Surface profile and milling force prediction for milling thin-walled workpiece based on equivalent 3D undeformed chip thickness model

With the development of the aviation manufacturing industry, the application range of thin-walled parts is rapidly increasing. Accurate machining process and surface topography prediction are the keys to ensuring machining quality. This article is based on the relative geometric relationship between the real motion trajectory of the milling cutter and the workpiece; the undeformed chip thickness equation and the two-dimensional surface contour feature algorithm are established. By introducing the parameters of milling cutter critical height, milling cutter helix angle, and lag angle parameters, the three-dimensional surface profile prediction model and the equivalent three-dimensional model considering the chip formation process are derived. And the calculation equations of the instantaneous chip cross-sectional area and the blade-workpiece contact length of the three phases of chip formation are established, respectively. The multiple linear regression method was used to fit the orthogonal test results of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4 V, so as to complete the dynamic milling force identification, and finally establish the milling force prediction model. The accuracy of the prediction model was verified by the single factor method, and the influence of different parameters on the milling process of thin-walled parts was observed. The results show that the established model has high accuracy in predicting the surface profile and milling force of thin-walled parts. This study provides guidance for efficient prediction of the milling process of thin-walled parts.