Research on Tool Wear of PCD Micro End Mill in Machining of ZrO₂ Ceramics

Abstract

This paper presents a study on the tool wear of micro PCD end mill when machining ZrO2 ceramics. The cutting tool used was a self-designed PCD micro end mill with 1 mm in diameter and single flute. Experiments were conducted on a self-developed micro-milling machine tool. The tool wear characters and progress during the groove milling has been observed. The cutting force and machining accuracy of the grooves also have been studied. Based on the results, it is found that tool wear is mainly on the bottom surface; the cutting force increases with the progress of tool wear; tool wear also affect the width of machined grooves due to the decrease of effective tool diameter.