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Mechanism for material removal in ultrasonic vibration helical milling of Ti-

6Al-4V alloy

Article  in  International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture · November 2018

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2018.11.001

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 International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool

Mechanism for material removal in ultrasonic vibration helical milling of T

Tie6Ale4V alloy
Guang Chena,b,∗, Chengzu Rena,b,∗∗, Yunhe Zoua, Xuda Qina,b, Lianpeng Lua, Shipeng Lia
a
Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, China
b
Tianjin Key Laboratory of Equipment Design and Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: High quality hole-making technology in the aviation industry is urgently needed due to the application of dif-
Ultrasonic vibration helical milling ficult-to-cut materials, such as titanium alloy, composite materials and the stacks in aircraft fuselage skins. To
Tie6Ale4V alloy improve the hole-making quality, an ultrasonic vibration helical milling (UVHM) technology was developed for
Hole-making machining of Tie6Ale4V alloy, meanwhile, comparison experiments were conducted between UVHM and
Material removal
conventional helical milling (HM) processes. Material removal mechanism of UVHM was investigated by
modeling of cutting trajectories and the analysis of tool-workpiece contact behavior for bottom and peripheral
cutting edges. The actual vibration frequency in UVHM was also determined by a theoretical-experimental
combined method. Due to the vibration in UVHM, the bottom cutting edges generate discontinuous contact with
workpiece. Unit forces considering material removal were modeled and applied to analyze the axial force re-
duction. The axial cutting forces of UVHM were reduced by 38–64% compared with HM at different cutting
speeds. The cutting speed of peripheral cutting edge changes periodically. The cutting edges can separate with
chips due to axial vibration, which will contribute to reducing the cutting forces and improving heat dissipation.
Meanwhile, a friction effect was generated by the peripheral cutting edge which can improve the micro-scale
surface roughness. Due to the effects of periodical friction and compression by ultrasonic vibration, UVHM
increases the surface compressive stresses by 85% and 99% at the hole surface for axial and circumferential
directions, respectively.

1. Introduction Normally, manufacturing process not only affects the machining

Titanium alloys are widely used in the aviation industry because of
the low density, high strength-to-weight ratio and high corrosion re-
sistance [1,2]. In aviation industry, titanium alloys are commonly used
as structural materials and aircraft fuselage skins [3]. It is reported that
about 14% of the fuselage used in Boeing 787 is made by titanium al-
loys [4]. In recent decades, carbon fiber reinforced plastics (CFRP)/
titanium alloy stack was widely used in the aircraft fuselage, due to the
combined properties of high strength and ductile [5]. No matter the
structural parts or aircraft fuselage, large number of connection holes
need to be machined in titanium alloy to conduct the riveting and
bolting assembling. It was reported that about 55000 boreholes will be
machined during the fabrication of an Airbus A350 aircraft [6]. As
fasten holes are easy to generate stress concentration which may lead to
crack initiation and propagation [7], the quality of hole-making in
aircraft structures is essential to the safety and reliability of the aircraft.
accuracy but also affects the deformation behavior and microstructure
which can induce evolution of residual stress and fatigue life.
Conventional drilling is a common process which has been widely used
to machine boreholes. Cantero et al. [8] carried out dry drilling ex-
periments for Tie6Ale4V alloy. The tool wear, surface roughness,
micro-hardness and hole subsurface microstructure were investigated.
It was noted that the end of tool life was caused by catastrophic failure
in the drill, and the machined surface roughness Ra ranged from 1 to
1.5 μm. Rahim and Sharif [9] conducted drilling experiments for
Tie6Ale4V and Tie5Ale4VeMo/Fe alloy. Non uniform and chipping
tool wear was reported in drilling of the titanium alloys. Meanwhile,
severe plastic deformation was observed from the micrograph of sub-
surface microstructure. Although drilling was considered as a tradi-
tional hole-making process to machining titanium alloy, several draw-
backs have been addressed, such as high load along axial direction of
machined hole, poor heat dissipation, low dimensional accuracy and

∗
Corresponding author. Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, China.
∗∗
Corresponding author. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Equipment Design and Manufacturing Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300354, China.
E-mail addresses: guangchen@tju.edu.cn (G. Chen), renchz@tju.edu.cn (C. Ren).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2018.11.001
Received 25 June 2018; Received in revised form 1 November 2018; Accepted 4 November 2018
Available online 08 November 2018
0890-6955/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

Nomenclature edge, like A1A2A3 (in Fig. 4a)

sN The coordinate of trajectory of Nth tooth along os direc-
A The vibration amplitude (mm) tion
ap The axial feed per orbital revolution (mm/r) t The cutting time (s)
Cm, Cn The circles where instantaneous trajectory speeds are vm Δt The time interval from the beginning of trajectory A1A2A3
and vn, respectively to trajectory B1B2B3(s)
Dh The target diameter of machined hole (mm) t0 The time when the trajectory cutting speed vt equals to the
Dt The diameter of cutting tool (mm) self-rotation speed of tool v2
dFB-HM The unit force caused by bottom cutting edge in HM t ′0 A specific time during the helical feed process
dFB-UVHM The unit force caused by bottom cutting edge in UVHM tm, tn The times when the instantaneous trajectory speeds are vm
dFP-HM The unit force caused by peripheral cutting edge in HM and vn, respectively
dFP-UVHM The unit force caused by peripheral cutting edge in UVHM vt The resultant cutting speed of a bottom trajectory (mm/s)
dFT-HM The unit force caused by bottom and peripheral cutting v1 The orbital speed of the tool center in Fig. 5 (mm/s)
edges in HM v2 The self-rotation speed of cutting tool in Fig. 5 (mm/s)
dFT-UVHM The unit force caused by bottom and peripheral cutting vm , vn Two instantaneous speeds defined in Eq. (17) (mm/s)
edges in UVHM vs The speed of peripheral cutting edge along the trajectory
dsz The size of element removed by bottom cutting edge along direction (mm/s)
tangential feed in HM (shown in Fig. 9a) vT_h The speed of peripheral cutting edge along the cutting
dsp The size of element removed by peripheral cutting edge edge direction in Fig. 8 (mm/s)
along tangential feed in HM (shown in Fig. 9a) vT_t The speed of peripheral cutting edge normal to the cutting
dδz The equivalent size of element removed by bottom cutting edge direction in Fig. 8 (mm/s)
edge along tangential feed in UVHM vz The speed of peripheral cutting edge along the axial di-
dδp The equivalent size of element removed by peripheral rection (mm/s)
cutting edge along tangential feed in UVHM ΔV The deformation volume of discrete element
e The radius of orbital revolution (mm) (x, y, z) The coordinate of point P at the workpiece coordinate
f The vibration frequency (Hz) system
fa The axial feed speed (mm/min) (xUVHM, yUVHM, zUVHM) The coordinate of point P in UVHM
ft The tangential feed speed (mm/min) The axial feed per (x', y', z') The coordinate at the tool coordinate system
tooth (mm/r) (xo, yo) The coordinate of tool center in the workpiece coordinate
fza The axial feed per tooth (mm/r) system
fzt The tangential feed per tooth (mm/r) (xp1, yp1) The coordinate of point P1 in the cutting path B1B2B3 in
Fc The resultant force at the XOY plane (N) Fig. 4c
Fr The radial direction cutting force (N) (xp, yp) The coordinate of point P in the workpiece coordinate
Ft The tangential feed cutting force (N) system in Fig. 4
Fx The measured force along OX direction (N) Ze The number of tool edges
Fy The measured force along OY direction (N) z The displacement along the axial direction of tool
Fz The axial cutting force (N) zN, zN+1 The coordinate of trajectory of Nth and (N+1)th tooth
g The coordinate of point P along the axis of O′Z′ in Fig. 2 along oz direction, respectively
H The tangential feed per orbital revolution (mm) Δz The distance of the lowest points of two adjacent vibration
K The length of O'P in the X'O'Y′ plane (0 ≤ k ≤ Dt/2) trajectories (Fig. 12a)
k∗ The specific cutting coefficient α The helical angle of the tool feed trajectory (º)
kb* The specific cutting coefficient for bottom cutting edges α′ The rotated angle of the orbital revolution in Fig. 2b (º)
k p* The specific cutting coefficient for peripheral cutting β The angle between O'P and O'X' in Fig. 2b (º)
edges γ The angle between O1B1 and O′1 B′1 in Fig. 4b (º)
ke A specific coefficient related with material removal for γB The ratio of unit forces caused by bottom cutting edges in
bottom cutting edge UVHM and HM
kp A specific coefficient related with material removal for γP The ratio of unit forces caused by peripheral cutting edges
peripheral cutting edge in UVHM and HM
l The length of the trajectory between the circle Cm and Cn δ The helical angle of peripheral cutting edge (º)
in Fig. 6 θ The angle around the origin of workpiece coordinate in
lr The unit length along the bottom edge direction Fig. 4b
⌢
L The length of arc A1B1 (θ1, θ2, θ3) The relevant angles used for defining the speeds in Fig. 5
N The number of periodic micro-trajectories ξ A constant of the equivalent thickness of the unit removed
nrev The orbital revolution speed (rpm) by bottom cutting edge in UVHM
nrot The spindle rotation speed (rpm) φ The intersection angle between the two cutting speeds in
r (=O1A1) the length of cutting edge (mm) (in Fig. 4b) Fig. 5
rn The tool nose radius (mm) ω1 The angle speed of orbital revolution (rad/s)
s The length of trajectory along the tangential direction of ω2 The rotated angle speed of milling tool (rad/s)
the trajectory generated by the out end of bottom cutting

poor chip evacuation [10]. cutting, while, the axial cutting edge generates continuous cutting [11].
Compared to conventional drilling, helical milling (HM) is an Although there is zero speed point at the bottom edge of tool center,
emerging process for hole-making which involves milling with a helical due to the helical feed, material near the hole center is removed by
feed path. In HM, the peripheral cutting edge experiences discontinuous cutting rather than extrusion occurred in drilling [12]. Therefore, lower

2
G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

cutting forces, temperature, tool wear, and improved borehole geo-

metrical accuracy can be achieved by HM process. It was reported that
H7 quality holes with surface roughness Ra 0.3 μm were obtained in
hole-making of AISI D2 steel by HM [13]. HM process was also applied
to machine holes for CFRP–titanium stacks. Compared with conven-
tional drilling, less fiber delamination and lower burr formation were
observed in CFRP and Tie6Ale4V alloys, respectively [14]. Eguti and
Trabasso [15] designed a device and installed it onto an industrial robot
to realize orbital drilling for aircraft assembling structures. It was re-
ported that the machined circularity (or roundness) error of 7050-T6
sheet layers reached the accuracy requirements of aircraft parts, that is,
roundness error is less than 26 μm [16]. More details about the geo-
metrical accuracy of hole-making by HM, such as roughness, roundness
were presented in the recently published review work [10]. Zhao et al.
[12] compared the micro-hardness and the residual stresses in hole-
making of Tie6Ale4V alloy by drilling and helical milling. It was
presented that the drilled hole surface generates tensile stress while the
hole surface made by HM generates compressive residual stress.
Therefore, helical milling can generate better level of hole surface
quality, including the geometrical and physical behaviors compared
with conventional drilling. However, in aircraft assembling manu-
facture, hole-making can be achieved by drilling with subsequent fin- Fig. 1. Schematic of helical milling process.
ishing operations, such as reaming, countersinking, vibration-assisted
reaming [17,18]. HM is only one operation which may present lower In this work, ultrasonic vibration helical milling (UVHM) process is
quality compared with drilled holes with subsequent finishing process developed for hole-making of Tie6Ale4V alloy. As a new process of
like reaming [10]. Besides, it was reported the Tie6Ale4V workpiece hole-making for Tie6Ale4V alloy, the material removal mechanism in
machined by HM can achieve longer fatigue life compared with the UVHM, including the surface trajectories at the bottom and surface of
drilled pieces [19], which is beneficial to increase the safety of aircraft machined holes will be studied. The effect of ultrasonic vibration on
assembling. hole-making surface quality will be also discussed.
Ultrasonic vibration, as an old assisted process, has been used in
different manufacturing processes for more than 50 years [20]. Re- 2. Kinematics of UVHM and material removal analysis
cently, it addressed more attention and was applied as assisted strategy
for conventional machining processes, such as drilling, turning, due to To analyze the material removal mechanism in UVHM, the kine-
its effects on improvement of machining accuracy and surface quality. matics of HM is presented firstly. Afterwards, the geometrical trajec-
Pujana et al. [20] applied ultrasonic assisted drilling in machining of tories of bottom and peripheral cutting edges in UVHM will be ana-
Tie6Ale4V alloy. Comparing with conventional drilling, the feed lyzed.
forces were reduced by 10–20%. Meanwhile, it was reported that the
increasing cutting temperature may lead to strain softening effect in 2.1. Kinematics of helical milling
ultrasonic assisted drilling. Similarly, the thrust forces of ultrasonic
assisted drilling of CFRP and Tie6Ale4V were about 30% of those by In helical milling (HM), the relative movement between tool and
drilling [21]. It was reported that the intermitted character of vibration workpiece is composed of tool rotation around its axis, the circular
can lead to disengagement of the tool from workpiece, which caused rotation around the axis of the machined hole and the axial feed along
the force reduction. Sui et al. [22] developed a high-speed ultrasonic the axial direction, that is, the spindle rotation, the orbital revolution
vibration cutting process for Tie6Ale4V alloy machining. High speed and the axial feed, as shown in Fig. 1. The movements of the axial feed
cutting was realized at macro scale while, intermitted cutting existed in and the circular rotation form the helical feed path. Therefore, com-
micro level, which is useful to enable the cooling efficiency and dis- pared with drilling, there is more space to remove chips and dissipate
sipate the cutting heat. Besides, the ultrasonic vibration can make the cutting heat in helical milling process.
flank face of tool “iron and press” the machined surface, leading to The schematic of helical milling process is illustrated in Fig. 1. The
better surface roughness [23]. Patil et al. [24] carried out ultrasonic diameter of cutting tool is Dt (mm), the diameter of machined hole is Dh
assisted turning experiments and modeling for Tie6Ale4V alloy. It was (mm), and the orbital revolution speed is nrev (rpm). Thus, the feed
presented that the reduction of tool-workpiece contact ratio during speed in tangential direction ft (mm/min) can be defined as
ultrasonic machining leads to lower forces and friction heat, generating
ft = Hn rev (1)
smooth and regular surface with better quality level than that of con-
ventional turning. Furthermore, cutting temperature was investigated where H (mm) is the tangential feed per orbital revolution, and it is
in rotary ultrasonic elliptical machining (RUEM) of CFRP. The chip calculated as
removal condition was improved and cutting temperature was reduced
H = 2πe = π(D h − Dt ) (2)
in RUEM, which resulted in less damage in the hole surface of CFRP
[25]. Ishida et al. [26] developed a hybrid ultrasonic vibration helical meanwhile, the tangential feed speed ft can also be calculated based on
milling (UVHM) with cryogenic tool cooling process for the machining the tangential feed per tooth fzt (mm/r) as
of CFRP. It was reported that the intermittent cutting increases the flow
ft = fzt Ze nrot (3)
of cutting fluid, generating the lubrication and cooling effects, which
lead to the decrease of the thrust force in CFRP machining. Overall, where Ze is the number of tool edges, nrot (rpm) is the spindle rotation
ultrasonic vibration has been proven to be an effective method to im- speed.
prove the geometrical accuracy and physical behavior of machined The axial feed speed fa (mm/min) can be calculated according to the
surface; however, the basics of micro-scale material removal are still axial feed per orbital revolution ap (mm/r) and the orbital revolution
not clear, limiting the application of the processes in aviation industry. speed nrev (rpm).

3
G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

fa = a p nrev (4) 2.3. Determination of vibration frequency in UVHM

Similarly, it also can be calculated by the axial feed per tooth fza
(mm/r) as
fa = fza Ze n rot
(5)
To analyze the speeds and movement in helical milling, the tan-
gential, axial feed speeds and the geometries are shown in a cylindrical
plane which contains the helical trajectory (Fig. 1). The helical angle of
the tool feed trajectory α is given as
ap fa fza
α = arctan = arctan = arctan
H ft fzt (6)
where fa (mm/min) is the feed rate along axial direction.
The parameters Dh, Dt, ap, fza, and fzt are the main cutting para-
meters applied in helical milling. In addition, the trajectory of helical
milling process will be determined based on these parameters.
2.2. Geometrical trajectory of cutting edge in UVHM
Normally, the trajectory of helical milling can be determined
through workpiece and tool coordinate systems [14,27]. In this work,
the trajectory of UVHM is analyzed in these two coordinate systems, as
shown in Fig. 2. The workpiece coordinate system is fixed on the
workpiece, while the tool coordinate system is fixed on the axis of tool
and the origin of tool coordinate is attached on a point in the axis of
milling tool. In detail, the tool coordinate system does translational
motion in the workpiece coordinate system. Meanwhile, the tool co-
ordinate system moves with orbital revolution in the two-dimensional
coordinate system, as shown in Fig. 2b.
A random point P of the milling tool locates on the XOY plane. β is
the angle between O'P and O'X'. α′ is the rotated angle of the orbital
revolution. The coordinate value of point P in the workpiece coordinate
(X, Y, Z) system can be calculated in terms of the coordinate in the tool
coordinate system (X′, Y′, Z′) according to coordinate transformation.
Thus, the coordinate of point P is defined as
⎧ x = k cos β + e cos α′
y = k sin β + e sin α′
⎨ ordinate system. At the bottom of blind holes, milling tool rotates with
⎩ z = −fa t + g (7)
where k is the length of O'P in the X'O'Y′ plane (0 ≤ k ≤ Dt/2); Dt is the
diameter of milling tool; g is the position of point P along the axis of
O'Z', and e = OO'= (Dh-Dt)/2, is the radius of orbital revolution.
In UVHM machining, milling tool vibrates along the axial direction
(OZ) with sinusoidal signal in terms of specific amplitude (A) and fre-
quency (f) of ultrasonic vibration system. If point P locates at the per-
ipheral cutting edge, i.e., k = Dt/2, the coordinate of point P along OZ
direction in UVHM is
zUVHM = z + A sin(2πft ) (8)
Vibration frequency affects tool movement and material removal
process. It was reported that the vibration frequency affects the plastic
deformation behaviors, including the residual yield stress and the strain
hardening rate, for the forming of lightweight materials [28]. Sajjady
et al. [29] applied ultrasonic vibration assisted turning to generate
micro surface texture on the surface of Al7075-T6. They found that the
vibration frequency has the greatest influence on shrinking time in-
crement which affects the generation of surface texture. Therefore, the
vibration frequency is an important factor that can affect the micro
topography of surface texture and also the material plastic behaviors in
machining. However, it is difficult to measure the actual vibration
frequency during the UVHM. This section will present a method to
calculate the actual vibration frequency in UVHM according to ex-
perimental results.
2.3.1. The trajectory of the bottom cutting edge in UVHM
As shown in Fig. 3, the cutting edge of tool generates sinusoidal
vibration movement in UVHM. The vibration frequency affects the
micro-scale material removal mechanism, such as instantaneous cutting
speed, force, heat generation, etc. Therefore, to model the material
removal in UVHM, the vibration frequency should be obtained. Vibra-
tion frequency is normally dependent on the frequency of ultrasonic
power. Normally, the vibration frequency is measured before ma-
chining since it is difficult to measure the vibration frequency in ma-
chining process. Besides, due to the limitation of control and display
precision of the ultrasonic power, it is difficult to keep frequency con-
stant at different machining conditions. In this work, to calculate the
actual frequency in machining process, two series of UVHM experi-
ments were carried out. Through holes were machined in one test,
besides, blind holes (with depth of 1 mm) were machined in the same
conditions to obtain the texture generated by the bottom cutting edge to
calculate the vibration frequency.
At the bottom of the blind holes, the vibration frequency can be
observed by identifying the number of the vibration periods and the
cutting time of specific length of trajectory. Firstly, the trajectories at
the bottom of blind holes were analyzed. Fig. 4 shows the schematic of
cutting paths of bottom cutting edges at the two-dimensional co-
angle speed ω2 (rad/s) at the clockwise direction, meanwhile, the axis
of tool moves along the anti-clockwise orbital revolution with angle
speed ω1 (rad/s). The parameters ω1 and ω2 can be calculated according
to the experimental conditions. During helical milling process, when
the tool rotates an angle of 180°, one path of bottom texture generated
by the outside end of one bottom cutting edge like O1A1 is shown in
Fig. 4a. In detail, when the tool rotates 90°, the cutting edge O1A1 ro-
tates to the position of O2A2, meanwhile, the center of cutting tool
moves along the orbital revolution from point O1 to point O2. After
same time interval, the cutting edge rotates from O2A2 to O3A3, and the
center of cutting tool moves from point O2 to point O3 along the circular

If the initial values of parameters β and α′ in Eq. (7) are assumed as

0, the coordinate of point P at the peripheral cutting edge in UVHM
process can be expressed in the workpiece coordinate system as

rev 2πn tt D
rot 2πn t
⎧ xUVHM = e cos( 60 ) + 2 cos( 60 )
⎪ 2πn t D 2πn t
y = e sin( 60rev ) + 2t sin( 60rot )
⎨ UVHM
⎪ zUVHM = −f t + g + A sin(2πft )
⎩ a (9)

Thus, the trajectory of point P at the peripheral cutting edge in

UVHM process at specific condition is calculated and shown in Fig. 3. It
can be seen that periodical vibration exists in the trajectory of point P,
and the amplitude is much smaller than the periodical movement of Fig. 2. Workpiece and tool coordinate systems for UVHM (a) three-dimensional
tool rotation and helical feed. coordinate (b) two-dimensional coordinate.

4
G. Chen et al.
Fig. 3. Movement trajectory of point P at peripheral cutting edge in UVHM with
vibration frequency f = 35 kHz and amplitude A = 4 μm (a) macro-scale curve
(b) partial magnified curve.
Fig. 4. The schematic of cutting paths of bottom cutting edge for machined
holes (a) generation of a path (b) calculation of trajectory (c) generation of
second path (d) generation of the third path.
feed direction. As the cutting depth of every point in the cutting edge is
identical, the bottom cutting edge generates an arc texture of A1A2A3 at
the surface of blind hole by the outside end of cutting edge. In addition,
the trajectories generated by the tool when it rotates an angle from 180°
to 360° were omitted because they will be removed by the following
trajectories like A1A2A3 during the helical feed process. In the trajec-
tory, the micro-periodic texture generated by ultrasonic vibration will
be discussed in section 2.3.2.
During the rotation, the trajectory can be calculated in the two-di-
mensional coordinate system XOY, as shown in Fig. 4b. The coordinate
of point P in the trajectory A1A2A3 can be defined in the tool coordinate
system X'O1Y′ as
⎧ x ′ = r sin(ω2 t )
⎩ y′ = r cos(ω2 t )
⎨ (10)
where r = O1A1, is the length of cutting edge. Meanwhile, the co-
ordinate of the center of cutting tool O1in the workpiece coordinate is
⎧ x o = e sin(−ω1 t )
⎩ yo = e cos(−ω1 t )
⎨ (11)
where e = OO1, is the radius of orbital revolution. Therefore, the co-
ordinate of point P can be obtained by conversion of coordinate as
5
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13
⎧ x p = r sin(ω2 t ) + e sin(−ω1 t )
⎨ yp = r cos(ω2 t ) + e cos(−ω1 t ) (12)
⎩
Note that each cutting edge will generate a trajectory at the bottom
of blind hole during machining. The arc of A1A2A3 is generated by the
cutting edge of O1A1, while, the next trajectory should be generated by
the adjacent cutting edge O1B1 (Fig. 4b). The adjecent trajectory will
start when the cutting edge rotates to O′1 B′1 where B′1 becomes the
point of tangency of the milling tool and the machined hole. When the
cutting edge of O1B1 rotates an angle of γ to O′1 B′1, the tool center
rotates an angle θ from O1 to O′1, thus, these parameters can be defined
as
⎧ θ + γ = 2π/ Ze
γ = ω2 t
⎨
⎩ = ω1 t
θ (13)
Therefore, the cutting path B1B2B3 formed by the adjecent cutting
edge O1B1 (as shown in Fig. 4c) can be considered as the curve A1A2A3
revolves an angle of θ around the origin of workpiece coordintate
system point O. Then, the coordinate of point P1 in curve of B1B2B3 can
be defined as
⎧ x p1 = x p cos θ − yp sin θ
⎨ yp1 = x p sin θ + yp cos θ (14)
⎩
Similarly, other following curves (like C1C2C3 in Fig. 4d) at the
bottom of the hole can be obtained by this method.
2.3.2. Determination of actual vibration frequency in UVHM process
Due to the axial vibration, periodic micro-trajectories can be ob-
served at the bottom of machined hole. Therefore, the vibration fre-
quency can be calculated if the number of vibration periods and the
time interval of certain length at bottom surface trajectory are de-
termined. To determine the time interval, the instantaneous cutting
speed of point P′ at any trajectory of bottom hole should be determined
firstly.
In Fig. 5, one curve starts from point P, after time interval t, O1P
rotates an angle of θ2 around the tool center to O′1 P′, meanwhile, the
tool center rotates an angle of θ1 around the hole center O. Then, the
cutting speed of point P′ can be considered as a resultant speed (vt) of
the self-rotation speed (v2) of point P′ and the orbital speed (v1) of the
tool center O′1. The intersection angle (φ) between the two cutting
speed directions equals to θ3+π/2. Then, the instantaneous cutting
speed of point P′ at any trajectory of hole bottom can be defined as
Fig. 5. Schematic of cutting speed calculation.
G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

fzt Ze n rot
⎧ vt = v12 + v22 + 2v1 v2 cos φ 2πe =
⎪ v1 = ω1 e n rev (21)
⎪
v 2 = ω2 r
⎨ then, the orbital revolution velocity nrev can be calculated by
⎪ 1 = 2πnrev /60
ω
⎪ ω2 = 2πnrot /60 (15) Ze n rot fzt
⎩
n rev =
2πe (22)
π
⎧ φ = θ3 + 2
⎪ θ3 = 2 − (θ1 + θ2)
π Therefore, using Eq. (20), Eq. (22) and the calculated velocity along
⎨ θ1 = ω1 t the trajectory in Eq. (15) the tool tip trajectory of the HM at the soz
⎪θ = ω t coordinate can be described as
⎩ 2 2 (16)
t
According to Eq. (15), the self-rotation speed v2 is much higher than ⎧ s = ∫0 vt dt
the orbital speed v1(v2≫ v1). In this work, the cutting speeds of trajec- ⎨ z = − Ze nrot ap fzt t
tory speed vt and tool self-rotation speed v2 during the formation of one ⎩ 60 × 2πe (23)
trajectory (0≤θ2≤π) at condition No.1 (v = 2000 rpm, ap = 0.15mm/
In addition, considering the vibration displacement Asin(2πft), the
r, fzt = 0.03mm/r) are shown in Fig. 6a. Note that at time t = t0, the
trajectory generated in UVHM at soz coordinate can be calculated as
trajectory cutting speed vt equals to the self-rotation speed of tool v2.
Then, two other instantaneous cutting speeds vm (at tm) and vn (at tn) t
⎧ s = ∫0 vt dt
are selected to calculate the frequency. In Fig. 6a, the speed v2 is in the
middle of speeds vm and vn, that is, ⎨ z = − Ze nrot ap fzt t + A sin(2πft )
⎩ 60 × 2πe (24)
v + vn
v2 = m Thus, the Nth trajectory of cutting edge in UVHM is expressed as
2 (17)
t ⌢
In this work, the cutting speeds of vm and vn were selected as ⎧ s N = ∫0 vt dt − N L
vn˗v2 = v2˗vm = 1(mm/s) as shown in Fig. 6a. Submitted t0, tm and tn to ⎨ zN = − Ze nrot ap fzt (t + NΔt ) + A sin[2πf (t + NΔt )]
Eqs.(12)-(14), the points of bottom trajectory with instantaneous speeds ⎩ 60 × 2πe (25)
of v2, vm and vn can be obtained (in Fig. 6b) as the circles of Cv, Cm and ⌢
Cn, respectively. Then the length of a trajectory l between the circle Cm where L is the length of arc A1B1, as shown in Fig. 4c. As two adjacent
and Cn can be determined by the integral of trajectory speed vt (in curves (like A1A2A3 and B1B2B3 in Fig. 4c) can machine same area of
Fig. 6a). Meanwhile, as the speed v2 is in the middle of speeds vm and vn, hole surface, the os coordinate in the soz coordinate system should
⌢
the length of l can be calculated as calculate the arc A1B1 ( L ) along the os coordinate direction by Eq.
(25). Δt is the time interval from the beginning of trajectory A1A2A3 to
tn
l= ∫tm
vt dt = v2 (tn − tm )
(18)
the beginning of trajectory B1B2B3. It can be calculated according to Eq.
(13) as
Therefore, the frequency f can be calculated during time interval 2π
between tm and tn if the number of vibration periods of curve l is ob- Δt =
Ze (ω1 + ω2) (26)
tained. The actual vibration frequency is calculated as
N Nv2 Using the developed equations, the coordinate of any point at the
f= = trajectory generated by the bottom cutting edge at the soz coordinate
tn − tm l (19)
system can be calculated.
where N is the number of periodic micro-trajectories, and l is the length
of measured trajectory which locates between two trajectory circles
with speeds meet Eq. (17). Then, actual vibration frequency is calcu-
lated by measuring the micro-trajectory at each condition. It should be
noted that the actual frequency will not be affected by the values of
cutting speeds vm and vn when Eq. (17) is satisfied, because the variable
cutting speed (vt) of trajectory l can be calculated by v2 according to Eq.
(17).

2.4. Material removal for the bottom of machined hole

In section 2.3, the trajectories at the bottom of machined holes were

modeled at the XOY plane, however, the vibration of trajectory and
axial feed were not considered in the modeling process. In this section,
to analyze the material removal at the bottom of machined hole and the
hole surface, the trajectory like A1A2A3 is analyzed at a coordinate
system of soz, where os is the tangential direction of one trajectory
generated by the out end of bottom cutting edge, such as trajectory
A1A2A3 (as shown in Fig. 4c), oz is the axial direction of tool. In HM, the
axial position of any point of cutting tool can be expressed by the axial
feed per orbital revolution (ap) as
a p n rev t
z=− Fig. 6. Variation of cutting speed at the bottom cutting trajectory at condition
60 (20)
No.1(v = 2000 rpm, ap = 0.15mm/r, fzt = 0.03mm/r) (a) the comparison of
In each orbital revolution, the tangential feed distance in one orbital cutting speed v2 and vt (b) trajectories with the cutting speed range of vm and vn
revolution can be expressed as (c) the machined micro-scale texture.

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G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

2.5. Material removal for the hole surface 2.6. Modeling of the ratio of unit forces considering material removal

To analyze the tool-chip contact in the hole surface, the velocities of Based on the force modeling theories, the cutting forces of bottom
peripheral cutting edge in HM and UVHM are calculated. The schematic and peripheral cutting edges can be calculated based on the discrete
of peripheral cutting edge involved in HM and UVHM is illustrated in chip volume [33,34]. The local forces dF along axial direction can be
Fig. 7a and b, respectively. Due to the self-rotation and orbital re- calculated based on the material removal of unit element as follows:
volution, the cutting edge has a velocity of vs along the trajectory s, (30)
dF = k ∗ΔV
meanwhile, it feeds along axis z with the speed vz in HM. Then, the
∗
cutting speed of short helical cutting edge which generates chips by HM where k is the specific cutting coefficient, ΔV is the discrete de-
can be calculated by the derivative of displacement in the soz co- formation volume. In the study, the unit force is classified as the force
ordinate system according to Eq. (23) caused by bottom cutting edge and the force caused by peripheral
cutting edge, respectively. The forces caused by bottom cutting edge in
ds
⎧ vs = dt
= vt HM and UVHM are defined as dFB-HM and dFB-UVHM, respectively.
⎨v = dz Ze nrot ap fzt
=− × dFB−HM = kb*fza dsz l r (31)
⎩ z dt 60 2πe (27)

For the UVHM, considering the movement caused by vibration, the dFB−UVHM = kb*ξΔzdδz l r (32)
cutting speed of peripheral cutting edge can be calculated according to
where dsz is the size of element removed by bottom cutting edge along
the derivative of displacement defined by Eq. (24)
the direction of tangential feed in HM as shown in Fig. 9a dδz is the
⎧ vs =
ds
= vt equivalent size of element removed by bottom cutting edge along tan-
dt
ap fzt
gential feed in UVHM. kb* is the specific cutting coefficient for bottom
⎨v = dz
=−
Ze nrot
× + 2πfA cos(2πft )
⎩ z dt 60 2πe (28) cutting edges. lr is the unit length along the bottom edge direction. In
this work, it is assumed that the equivalent size of element removed in
Verma et al. [30] investigated the speed components along the helix UVHM, dδz, decreases with the increase of the vibration frequency at
and transverse directions in ultrasonic vibration assisted milling unit width as
(UAM), and the intermitted cutting was observed by the instantaneous
cutting speed in UAM. In this work, the cutting speed of peripheral dsz vt
dδz = k e f
= ke dsz
cutting edge in UVHM is characterized in the coordinate system of soz, vt f (33)
as shown in Fig. 7c. The short helical cutting edge can be considered as
According to Eqs. (1)–(5), the axial feed per tooth can be expressed
a short line (like oblique cutting) because os is the tangential direction
as
of the trajectory of peripheral cutting edge. In addition, the uncut chip
thickness along the cutting edge is identical. In soz coordinate system, a p fzt
fza =
another coordinate system x'o'y' is attached on the cutting edge, that is, 2πe (34)
o'x' is in the direction along helix cutting edge which has a helix angle
With respect to UVHM, the coordinates of the lowest points of two
δ = 38°. Then, the instantaneous cutting speed along the helix cutting
adjacent trajectories generated by bottom cutting edges are calculated
edge direction o'x' (vT_h) and the cutting speed along the transverse
according to Eq. (25) as
direction of helix cutting edge direction o'y' (vT_t) can be deterimined as
Ze nrot ap fzt
⎧ zN = − (t ′0 + NΔt ) − A
⎧ v T_h = vssinδ − vz cos δ 60 × 2πe
⎨ ⎨z Ze nrot ap fzt
⎩ v T_ t = vscosδ + vz sin δ (29) =− [t ′0 + (N + 1) Δt ] − A
⎩ N+1 60 × 2πe (35)
The calculated vT_h and vT_t with UVHM at one test condition (Test
Thus, the distance of the lowest points of two adjacent vibration
No.2) are shown in Fig. 8. It should be noted that the amplitude of
trajectories (Δz) generated by bottom cutting edge can be calculated by
vibration may change slightly due to the variation of cutting forces at
different conditions. The actual amplitude can be obtained from the
texture of hole surface. In test No.2, the measured amplitude is about
4.2 μm. For one vibration cycle, the cutting speed of peripheral cutting
edge in UVHM can be divided into five stages: a~e. At stage a, vT_t > 0
and vT_h < 0, so the move direction of cutting edge is indicated as the
dash line in stage a (Fig. 8). Similarly, the movement of cutting edge at
stages b ∼ e is also illustrated in Fig. 8. Note that, at stage c, vT_t < 0,
which means the cutting edge separates from the formed chip. That is,
tool can separate with cutting chip periodically due to the vibration
effect in UVHM. In addition, the relative speed between the tool and the
chip at hole surface is not constant. Compared with the constant speeds
vT_h and vT_t in HM, cutting speeds vT_h and vT_t in UVHM vary as si-
nusoidal waves. The highest vT_t in UVHM is about twice of the speed in
HM. Normally, the increase of instantaneous cutting speed can increase
the cutting temperature which will lead to a thermal softening effect,
reducing the cutting forces [20]. Besides, it was reported that the re-
duction of tool-chip can lead to reduction of cutting forces [31], how-
ever, the vibration-assisted milling does not always result in reduced
forces due to dependence on vibration frequency [32]. Meanwhile, the
speed vT_h in UVHM varies from positive to negative, indicating a
movement forward and back along the direction of cutting edge, which Fig. 7. Schematic of chip formation related with peripheral cutting edge (a) in
will generate a friction effect to the machined surface. The influence of HM (b) in UVHM (c) the velocity of peripheral edge in the soz coordinate
the effect on the machined surface will be discussed in section 3.4. system.

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G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

dFP−UVHM (ω2 t ) = k p∗ dδp dfztt − UVHM (ω2 t ) da pt − UVHM (ω2 t ) (41)

where dfztt-HM and dfztt-UVHM are the instantaneous tangential feed per
tooth in HM and UVHM, respectively. dapt-HM and dapt-UVHM are the
instantaneous axial feed in HM and UVHM, respectively. kp* is the
specific cutting coefficient for peripheral cutting edges.
As shown in Fig. 9, material removal by peripheral cutting edge is
related with axial feed per revolution ap and the tangential feed per
tooth fzt. Similar with the material removal for bottom cutting edges,
when ap and fzt remain constant, the equivalent specific chip tangential
length dδp decreases with the increase of the vibration frequency at unit
width as
dsp vt
dδp = k p f
= kp dsp
vt f (42)

where kp is a coefficient as ke.

Thus, the ratio of unit forces caused by peripheral cutting edges in
UVHM and HM can be defined as

dFP−UVHM k p vt dfztt − UVHM (ω2 t ) da pt − UVHM (ω2 t )

γP (t ) = =
dFP−HM fdfztt − HM (ω2 t ) da pt − HM (ω2 t ) (43)

Fig. 8. Cutting speeds and the state of tool-chip contact at test of No.2 Then, the ratio of total unit forces in UVHM and HM can be cal-
(v = 2500 rpm, ap = 0.15mm/r, fzt = 0.03mm/r) with amplitude of vibration culated as
4.2 μm.
dFT−UVHM dFB−UVHM + dFP−UVHM γ dFB−HM + γP dFP−HM
= = B
dFT−HM dFB−HM + dFP−HM dFB−HM + dFP−HM (44)

3. Experimental investigation for hole making by HM and UVHM

In this work, a series of experiments were presented to investigate

Fig. 9. Schematic of material removal under different conditions (a) variation
of material removal under different cutting speeds (b) variation of material
removal under different axial feeds (c) variation of material removal under
different tangential feeds.
the material removal in UVHM. The modeled trajectories were com-
pared with the texture of machined surfaces. Cutting forces, surface
roughness and residual stresses of machined surface were also pre-
sented and discussed based on the material removal analysis.
3.1. Experiment system

Ze n rot a p fzt 2π Hole making of commercial grade Tie6Ale4V alloy by HM and

Δz = zN − zN+1 = ( ) UVHM processes were performed on a DMU 60 monoBLOCK® vertical
60 × 2πe Ze (ω1 + ω2) (36)
machining center. The experimental setup is shown in Fig. 10. The
As the angle speed of milling tool is much higher than that of orbital ultrasonic vibration tool holder is mounted on the spindle of the ma-
revolution, i.e., ω2»ω1, then ω1+ω2≈ω2 = 2πnrot/60; then Δz is further chining center. A non-contact electromagnetic unit was applied to
calculated according to Eqs. (34) and (36), transform the electrical signal. An upper ring of the electromagnetic
Ze nrot a p fzt 2π Ze nrot a p fzt 2π induction coil is fixed on the spindle shaft of the machine. Ultrasonic
Δz = ( )≈ ( ) = fza power (type: SZ12) was connected with the upper ring of the
60 × 2πe Ze (ω1 + ω2) 60 × 2πe Ze ω2 (37)
In this work, the mill tool has four cutting edges, i.e., Ze = 4. The
ratio of unit forces caused by bottom cutting edges in UVHM and HM
can be defined as
dFB−UVHM ξΔzdδz ξk v
γB = = = e t
dFB−HM fza dsz f (38)
As ω2»ω1, the cutting speed vt≈ω2r = 2πnrot r/60. Therefore, the
ratio of unit forces generated by bottom cutting edge in UVHM and HM
meets the following relationship
n rot
γB ∝
f (39)
With respect to the material removal by peripheral cutting edges, the
unit forces caused by peripheral cutting edge in HM and UVHM are
defined as dFP-HM and dFP-UVHM, respectively. Note that the unit element
volume is related with the cutting time, that is, the material removal
varies with time, then the unit forces caused by peripheral cutting edge
in HM and UVHM are defined as follows:
dFP−HM (ω2 t ) = k p∗ dsp dfztt − HM (ω2 t ) da pt − HM (ω2 t ) (40) Fig. 10. Experimental setup for Tie6Ale4V hole-making by UVHM.

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G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

electromagnetic induction coil. In UVHM, the ultrasonic vibration tool Table 2

holder with another electromagnetic induction coil can receive the Machining parameters for hole-making of Tie6Ale4V alloy.
electrical signal, which will drive the piezoelectric ceramics to generate Test Spindle Axial Tangential Axial feed per Actual
high frequency vibration for tool holder. The milling tool fixed on the conditions rotation feed ap feed per tooth fza (mm/ vibration
ultrasonic tool holder can generate ultrasonic vibration when the ul- (No.) speed nrot (mm/ tooth fzt r) frequency f
trasonic power is turned on. The system can generate about 4∼6 μm (rpm) r) (mm/r) (Hz)

amplitude of vibration with about 35 kHz frequency. 1 2000 0.15 0.03 0.00035828 33603
Ultrafine grained WC-12%Co cemented carbides milling tools with 2 2500 0.15 0.03 0.00035828 33651
6 mm diameter and 4 peripheral edges were used in the experiments. 3 3000 0.15 0.03 0.00035828 34658
The parameters of tool geometry are listed in Table 1. Commercial grad 4 3500 0.15 0.03 0.00035828 34530
5 4000 0.15 0.03 0.00035828 34798
Tie6Ale4V alloy workpiece was installed on a clamp which was fixed
6 2500 0.15 0.02 0.000238854 33802
on the dynamometer, as shown in Fig. 10. Cutting forces were measured 7 2500 0.15 0.04 0.000477707 33454
by a Kistler® 9257A three-component dynamometer and a 5070 charge 8 2500 0.15 0.05 0.000597134 33792
amplifier. The dimension of workpiece is 258 mm × 125 mm × 5 mm. 9 2500 0.15 0.06 0.000716561 33504
10 2500 0.1 0.03 0.000238854 33634
The designed hole diameter that needs to be machined is 10 mm. The
11 2500 0.2 0.03 0.000477707 33610
distance between the axes of two adjacent holes is 15 mm. All experi- 12 2500 0.25 0.03 0.000597134 33507
ments were carried out under dry cutting condition. 13 2500 0.3 0.03 0.000716561 33680
In machining, the process of HM can be switched to UVHM by
turning on the ultrasonic power. In this work, the experimental con-
ditions for HM and UVHM processes are listed in Table 2. At each
condition, two holes were machined by HM and UVHM processes, re-
spectively. In order to eliminate the random error, all experiments were
repeated three times, and a new tool was used for each set of repeated
experiments.
To investigate the machining mechanism and machined hole accu-
racy, cutting forces, surface roughness and residual stresses were tested.
In addition, in order to remove residual chips and impurities from hole
surface, ultrasonic cleaning was performed on workpiece before the
measurement of surface roughness.

3.2. Cutting trajectories of bottom and hole surface

In this work, when the tool center rotates an angle of 360°, the curve
formed by one cutting edge was calculated based on the method pro-
posed in section 2.3.1. The calculated and experimental bottom tra-
jectories (measured by KENYENCE™ VHX-2000 microscopy) at dif-
ferent tangential feeds (in Table 2, test conditions: Nos. 2, 6, 7, 8, 9) are
shown in Fig. 11. Due to the 0.5 mm tool nose radius, an annular area
(CA, as shown in Fig. 11a) exists in the bottom trajectory. It can be seen
that the calculated trajectories agree well with the measured curves.
The bottom trajectory is mostly affected by the orbital feed (i.e., tan-
gential feed) speed. Note that the calculated curves in Fig. 11 did not
consider the micro-periodic texture.
To calculate the bottom cutting trajectory in UVHM, the actual vi-
bration frequency in UVHM is calculated based on the developed
method in section 2.3. The calculated frequency values are listed in
Table 2. According to the trajectory modeling method in section 2.4,
the bottom trajectories can be obtained. Fig. 12a shows eight paths
generated by the end of bottom cutting edges (point P in Fig. 5) for
cutting condition of test No.1 at the soz coordinate system. The shadow
area covered by the 8th path represents the material removed by the
bottom edge. The experimental texture of the machined bottom surface
was measured by KENYENCE™ VHX-2000 microscopy and shown in
Fig. 12b. The distance of adjacent shadow area agrees well with the
Fig. 11. Comparison of the bottom texture (v = 2500 rpm, ap = 0.15mm/r) at
experimental result (about 18 μm). It can be seen that the material was
different tangential feeds (a) fzt = 0.02mm/r (b) fzt = 0.03mm/r (c)
removed periodically and interrupted, and it is affected by the vibration fzt = 0.04mm/r (d) fzt = 0.05mm/r (f) fzt = 0.06mm/r.
and cutting conditions. Similarly, micro-intermitted turning process
was accomplished by high speed ultrasonic vibration turning process

Table 1
Geometrical parameters for helical milling tool.
Helix angle Tool length Axial cutting Rake angle of Rake angle of peripheral Clearance angle of Clearance angle of Tool nose radius
(°) (mm) Length (mm) bottom edge (°) edge (°) bottom edge (°) peripheral edge (°) (mm)

38 60 7 0 5 8 10 0.5

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G. Chen et al. International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13

reduced by 19–48% and 28–47% at different tangential and axial feeds,

respectively. As discussed in section 3.2, the material removal of
bottom cutting edge with ultrasonic vibration can change from con-
tinuous cutting to discontinuous cutting as shown in Fig. 12. Then the
axial cutting forces generated by bottom cutting edge will be reduced.
Besides, based on the analysis of material removal of hole surface, the
peripheral cutting edge involved in cutting can be considered as an
oblique cutting process. In UVHM, the peripheral cutting edge moves
along the helix cutting edge and the normal of cutting edge directions
Fig. 12. The end of bottom cutting edge movement trajectory during UVHM (Fig. 8). Due to the vibration, based on the analysis of speed component
(Test No.1) (a) calculated curves (b) measured texture. along the normal direction of peripheral cutting edge, the highest
cutting speed in UVHM is about twice of that in HM. Meanwhile, the
tool can separate from the chip at specific time interval during a vi-
[22], and it was stated that the transition from continuous cutting to
bration period. Besides, the forward and backward movement along the
separation state in high speed ultrasonic turning is related with the
cutting edge direction will change the friction behaviors at tool rake
flank face interference [35]. It should be mentioned that the intermitted
face. It was reported that the length of sticking zone in cutting is
cutting involved in vibration assisted machining processes is a com-
strongly influenced by cutting speed. The tool-chip contact length and
bined kinematic result, which is normally realized by the relative
the cutting forces can be reduced with the increase of cutting speed in
movement of workpiece and cutting edge concerning vibration.
Tie6Ale4V orthogonal cutting [39]. Therefore, the axial vibration in
In addition, as the angle speeds of the tool self-rotation and orbital
UVHM can change the tool-chip contact behavior and reduce the axial
rotation in UVHM are constant, the trajectory generated by the end of
forces greatly compared with those in HM. Note that the mechanism of
peripheral cutting edge can be calculated considering the tool nose
force reduction in UVHM machining of Tie6Ale4V alloy is different
radius (rn = 0.5 mm) by the same modeling method, that is, r should be
from that using hybrid UVHM with cryogenic tool cooling in machining
changed as O1A1+rn = 3 mm. The calculated and experimental tra-
of CFRP, which is mainly caused by the increase of lubrication and
jectories (measured by VHX-2000 microscopy) generated by peripheral
cooling effects [26].
cutting edge are shown in Fig. 13. The trajectory is mainly affected by
In this work, the force reduction ratio of the axial forces between
the tool rotation speed and the vibration frequency. Note that the
HM and UVHM processes will be discussed based on the modeling of
bottom of calculated curves (in Fig. 13a–c) represents the texture of
ratio of unit forces, concerning the material removal analysis in section
machined surface, and the calculated curves are consistent with the
2.6. Normally, the instantaneous cutting forces are calculated by sum-
experimental textures of hole surface. Ultrasonic elliptical vibration
mation or integration of unit forces along the bottom and peripheral
cutting was applied for machining microgrooves on round-shaped AISI
teeth involved in material removal during HM process [33,40,41]. Note
1045. It was found that the cutting speed and the vibration frequency of
that the ratio of unit forces between HM and UVHM for each unit ele-
elliptical locus are the two main factors which determine the mor-
ment along the cutting edge is identical. Therefore, the ratio of axial
phology of microgrooves [36]. Therefore, the micro-texture of the
forces between in HM and UVHM can be characterized by the ratio of
machined surface varies with the tool rotation speed and vibration
unit forces.
frequency. The agreement between the calculated and measured micro-
texture also indicates the accuracy of the calculated frequency by the
method proposed in section 2.3.

3.3. Comparison of cutting forces and axial force reduction

In helical milling, cutting forces were measured by dynamometer

with sampling frequency of 20 kHz. The cutting forces of Fx and Fy have
similar variation trend since the tool rotates in the XOY coordinate
system, as shown in Fig. 2b. Therefore, the total force in the XOY plane
is normally used to express the overall resultant force [37,38]. The
resultant force Fc in the XOY plane is defined as

Fc = Fx2 + Fy2 = Fr2 + Ft2 (45)

where Ft and Fr are the tangential (feed) and radial (thrust) cutting
forces, respectively. In this work, the calculated resultant force Fc and
the axial force Fz by HM and UVHM at different cutting conditions are
shown in Fig. 14.
The resultant forces Fc are much smaller than axial forces Fz. As the
four bottom cutting edges can remove material simultaneously at the
XOY plane, most of the resultant force caused by the bottom edge
should be balanced with the four edges along the X and Y direction.
Therefore, the main part of the resultant force Fc should be caused by
the cutting of peripheral cutting edges [39]. Both of peripheral and
bottom cutting edges can contribute to the axial cutting force Fz. In HM,
the axial forces increase with the increase of tangential and axial feeds.
The cutting speed has little influence on the forces. In addition, the
resultant forces of UVHM are close to the forces of HM. However, the
axial forces of UVHM are much smaller than those of HM. The axial
forces in UVHM at different cutting speeds are reduced by 38–64% Fig. 13. Comparison of calculated curves and measured texture of hole surface
compared to the forces in HM. Besides, the axial forces of UVHM are at test conditions of No.1(a and a'), No.4 (b and b') and No.11 (c and c').

10
G. Chen et al.
Fig. 14. Comparison of cutting forces at different (a) cutting speeds; (b) tan-
gential feeds; (c) axial feeds.
When the axial feed ap, tangential feed per tooth fzt and axial feed
per tooth fza remain constant and the cutting speed nrot (i.e., spindle
rotation speed) increases (as shown in Fig. 9a), γB is proportional to
nrot/f according to Eq. (39). For peripheral cutting edge, when cutting
speed increases, the ratio of unit forces in HM and UVHM caused by
peripheral cutting edges can be defined by Eq. (43) as
vt n
γP = k p ∝ rot
f f
Both of γB and γP are proportional to nrot/f, then the ratio of total
unit forces caused by bottom and peripheral cutting edges can be de-
fined according to Eq. (44) as
γ dFB−HM + γP dFP−HM
dFT−UVHM n
= B ∝ rot
dFT−HM dFB−HM + dFP−HM f (47)
Then the force reduction will decrease linearly with the increase of
the ratio of unit forces in UVHM and HM, as shown in Fig. 15a.
When fzt and nrot remain constant and, ap and fza increase (as shown
in Fig. 9b), for bottom cutting edge, γB is constant according to Eq. (39).
With respect to peripheral cutting edge, the cutting width of the per-
ipheral cutting edge dapt increases, however, the unit axial feed dapt-
UVHM is equal to dapt-HM at any time. Additionally, the peripheral cut-
ting process can be considered as an oblique cutting process, when ap
increases, it can be considered as the cutting width increases, then the
peripheral cutting forces will increase accordingly. Although the forces
caused by peripheral cutting edge increase when ap increases at each
moment, the ratio γP remains constant at different axial feeds. That is,
the cutting condition will not affect the ratio of forces in HM and
UVHM. Therefore, the total force reduction ratio remains constant, as
shown in Fig. 15b.
When ap and nrot remain constant and, fzt and fza increase (as shown
in Fig. 9c), for bottom cutting edge, γB is constant. With respect to
peripheral cutting edge, when the tangential feed fzt increases, the ratio
of dapt-UVHM/dapt-HM keeps constant, however, the dfztt changes with
time. Additionally, if the peripheral cutting process is considered as an
oblique cutting process, when fzt increases, it can be considered as the
uncut chip thickness increases. Normally, the cutting force does not
change with the identical ratio with that of the uncut chip thickness.
Therefore, the ratio of peripheral cutting forces γP will change with the
increase of fzt. Therefore, the force reduction of axial force changes
without obvious rule with the increase of the tangential feed.
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13
3.4. Comparison of machined holes by HM and UVHM
To analyze the hole-making quality and mechanism, surface
roughness and residual stresses by HM and UVHM were tested for dif-
ferent machining conditions.
3.4.1. Surface roughness
Surface roughness Ra was measured by Talysurf® 2300A-R surface
profiler instrument. The tester probe scans the surface profile with a
cut-off length of 0.8 mm and the total test length 4.0 mm, respectively.
For each condition, the surface roughness Ra of hole surface was
measured four times at different angles. The intersection angle between
two adjacent measuring paths is 90° (as shown in Fig. 16a). Comparison
of the measured surface roughness by HM and UVHM at different
conditions is shown in Fig. 16. The Ra value of hole surface machined
by HM increases with the increase of cutting speed, while, the Ra value
of hole surface machined by UVHM deceases slightly with cutting speed
until 3000 rpm, afterwards, it increases with cutting speed. At different
axial and tangential feeds, the surface roughness Ra by HM and UVHM
processes fluctuates with similar tendency. Ra values with UVHM are
smaller than those with HM for all test conditions.
The decrease of Ra value by UVHM can be explained by the surface
generation related with material removal in section 2.4 and 2.5. Be-
sides, the schematic of cutting process of peripheral cutting edge in HM
and UVHM is illustrated in Fig. 17. In HM, peripheral cutting edge feeds
along the helical feed direction with cutting speed vs (Fig. 17a). In
UVHM, in addition to the helical feed, the cutting edge vibrates along
axial direction and generates a periodic trajectory in the hole surface
(Fig. 17b). As discussed in section 2.5, the vibration can generate a
friction effect for the machined surface in UVHM, which is useful to rub
(46)
the micro-peaks of machined surface texture. It can be observed by the
microscopic morphology of machined hole surface (measured by a
Wyko™ NT9300 optical profiler), as shown in Fig. 18. For the surface
machined by HM, the major direction of texture is along the feed di-
rection. For the surface machined by UVHM, some micro-peaks of
machined surface texture are rubbed flat by the vibration combined
movement, as shown in Fig. 18b. Therefore, the roughness values with
UVHM are smaller than those with HM.
Furthermore, the improvement of surface roughness by UVHM is
related with the vibration trajectory at specific length along the cir-
cumferential direction of machined hole. According to the trajectories
of hole surface in HM and UVHM defined by Eq. (23) and Eq. (24),
respectively, the improvement of surface roughness by UVHM is related
with the ratio of vibration effect Asin(2πft) and the trajectory length
t
s = ∫ vt dt . Meanwhile, the vibration effect was also indicated in
0
Fig. 13. When the vibration amplitude and frequency keep constant, the
improvement of surface roughness is affected by the trajectory speed vt
which is mainly dependent on tool self-rotation cutting speed. There-
fore, the reducing rate of Ra with UVHM changes with rotation speed
compared to HM. While, at different axial and tangential feeds, the
variation tendencies of Ra of hole surfaces machined by UVHM and HM
Fig. 15. The reduction ratio of axial force Fz using UVHM compared with HM
(a) under different cutting speeds (b) under different axial feeds.
11
G. Chen et al.
Fig. 16. Comparison of surface roughness at different (a) cutting speeds
(ap = 0.15mm/r, fzt = 0.03mm/r); (b) tangential feeds (v = 2500 rpm,
ap = 0.15mm/r); (c) axial feeds (v = 2500 rpm, fzt = 0.03mm/r).
Fig. 17. Schematic of surface roughness generation by the process of (a) HM (b)
UVHM.
Fig. 18. The micro-scale morphology of machined surface (v = 2000 rpm,
ap = 0.15mm/r, fzt = 0.03mm/r) by (a) HM (b) UVHM.
are similar with each other, due to the same cutting speed and similar
vibration frequency and amplitude in the hole surface.
3.4.2. Residual stress
To check the stress state of the machined surface, the axial and
circumferential residual stresses of machined hole surface were tested
by a μ-X360n® X-ray residual stress measurement system. To determine
the residual stress profiles at different depths of machined surface,
successive layers of material were removed by electro-polishing. The
axial and circumferential residual stresses of hole surfaces machined by
HM and UVHM are shown in Fig. 19.
The residual stresses are compressive in both axial and circumfer-
ential directions. The axial and circumferential residual compressive
12
International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture 138 (2019) 1–13
stresses decrease with the increase of depth from machined surface, and
they reach the initial state at approximately the depth of 100 μm from
machined surface. Besides, the compressive residual stresses of the
UVHM are larger than those of HM, when the depth of machined sur-
face is within 60 μm and 40 μm in axial and circumferential directions,
respectively. The residual stresses of the hole surface at the axial di-
rection are −285 MPa and −154 MPa for UVHM and HM, respectively.
While, the residual stresses in the circumferential direction are
−213 MPa and −107 MPa for UVHM and HM, respectively. Therefore,
compared with HM process, UVHM increases the surface compressive
stresses by 85% and 99% at the hole surface for axial and circumfer-
ential directions, respectively.
Residual stress is commonly caused by plastic deformation of the
surface and subsurface of workpiece owing to the mechanical and
thermal loads. With respected to helical milling, it has been reported
that it generates compressive residual stress, which can extend the fa-
tigue life of hole surface [12]. Compared with helical milling, the ul-
trasonic vibration generates impulsive sinusoidal trajectories by per-
ipheral cutting edges on the machined surface. During the axial
movement of the cutting edge, the micro-peaks of machined surface are
rubbed by the friction effect. Material near the micro-peaks of ma-
chined texture is compressed by the periodic friction, leading to higher
compressive residual stresses at the surface and subsurface of the ma-
chined holes.
4. Conclusions
In this paper, a novel ultrasonic vibration helical milling process
(UVHM) was developed for hole-making of Tie6Ale4V alloy. The
material removal mechanics of bottom and hole surfaces were analyzed
according to the modeling of machined trajectories and cutting speeds.
The quality of machined holes by HM and UVHM was also presented
and discussed according to the material removal analysis.
1. The actual vibration frequency was calculated by the measured
texture at bottom surface of machined holes in UVHM. With the
calculated frequency, the movement of bottom cutting edges was
modeled. Due to the vibration, the material removal of bottom
cutting edge transformed from continuous cutting by HM to dis-
continuous by UVHM at specific conditions.
2. The trajectory of hole surface was modeled and the cutting speed of
peripheral edge was analyzed. The cutting speed in UVHM fluc-
tuates periodically rather than keeps constant in HM. The variation
of periodical cutting speed leads to higher cutting speed along the
normal cutting edge direction periodically. The peripheral edge can
separate with chips formed at hole surface, which can reduce the
cutting forces and increase the heat dissipation. The modeled tra-
jectories on the bottom and hole surfaces agreed well with the ex-
perimental results, which indicated the effectiveness of the calcu-
lation of the actual vibration frequency for studying the material
removal in UVHM.
3. The ratio of unit forces in UVHM and HM were modeled based on
the material removal analysis of the bottom and peripheral cutting
Fig. 19. Comparison of residual stresses (v = 2500 rpm, ap = 0.15mm/r,
fzt = 0.06mm/r) along the (a) axial and (b) circumferential directions.
G. Chen et al.
edges. Axial forces in UVHM were much smaller than those of HM,
and the maximum decrease of axial force was 64% compared with
HM. Based on the modeling of unit forces in HM and UVHM, the
force reduction decreases with the increasing rotation speed and
remains stable for different axial feeds.
4. Surface roughness and residual stress were compared between the
processes of HM and UVHM. Compared with HM, the surface
roughness in UVHM was improved due to a friction effect which
rubs the micro-peaks of machined surface texture. Hole surface
machined by UVHM generates plastic deformation by the effects of
periodical friction and compression. Compared with HM, UVHM
increases the compressive stresses of hole surface by 85% and 99%
for the axial and circumferential directions, respectively. The im-
provement of surface roughness and residual stresses were analyzed
according to the material removal mechanism concerning the cut-
ting trajectories and the speed of cutting edge.
5. This study reveals the underlying material removal mechanism for
hole-making of Tie6Ale4V alloy by UVHM, which provides an ef-
fective processing strategy for hole-making of aviation alloys.
Acknowledgements
The authors are very grateful for the support received from the
Natural Science Foundation of China No. 51575384, the Natural
Science Foundation of Tianjin Nos. 16JCQNJC04600, 16JCZDJC38300.
The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge anonymous re-
viewers for their careful work which helped improve an earlier version
of the manuscript substantially.
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