3D simulation of laser assisted side milling of Ti6Al4V alloy using modified Johnson-Cook material model

During machining of hard materials, one approach to reduce tool wear is using a laser beam to preheat the material in front of the cutting zone. In this study, a new concept of laserassisted milling with spindle and tool integrated laser beam guiding has been tested. The laser beam is located at the cutting edge and moving synchronously with the cutter. In experiment, a reduction in the resulting process cutting forces and tool wear has been observed in comparison to milling without laser. A three-dimensional finite element model in DEFORM 3D was developed to predict the cutting forces in the milling process with and without an additional laser heat source, based on a Johnson-Cook-type material constitutive model adapted for high strains and strain rates. Both in experiment and simulation, the deformation behavior of a Ti-6Al-4V workpiece has been investigated. The comparison of the resulting cutting forces showed very good agreement. Thus the new model has great potent ial to further optimize laser assisted machining processes.