Study on process forces and wear behavior of PCD tools in stone milling

Standard milling tools from the metal machining industry are tested regarding their applicability for milling of natural stone materials. The study aims on qualifying customized standard milling tools for the free form machining of natural stone ob-jects for cultural and architectural purposes. The cutting process is investigated in terms of wear and process forces. The process forces are analyzed in order to model and predict the cutting forces similar to the specific cutting force model in metal cutting. As part of the studies milling tools with diamond based cutting ma-terial are investigated. To examine the applicability of standard milling tools and the influence of the tool geometry on the cutting process of natural stone, end mill cutters with two polycrystalline diamond (PCD) teeth using negative, neutral and positive rake angle are compared. For the investigation on the cutting material and the cutting forces a cylindrical end milling cutter with a single indexable insert and different diamond based cutting tool materials, especially polycrystalline diamond, is used. The results show that a specific cutting force is not measurable for the tested material and that the wear behavior of the tool is influenced by the grade of the cutting material and tool configuration