Innovative manufacturing process chain for the production of ball track milling cutters

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Berend Denkena
• Subject Area: Metal-Cutting and Abrasive Manufacturing Engineering
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547090216

The production of cardan shaft parts for the automotive industry in Germany, a high-wage The production of cardan shaft parts for the automotive industry in Germany, a high-wage location, is under considerable cost and innovation pressure. The production process chain for the manufacture of ball hubs represents a practical application in which both high productivity and high workpiece quality are required. An essential process step within the process chain is the hard milling of the ball tracks by means of milling tools made of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PcBN), so-called ball track milling cutters. The production of these tools is very costly and resource intensive due to the machining of the cutting material PcBN. Due to global competition, manufacturers of cardan shaft components are also faced with the constant requirement to reduce tool and process costs and thus to survive on the world market. Through completed basic research projects of the IFW, knowledge exists to increase the productivity of the essential process steps of the tool production of PcBN ball track milling cutters on the one hand and to increase the performance of these tools on the other hand. The present knowledge refers to the laser material processing of PcBN as well as the grinding of PcBN tools. The transfer of knowledge from these basic research projects into the process chain of manufacturing ball track milling cutters offers the potential to reduce tool manufacturing costs by developing efficient and productive laser machining and grinding strategies. In addition, the existing and extended knowledge is used to generate load-adapted cutting edge microgeometries that allow an increase in tool performance and workpiece quality in hard milling of ball hubs

• DFG Programme: Research Grants (Transfer Project)
• Application Partner: MAPAL Fabrik für Präzisionswerkzeuge Dr. Kress KG; Volkswagen AG