Automated process planning in milling of hybrid components

Abstract

Hybrid material composites can meet the increasing demands for high strength and low weight due to their different workpiece properties. Usually, hybrid components require post-machining after their fabrication. Due to the different material properties, new challenges arise in the machining process. It is essential to recognize the course of the material boundary in order to adapt the process planning accordingly and to enable a uniform material transition during machining. This paper presents a method for automated material recognition and automatic adaptation of the process parameters considering a uniform force level during the milling of hybrid materials. This way, the load on the milling tool in the material transition area can be reduced by up to 71%, which prevents premature tool failure. An optical laser line scanner is used to localize of material transitions within hybrid components. This enables a digital mapping of the material distribution in the discretized workpiece model. In combination with an empirical force model, it is possible to predict the cutting forces of the different materials and determine the material transition area for adapting them to specified target values.