without considering process
dynamics. Size effects and minimum chip thickness related to edge radius and chip load on the workpiece
deformations are also investigated.

Keywords:
Micro-milling, Finite Element Modelling, Size Effect, Minimum Chip Thickness

1 INTRODUCTION productivity and also to understand how they differ from

The demand for miniaturized meso-(100 µm-10 mm)/
micro-(0.1-100 µm) devices with high aspect ratios and
superior surfaces has been rapidly increasing in
aerospace, automotive, biomedical, optical, military and
micro-electronics packaging industries [1,2,3]. There is a
growing need for fast, direct, and mass manufacturing of
miniaturized functional products from metals, polymers,
composites, and ceramics.
Mechanical micromachining, scaled down versions of
turning, milling and drilling, as a cluster of micro-
manufacturing processes is rapidly gaining momentum
because of its viability to directly produce miniature 3-D
functional parts [4,5,6,7,8]. Among those, micro-milling
process is not only fast to fabricate 3-D features but also
cost efficient as compared to other micro-manufacturing
processes. Parts with 3-D geometry are directly machined
one at a time not requiring batch set-up. Micro-milling can
achieve good accuracy, low surface roughness, and can
provide high material removal rates (MRR) with feature
sizes as small as 5-10 µm particularly with recently
developed miniature machine tools [9]. The smallest
tungsten-carbide micro end mills available on the market
are about 25 µm in diameter. Micro end mills with
diameter from 23 µm (.0009”) down to 5 µm (.0002”) are
also fabricated for special request, and currently being
tested only in the research institutions [10]. Such micro
end mills are utilized in direct fabrication of micro-
molds/dies from tool steels for injection molding and
micro-forming applications [11,12,13]. Increasing process
viability and productivity for micro-milling requires use of
high MRR on a variety of materials including metal alloys,
polymers and ceramics. However, there are still issues
associated with the relative quality of the surfaces
generated such as formation of undesired burrs,
excessive tool wear and sudden tool failure.
Increasing popularity of mechanical micro-machining
operations has sparked the interest of researchers to
study the micro-milling processes to improve the
conventional milling processes [14,15,16]. The
fundamental difference between micro-milling process
and conventional milling processes arises due to scale of
the operation, while they are kinematically the same. The
main differences between the micro-milling and
conventional milling can be summarized as follows. The
ratio of feed per tooth to radius of the cutter is much
greater in micro-milling than conventional milling, which
often leads to an error in predicting cutting forces [14].
The runout of the tool tip even within microns greatly
affects the accuracy of the end milling operations at micro
scale as opposed to the conventional milling [15]. Micro-
milling is associated with sudden tool failure due to its
highly unpredictable cutting action [16]. The chip
formation in the micro-milling depends upon a minimum
chip thickness [17] and hence the chip is not always
formed whenever tool and workpiece is engaged as
opposed to conventional milling [18,19]. The tool
deflection in the micro-milling greatly affects the chip
formation and accuracy of the desired surface as
compared to conventional milling [20]. The tool edge
radius (typically between 1- 5 µm) and its uniformity along
the cutting edge is highly important as the chip thickness
becomes a comparable size to the cutting edge radius
[21,22]. Since the chip load is small compared to the
cutting edge radius the size effect and ploughing forces
become significant on both surface and force generation
in micro-milling [23,24]. Micro-milling may result in surface
generation with burrs and increased surfaces roughness
due to the ploughing-dominated cutting and side flow of
the deformed material when the cutting edge becomes
worn and blunter [25].
1.1 Size Effect and Minimum Chip Thickness
The difference in mechanics of cutting arises from scaling
of the milling operation. The current manufacturing
method cannot fabricate end mills mostly out of tungsten
carbide in a cobalt matrix (WC-Co) with sharp edges due
to limitation of structural strength of the tool at the edge.
Widely available micro tools have edge radius ranging
from 1 to 5 µm. As the tool diameter decreases, the
rigidity of the tool also decreases which leads to tool
deflection under heavy chip load and sudden breakage of
tool. This limits the chip load, especially in micro-milling,
to a few microns per tooth. With the small feed rates the
well known size effect, originally discovered in ultra re
precision diamond cutting [17], becomes prominent in
micro-milling. Specific cutting forces depend mostly on t u< re
the ratio of the uncut chip thickness to the tool edge
radius. Due to the highly localized shearing, the specific
cutting forces in ultra precision cutting is almost twice that
of in conventional cutting. a) Uncut chip load less than a minimum required
N

undeformed chip
thickness re
chip
rotation t u >= re
angle
y Vf

x b) Uncut chip load sufficient to form a chip

Figure 2: The minimum chip thickness phenomenon in

feed
per
tooth
feed Vf
rate
Figure 1: Chip thickness and planar forces during micro-
milling process.
The tool edge radius and small feed/tooth makes the
phenomenon of minimum chip thickness very
predominant in the micro-milling. A minimum chip
thickness is observed where tool engagement with
workpiece results in chip formation. In full-immersion
micro-milling uncut chip thickness of tu(φ) varies from zero
to feed per tooth of fz as shown in Fig.1. Hence the
minimum chip thickness for micromilling (tcmin) can be
defined as formation of chip when the uncut chip
thickness becomes greater than a minimum chip
thickness (tu>tcmin) at a certain rotation angle of φ. Unlike
precision diamond turning where diamond tools are up-
sharp with nano-metric edge radius, the minimum chip
thickness in micro-milling is greatly affected by the radius
of the cutting edge (re) which is usually greater than 1 µm
(see Fig.2). The chip is not formed and mostly elastic
deformations are induced to the workpiece until tool
reaches to a certain rotation angle where a minimum
uncut chip thickness develops. A smaller edge radius
causes early formation of minimum chip thickness
whereas a larger edge radius will result in ploughing of
the workpiece. Kim et al. [19] experimentally determined
that minimum chip thickness depends upon the ratio of
uncut chip thickness to the cutting edge radius which was
claimed between 10-25% for the ductile metals. Liu et al.
[26] calculated the minimum chip thickness and utilized a
ratio (λ=tcmin/re) to describe as function of edge radius. In
that study, minimum chip thickness to tool edge radius
ratio was found about 35-40% for micro-milling of
AL6082-T6 aluminum and 20-30% for AISI 1018 steel at a
wide range of cutting speed and edge radius.
micro-milling.
2 MICRO-MILLING EXPERIMENTS
In this study, micro-milling experiments using flat bottom
micro end mils are conducted by taking slot cuts (full
immersion) at a constant axial depth of cut and spindle
speed for AL2024-T6 aluminum and AISI 4340 steel. The
summary of the experimental conditions is given in Table
1. A micro end mill with 0.635 mm tool diameter with 2-
flutes is used with varying feed per tooth to investigate the
effect of feed rate on the cutting forces generated. The
microscopic pictures of the tungsten carbide micro end
mill are shown in Fig. 3. The cutting forces were acquired
using a piezo-electric dynamometer and charge amplifier
(Kistler, models 9257B and 5010) with an estimated
uncertainty about ±0.2 N. The (x, y, and z) global axis
forces have been recorded at 2667, 4000 and 5333 Hz for
the spindle speed of 40000, 60000, and 80000 rpm
respectively with a PC-based data acquisition system and
Kistler DynoWare software. The force signals at each
channel of the dynamometer are sampled with twice the
tooth passing frequency; hence four samples were
collected per rotation.
edge radius
(3 µm)
0.635 mm
Figure 3: Two-flute WC-Co micro-end mill.
Experimentally measured feed (Fx) and normal forces
(Fy) for a constant feed rate of 2.54 µm for three different
spindle speeds (40 krpm, 60 krpm, 80 krpm) in micro-
milling of AL2024-T6 aluminum are given in Fig. 4.
Experimentally measured feed and normal forces at
 40,000 rpm feed rate at various feed per tooth (1.27 µm, 3 INFLUENCE OF EDGE RADIUS ON MINIMUM CHIP
2.54 µm, 5.08 µm) in micro-end milling of AISI 4340 steel THICKNESS
are shown in Fig. 5. Measured forces showed large The influence of edge radius on minimum chip thickness
fluctuations due to process dynamics and continuous shift for micro-milling of AL2024-T6 and AISI 4340 steel is
between ploughing and shearing dominated cutting during investigated by utilizing an analytical model developed by
micro-milling. There is also the effect of the low sampling Liu et al. [26]. In their analytical model, workpiece material
rate on the fluctuation of the measured forces. Since model and a slip-line field analysis are utilized to estimate
there are only four samples collected in one rotation, the minimum chip thickness for a given tool edge radius,
detailed force generation within a full rotation could not be feed rate and surface cutting speed. This analytical model
observed. High bandwidth and high sampling frequency accounts for strain hardening, thermal softening and
force measurement capability is required for better elastic recovery effects of work material with Johnson-
understanding of the force generation in micro-milling. Cook constitutive model under high strain, strain-rate and
4
Feed Force at 2.54 micron and various rpm temperate conditions. In the Johnson-Cook model (Eq.
1), the constant A is yield strength of the material at room
3
temperature and ε represents the plastic equivalent
2 strain. The strain rate ε& is normalized with a reference
Feed Force, Fx (N)

1 strain rate ε&0 . Temperature term in the J-C model

0
reduces the flow stress to zero at the melting temperature
of the work material, leaving the constitutive model with
-1 no temperature effect.
40,000
60,000
-2
 ε&    T − Troom  
80,000 m

-3

[ ]
σ = A + B(ε )n 1 + C ln  1 −    (1)
 ε 0    Tmelt − Troom 
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 & 
Tool Rotation Angle (Radian) 
Normal Force at 2.54 micron and various rpm
4 Johnson-Cook work material model parameters for AISI
40,000
60,000 4340 steel and AL 2024-T6 aluminum and thermo
3 80,000 mechanical properties for work and tool materials are
2 given in Tables 2 and 3. The tool material is tungsten
Normal Force, Fy (N)

carbide in a cobalt matrix (WC-Co).

1

4340 Steel
0 0.36

-1
0.35
-2
0.34
-3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Tool Rotation Angle (Radian)
0.33
λn = tcmin/re

Figure 4: Measured feed and normal forces in at 2.54 µm 0.32

feed per tooth feed rate at various rpm in micro-end
milling of AL2024-T6. 0.31
Normal Force at Various Feed Rates, 40,000 rpm
15
1.27 micron 0.3
2.54 micron
10 5.08 micron
0.29 V = 120 [ m/min ]
V = 240 [ m/min ]
Normal Force, Fy (N)

5 V = 360 [ m/min ]
0.28
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
0 Edge Radius [ µ m ]
4340 Steel
-5 0.37
re = 1 [ µ m ]
-10 0.36 r =3[µm]
e
r =5[µm]
e
-15 0.35
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Tool Rotation Angle(Radian)
0.34
Feed Force at Various Feed Rates, 40,000 rpm
e

50
λ = tc in/r

1.27 micron 0.33

m

40 2.54 micron
5.08 micron
30 0.32
n

20
Feed Force, Fx (N)

0.31
10

0
0.3
-10

-20 0.29

-30
0.28
-40 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Cutting Speed [ m/min ]
-50
0 10 20 30
Tool Rotation Angle(Radian)
40 50 60
Figure 6: Predicted minimum chip thickness in micro-
milling of AISI 4340 steel.
Figure 5: Measured feed and normal forces at 40,000 rpm
feed rate at various feed per tooth in micro-end milling of
AISI 4340 steel.
For the work material of AISI 4340 steel, the minimum 4340 steel, where elastic deformations are smaller.
chip thickness to edge radius ratio is estimated to be Hence, plastic flow begins at a lower uncut chip
between 30% and 36% for the range of edge radius (1-5 thickness.
µm) and the cutting speed (120-360 m/min) as shown in 35
Figure 6. f = 3.0 [ µ m ]
t
f = 5.0 [ µ m ]
For the work material of AL 2024-T6 aluminum, the 30
t
f = 10.0 [ µ m ]
t
minimum chip thickness to edge radius ratio is estimated
to be between 42% and 45% for the range of edge radius 25
(1-5 µm) and the cutting speed (120-360 m/min) as

Chip formation angle

shown in Figure 7.
20
A particular cutter rotation angle where the minimum chip
thickness is achieved and chip begins to form is denoted
15
as chip formation angle (CFA) as illustrated in Fig.2b.
Chip formation angle in relation to the uncut chip
thickness, tu (φ ), can be calculated by using the analytical 10
model developed by Liu et al. [26].
Al 2024−T6 5
0.45

0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
0.445 Edge radius [ µ m ]

Figure 8: Chip formation angle vs. tool edge radius

0.44
(AISI 4340 Steel).
λn = tcmin/re

35
0.435 r = 1.0 [ µ m ]
e
r = 3.0 [ µ m ]
e
30 r = 5.0 [ µ m ]
e
0.43

25
Chip formation angle

0.425
V = 120 [ m/min ]
V = 240 [ m/min ] 20
V = 360 [ m/min ]
0.42
0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Edge Radius [ µ m ] 15

Al 2024−T6
0.45 10
re = 1 [ µ m ]
r =3[µm]
e
0.445 r =5[µm] 5
e

0
0.44 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Feed per tooth [ µ m ]
λn = tcmin/re

Figure 9: Chip formation angle vs. feed per tooth

0.435 (AISI 4340 Steel).

0.43 50
f = 3.0 [ µ m ]
t
45 f = 5.0 [ µ m ]
t
0.425 f = 10.0 [ µ m ]
t
40

0.42 35
50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
Chip formation angle

Cutting Speed [ m/min ]

30

25
Figure 7: Predicted minimum chip thickness in micro-
milling of AL 20204-T6 aluminum. 20

15
Variation of chip formation angle with respect to tool edge
radius and workpiece feed rate is computed for micro- 10
milling of AISI 4340 steel and AL2024-T6 aluminum as
5
shown in Figures 8 through 11.
For micro-milling of AISI 4340 steel and AL2024-T6, 0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Figures 8 and 10 depict the relationship in the plane of Edge radius [ µ m ]
CFA/re with three levels of feed per tooth where as
Figure 10: Chip formation angle vs. tool edge radius
Figures 9 and 11 show the relationship in the plane of
(AL 2024-T6 aluminum).
CFA/ft with three level of edge radius respectively.
CFA is found to be larger in micro-milling of AL2024-T6
aluminum compared to micro-milling of AISI 4340 steel.
This might be due to higher modulus of elasticity of AISI
 50
r = 1.0 [ µ m ]
e
45 r = 3.0 [ µ m ]
e
r = 5.0 [ µ m ]
e
40

35
Chip formation angle

30

25

20

15

10

0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Feed per tooth [ µ m ]

Figure 11: Chip formation angle vs. feed per tooth

(AL 2024-T6 aluminum).
Figure 13: Finite Element simulation of micro-milling of
AISI 4340 steel.
4 FINITE ELEMENT SIMULATION OF MICRO-
MILLING
The fully developed continuous chip was simulated at a
Fundamentally, metal cutting process can be considered tool rotation angle of 65° for micro-milling of AL2024-T6
as a deformation process where deformation is highly aluminum as shown in Fig. 12. A complete chip formation
concentrated in a small zone. Thus, chip formation in is observed around 53° of tool rotation angle in micro-
milling process can also be simulated using Finite milling of AISI 4340 steel as shown in Fig. 13 under the
Element Method (FEM) techniques developed for aforementioned cutting conditions.
deformation processes [27]. The main advantage of using
such an approach is to be able to predict chip flow, cutting
forces, and especially a distribution of tool temperatures
and stresses for various cutting conditions.
In this section, simulation of the micro-milling process is
presented. FEM-based commercially available software,
DEFORM-2D, was used for the process simulations. An
Fx (N/mm)

FEM model is designed as shown in Figs. 12 and 13 for

micro-milling of AL2024-T6 aluminum and AISI 4340
steel.
Johnson-Cook workpiece material model (Eq.1 and Table
2) is used for rigid-perfectly plastic deformation analysis.
Finite Element simulations are conducted for the cutting
condition of 80 m/min surface cutting speed and 10 µm
feed per tooth using the same micro-end mill geometry as
given in Fig.3 with 0.635 mm diameter and 3 µm tool
edge radius. In the FEM model, a constant friction factor
of 0.65 at the chip-tool-workpiece contacts is used.
Fy (N/mm)

5 20 35 50 65 80
Rotation angle (degrees)
Figure 14: Predicted forces in micro-milling of AL2024-T6
Figure 12: Finite Element simulation of micro-milling of aluminum.
AL2024-T6 aluminum.
Fx (N/mm)

a) AL2024 aluminum b) AISI 4340 steel

Figure 16: Temperatures (ºC) in the cutting zone during

micro-milling.
Fy (N/mm)

a) 10 µm feed per tooth b) 15 µm feed per tooth

5 20 35 50 65 80
Rotation angle (degrees)
Figure 15: Predicted forces in micro-milling of AISI 4340
steel.

Predicted forces are given in Figs. 14 and 15 in FE

simulations. Since measured forces indicate large
fluctuations, there was no comparison made with the FE
simulation results.
Predicted temperatures are given in Fig. 16.
Temperatures in the cutting zone are predicted around
50-60 °C and around 100-150 °C for micro-milling of
AL2024-T6 aluminum and AISI 4340 steel at the same
cutting conditions. These temperatures are very low when
compared to the temperatures in conventional milling
conditions primarily due to the very small chip loads.
However, the specific cutting forces are very large when
compared to the conventional milling conditions [27].
Typically tool failure is due to temperature-depended
accelerated wear rates in high speed milling at
conventional scale. In contrast, temperature dependent
wear cannot be dominant in micro-milling as evident in
predicted temperature distributions in Fig. 16. It is
believed that highly fluctuating forces due to a continuous
shift between ploughing and shearing dominated cutting
modes in micro-milling (see Figs. 4 and 5) are responsible
for the sudden tool failure and breakage.
High deformation rates are observed in the cutting zone
where cutting speed is 80 m/min as shown in Figs. 17a-b.
Increasing feed per tooth resulted in slight increases in
the temperatures. For example, increase in average
temperature was about 15 °C when feed rate was
increased from 10 to 15 µm feed per tooth as shown in
Figs. 17c-d.
c) 10 µm feed per tooth d) 15 µm feed per tooth
-1
Figure 17: Effective strain rate (sec ) and temperatures
(ºC) during micro-milling of AISI 4340 steel.
5 CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, experimental and modelling studies on
micro-milling of AL 2024-T6 aluminum and AISI 4340
steel are presented. Micro-milling experiments are
conducted. Measured forces showed large fluctuations
due to process dynamics and continuous shift between
ploughing and shearing dominated cutting during micro-
milling.
The minimum chip thickness to edge radius ratio is
estimated to be between 42% and 45% for AL2024-T6
aluminum and between 30% and 36% for AISI 4340 steel
for the given range of edge radius (1-5 µm) and the
surface cutting speed (120-360 m/min). Chip formation
angle and its variation with respect to micro-milling
conditions are also determined.
The finite element modelling of micro-milling based on
rigid-plastic deformations is also conducted to predict chip
formation, forces, strain, strain-rate and temperature
fields without considering process dynamics.
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Material
Tool
Tool diameter (mm)
Axial depth of cut (mm)
Spindle speed (rpm)
Cutting speed (m/min)
Feed per tooth (µm)
AL 2024-T6 aluminum
AISI 4340 steel
2- Flute Carbide End Mill
0
with 30 helix angle
0.635
0.127
40000, 60000, 80000
79.8, 119.7, 169.65
1.27, 2.54, 5.08

Table 1: Micro-end milling experiment parameters

Material A (MPa) B (MPa) n C m Tmelt

(ºC)
AISI 4340 792.0 510.0 0.26 0.014 1.03 1520
AL 2024-T6 369 684 0.73 0.0083 1.7 502

Table 2: Johnson-Cook material model constants

AISI 4340 AL 2024-T6 WC-Co

3
Density (g/cm ) 7.85 2.78 15.7
Modulus of elasticity (GPa) 205 73.1 650
Poisson’s ratio 0.29 0.33 0.25
Specific heat capacity (J/g-ºC) 0.475 0.875 0.26
Thermal conductivity (W/m-K) 44.5 121 28.4
Thermal expansion (µm/m-ºC) 12.3 23.2 5.2

Table 3: Thermo mechanical properties of work and tool materials

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