Design and Fabrication of 3-DOF Dynamometer for Measuring Cutting Forces during Milling of Al Based Aerospace Alloy

Abstract

In various engineering applications, need of miniature components is increasing manifolds with the continuous evolution of micro and nano technology. There are several techniques with in the subtractive and additive manufacturing methods/ techniques, however among all, micro milling shows great promise in manufacturing and fabrication of micro/ nano components required in aerospace, electronic/electrical, instrumentation and bio-medical applications. In aerospace applications alone, micro milling may be used for fabrication of moulds for micro gears, miniaturized components for rockets, micro gyroscope parts in missiles, micro servos and valves etc. Due to superior mechanical properties, aluminum and titanium based alloys are used in aircraft, armor plating, naval ships, spacecraft, missiles and biomedical applications. Measurement of cutting forces during micro machining is an important activity which helps in establishing the quality of both the machined product and the machining process. Therefore, in this study, strain gauge based 3-DOF dynamometer is designed and fabricated using commercial of the shelf load cells for calculating cutting forces in macro machining of Al based aerospace alloy. Subsequent to design and fabrication, experimentations were performed and the results were compared with those available in literature. This research is envisaged to act as stepping stone for utilizing the same approach for calculating micro forces during micro milling machining processes.