Effect of cutter mark on surface roughness and scallop height in sculptured surface machining

Abstract The effect of cutter marks on the surface roughness and the scallop height in the milling process is examined in the paper. The geometrical surface roughness is calculated as a function of the feed per tooth, the path interval, the radiuses of the tool and the cutting edge, and the radiuses of the curvatures of the workpiece. Through machining experiments with a 3-axis machining centre, the adequacy of the analysis was confirmed. While the effect of cutter marks is negligible in ball endmilling, it is significant in flat endmilling. When the feed per tooth is very small, flat endmilling provides a better surface finish than ball endmilling. In flat endmilling, the cutting condition and the cutter path should be strategically chosen to balance the cutter-mark height and the scallop height.