Basic research on the immersed tumbling process using magneto-rheological fluid for the specific cutting edge preparation of milling tools – RheoTumble

• Applicants: Professor Dr.-Ing. Jürgen Maas; Professor Dr.-Ing. Eckart Uhlmann
• Subject Area: Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 503335130

The efficient production of micro and precision components has gained considerably in importance in recent years and decades. Micro milling is a central part of micro manufacturing. Due to the requirements for geometrical and dimensional accuracy of the components, special tool preparation is required for reliable machining. The preparation of the cutting edges is an important step in this process. The most frequently used processes include magnetic finishing and immersed tumbling. However, both methods have process-related disadvantages. For example, it is not possible to realize locally defined machining pressures plok and material separations, which significantly limits the preparation. These disadvantages can be overcome by a combination of both processes. Therefore, the overall objective of the research project is the generation and provision of fundamental knowledge for the combined application of immersed tumbling with abrasive magnetorheological fluids (MRF). Thereby, an abrasive MRF to be optimized is applied under constant spatial-temporal conditions as well as by dynamically changed magnetic fields for the specific cutting edge preparation of micro-milling tools made of cemented carbide. In order to achieve the overall objective, an innovative device for immersed tumbling using abrasive MRF is being developed and implemented. The device enables the investigation of the rheological, abrasive and flow properties of abrasive MRF in a production environment. For this purpose, basic investigations are first carried out on simplified square geometries. Based on the gained knowledge, a coupled FEM-, CFD- and DEM-model is developed required to interpret and optimize the results of the experimental investigation. Finally, technologies and strategies for the use of abrasive MRF in the immersed tumbling of micro-milling tools in an industrial environment are derived. As a result of the research project, fundamental scientific findings are available enabling a well-defined control of the immersed tumbling process based on abrasive MRF for the preparation of cutting edges of cemented carbide micro-milling tools in industrial applications. Based on the integration into machine tools, a significant reduction of the total machining time tG can be achieved after realization of the research project.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants