Development of an anti-vibration cutting tool combining the lattice structures infill with damping particles

Abstract

The damping performance of cutting tools is crucial for mitigating vibrations during the machining of difficult-to-cut materials that experience high cutting forces. Existing anti-vibration cutting tools typically utilize either the dynamic absorber effect or the energy dissipation effect to enhance damping performance. This paper introduces a novel design of anti-vibration cutting tools that combines both effects. To achieve this goal, metallic lattice structures infill is incorporated within the cutting tools to leverage the dynamic absorber effect, while damping particles are filled in the inner lattice structures to facilitate the energy dissipation effect. Subsequently, a numerical model is employed to investigate the dynamic behavior of the damping particles inside lattice structures to reveal the energy dissipation mechanisms and optimize key design parameters. The proposed cutting tools are fabricated using additive manufacturing and compared to the existing cutting tools. Modal impact tests on the tool point and extensive milling tests on titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4 V demonstrate that the damping performance of the proposed cutting tool is significantly enhanced in both X and Y directions. The stability limit corresponding to the proposed cutting tool is increased by 208 % compared to the conventional tool with a solid tool body, and by 100 % compared to the cutting tool with lattice structures infill. Besides, the peak values of the average cutting force and acceleration under stable milling conditions are reduced when compared to the conventional tool.