Abstract
From the viewpoints of reduction of tooling cost and saving resources, the demand for re-sharpening of ball end mills in manufacturing floors is high. In this study, the practical feasibility of re-sharpened ball end mills was examined. First, an inexpensive re-sharpening machine driven by stepping motors was developed and the re-sharpening of the secondary flank of ball end mills was carried out with data generated using a CAD/CAM system. The cost effectiveness of tool re-sharpening is discussed. Second, cutting test of inclined workpiece surfaces of die steel was compared between new and re-sharpened tools. Then, the cutting properties of both tools were examined by comparing tool life, cutting force, and surface roughness. The results confirmed that the differences in cutting performance between re-sharpened and new tools are small. Especially, the cutting performance was equivalent up to 100 μm flank wear. These observations indicated that it is both practical and cost-efficient to re-sharpen ball end mills using the prototype machine developed here.
