IMPROVING OBTAINABLE ACCURACY AND SURFACE QUALITY OF MILLED FREEFORM SURFACES

The process of machining of various freeform, or geometrically complex, surfaces, including dies, moulds, blades, etc. is not only a complicated, but also time-consuming process nowadays. Freeform surfaces machined on modern equipment apply ball-end and chamfered-end milling using either constant tool pitch for rectilinear and angled surface profiles or varying tool pitch for non-uniform surfaces. Various strategies and technologies of ball-end and chamfered-end milling at either a constant tool pitch for even and oblique surfaces or a variable tool pitch for freeform surfaces is required to improve the surface quality, viz. surface roughness, size tolerance and form shape before final machining steps. A classification of parts containing freeform surfaces is offered in the paper, which is followed by the table containing recommended set of machining stages with reference to obtainable surface accuracy and quality. The given recommendations can be used in further researches of ball-end milling and applied in practice during machining freeform surfaces