Influence of cutting tool geometrical parameters on tool wear in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface

High-speed machining provides an efficient approach for machining Inconel 718 with high quality and high efficiency. For high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface, the geometrical characteristics are changing continuously leading to a sharp fluctuation of cutting force, which will aggravate the tool wear. As the wear mechanism of coated cutting tool is seriously affected by the cutting tool geometrical parameters, suitable geometrical parameters of cutting tool should be selected to avoid the cutting tool from being worn out very quickly. In this study, the influence of cutting tool geometrical parameters on tool wear in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface is investigated with coated cutting tool, and the cutting force in milling process is also analyzed. The results show that the cutting force variation can manifest the tool wear degree, and the failure type of coated cutting tool in plane milling and curved surface milling after the same cutting length is different. Furthermore, the cutting tool geometrical parameters seriously affect the tool wear and the tool life in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface. Concretely, the small rake angle has greater strength and has superiority, the relief angle increasing can enhance the tool life, and the tool life is decreased with the increasing of helix angle for the cutting tool, whose helix angle is larger than 30°. This study provides a theoretical basis for cutting tool wear mechanism and cutting tool geometrical parameter selection in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface, so as to guarantee the machining efficiency in high-speed milling of Inconel 718 curved surface.