Analytical Prediction of Stability Lobes in Ball End Milling

Abstract

The paper presents an analytical method to predict stability lobes in ball end milling. Analytical expressions are based on the dynamics of ball end milling with regeneration in the uncut chip thickness, time varying directional factors and the interaction with the machine tool structure. The cutting force coefficients are derived from orthogonal cutting data base using oblique transformation method. The influence of cutting coefficients on the stability is investigated. A computationally efficient, an equivalent average cutting force coefficient method is developed for ball end milling. The prediction of stability lobes for ball end milling is reduced to the solution of a simple quadratic equation. The analytical results agree well with the experiments and the computationally expensive and complex numerical time domain simulations.