Experimental study on tool wear in ultrasonic vibration–assisted milling of C/SiC composites

Carbon-fiber reinforced silicon carbide matrix (C/SiC) composites are typical difficult-to-cut materials due to high hardness and brittleness. Aiming at the problem of the serious tool wear in conventional milling (CM) C/SiC composite process, ultrasonic vibration–assisted milling (UVAM) and conventional milling tests with a diamond-coated milling cutter were conducted. Theoretical and experimental research on the cutting force during the ultrasonic vibration milling process of C/SiC composites is carried out. Based on the kinematics analysis of tool path during ultrasonic vibration milling process, the cutting force model of ultrasonic vibration milling is established, and the influence mechanism of ultrasonic vibration on the cutting force is revealed. Based on the analysis of the evolution law of tool wear profile and wear curve during the traditional milling and ultrasonic vibration milling of C/SiC, the tool wear forms and mechanism of diamond-coated milling cutters in two processing modes and the influence mechanism of ultrasonic vibration on tool wear are revealed. It is found that the main wear mechanism of the diamond-coated milling cutter is abrasive wear, and the main wear form is the coating peeling. Compared with the traditional milling, the tool wear can be reduced by the ultrasonic vibration milling in machining process. In the range of test parameters, the tool wear decreases first and then increases with the increase of ultrasonic amplitude.