3D Simulation and Process Optimization of Laser Assisted Milling of Ti6Al4V

Recently, the high cost and low productivity of machining hard materials such as Ti-6Al-4 V has drawn major attention to the development of a modular and scalable tool system with integrated laser as one piece of equipment. The present study focuses on a new concept of laser-assisted milling with spindle and tool integrated laser beam guiding. The laser beam is located at the cutting area and moving synchronously with the cutter. In order to optimize the process with respect to the force reduction, various machining conditions were investigated, both experimentally and with simulation. The numerical 3D FEM simulations were carried out with the commercial software DEFORM 3D. In the simulation, a Johnson-Cook type material model was applied and specifically modified for very high strain rates and system temperature. Results such as temperature distributions and maximum cutting forces could directly be compared to the experimental findings. The simulation results expressed a good agreement with the experimental results.