Characteristics of inclined planes according to the variations of cutting direction in high-speed ball-end milling

The recent developments of the manufacturing industry require the machining of freeform surfaces using a ball-end mill. The ball-end mill is geometrically complex. For this reason, there are frequent changes of the contact point between a workpiece and a tool, which changes the machining characteristics when machining a freeform surface. In this study, a comparative evaluation of cutting characteristics will be made for a workpiece with inclined planes at angles of 15 degrees, 30 degrees, and 45 degrees each using four possible tool paths in down cutting. Then, tool life will be evaluated for heat-treatment materials of high hardness before obtaining the optimal tool path, which makes machining stable and improves tool life.