Wear of micro end mills

This paper addresses the important issue of wear on micro end mills considering relevant metrological tools for its characterization and quantification. Investigation of wear on micro end mills is particularly difficult and no data are available in the literature. Small worn volumes cause large deviations from the ideal micro tool shape, dramatically changing the cutting edge profile as well as rake and clearance angles.

This critically affects the performance of the micro tool leading to increased cutting forces and micro tool deflections with detrimental effects on the accuracy of the machined part. For this investigation 200 microns end mills are considered. Visual inspection of the micro tools requires high magnification and depth of focus. 3D reconstruction based on scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and stereo-pair technique is foreseen as a possible method for quantification of wear volume.