JP2015532894A - Milling tools and methods of use - Google Patents

Abstract

A cutting head 10 for a milling tool configured to rotate about an axis 12 to remove material from a workpiece includes a base surface 16 and a lateral region 18 connected to the base surface 16; And an upper region 22 connected to the lateral region 18. The upper region 22 defines a central region 28 and a peripheral portion 32. A plurality of upper teeth 24 are arranged in the upper region 22. The upper tooth 24 has a cutting edge 26 configured to contact the workpiece and remove material. Each blade edge 26 extends from the central region 28 toward the peripheral portion 32 and includes a peak portion 34 protruding in the axial direction. [Selection] Figure 3

Description

  Embodiments of the subject matter disclosed herein relate broadly to milling tools, and more specifically, for milling tools used to perform Z-axis printing operations. The present invention relates to a cutting head, and a method for performing a pulling milling operation using a milling tool.

  In the oil and gas industry, compressors are often used to pressurize oil or gas flowing through pipelines. Some compressors incorporate impeller blades having relatively complex geometries that can provide the desired flow characteristics to the fluid within the compressor. In the manufacture of such blades, a milling machine is used to translate the cutting head along the X and Y axes while forming the desired shape by feeding the cutting head along the Z axis. be able to. This is called Z-axis feed operation or feed cutting.

  FIG. 1A is a side view of a known high speed steel (HSS) milling tool 100, and FIG. 1B is a front view of the known milling tool 100. The known milling tool 100 comprises upper cutting teeth 151 located on the upper surface of a cutting head 150 connected to a motor driven shaft extending along the Z axis. The rotation of the cutting head 150 about the Z axis results in the removal of material from the workpiece such as impeller blades by the upper cutting teeth 151. FIG. 2 shows a known insert milling tool 102 having teeth 171 screwed onto a shaft 173.

  The use of milling tools 100 and 102 in the manufacture of impeller blades can provide several advantages over other methods of blade manufacture. For example, milling tools 100 and 102 can be used to produce shapes that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to manufacture. Furthermore, known milling tools 100 and 102 can remove a relatively large amount of material in a relatively short time.

  However, several disadvantages are known in known milling tools. For example, while traditional impeller blades are often made of aluminum, today's impeller blade designers are increasingly demanding the introduction of other materials such as superalloys. . The properties of these materials, such as hardness, ductility, malleability, etc. can be different from those of aluminum. Because of such differences, known milling tools may not be very effective. In addition, higher production speeds are increasingly required in response to increasing demand for impeller blades. Accordingly, there is a need for a milling tool that can provide additional versatility in the range of materials that can be cut, and can also provide improved wear resistance and increased uptime.

International Publication No. 2011/0776666 Pamphlet

  According to an exemplary embodiment, a cutting head for a milling tool configured to rotate about an axis to remove material from a workpiece is connected to a base surface and the base surface A lateral region and an upper region connected to the lateral region. The upper region defines a central region and a peripheral part. A plurality of upper teeth are arranged in the upper region. The upper tooth has a cutting edge configured to contact the workpiece and remove material. Each cutting edge extends from the central region toward the peripheral portion and includes a peak portion protruding in the axial direction.

  According to another exemplary embodiment, a method of cutting a workpiece includes rotating a cutting head about an axis and removing material from the workpiece at the cutting edge of the upper teeth of the cutting head. Each cutting edge includes a peak portion extending in the axial direction and disposed between the central region and the peripheral portion, extending from the central region of the upper region toward the peripheral portion of the upper region. ing.

  According to another exemplary embodiment, a method of cutting a workpiece includes rotating a cutting head about an axis and removing material from the workpiece at the cutting edge of the upper teeth of the cutting head. Can be included. Each cutting edge extends from the central region of the upper region toward the periphery of the upper region, and defines a spoke axis that forms a non-zero angle with respect to a reference radius line extending from the center of the upper region. Each spoke axis intersects each respective reference radius line at the periphery of the cutting head.

  The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments, which are described in conjunction with the specification. The description of the drawings is as follows.

It is a side view of a high-speed steel milling tool. It is a front view of a high-speed steel milling tool. It is a side view of an insert type milling tool. 1 is a side view of a partial cross section of a cutting head according to an exemplary embodiment. FIG. Fig. 3 shows a peak portion of a cutting edge according to various embodiments. Fig. 3 shows a peak portion of a cutting edge according to various embodiments. Fig. 3 shows a peak portion of a cutting edge according to various embodiments. FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an upper region of a cutting head according to another embodiment, with peaks at various distances from the center of the upper region and the base surface of the cutting head. It is the figure which looked at the cutting head shown in FIG. 3 from upper direction. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the cutting head shown in FIG. 3 obtained along line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the cutting head shown in FIG. 3 obtained along line AA in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the cutting head shown in FIG. 3 obtained along line AA in FIG. 3. Fig. 4 illustrates a method according to another exemplary embodiment.

  The following description of exemplary embodiments refers to the accompanying drawings. In the various figures, the same reference numbers refer to the same or analogous elements. The following detailed description does not limit the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. The following embodiments are discussed with respect to cutting head terminology and structure for a Z-feed milling tool for simplicity. However, the embodiments discussed below are not limited to this milling tool and can be applied to other milling tools.

  An exemplary embodiment of a milling tool cutting head according to the present invention is shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the cutting head 10 includes a base surface 16, a substantially hemispherical lateral region 18 extending from the base surface 16, and an upper region 22 above the lateral region 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, the upper region 22 generally has a central region 28 and a peripheral portion 32. A plurality of upper teeth 24 disposed in the upper region 22 extend from the central region 28 to the peripheral portion 32. Each of the plurality of upper teeth 24 includes a cutting edge 26 having a peak portion 34 protruding in the axial direction. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, each peak portion 34 may be a portion of the cutting edge 26 that protrudes farthest from the base surface 16.

  As shown in the detailed view of FIG. 4, each peak portion 34 can have a rounded outer shape. However, the peak portion 34 may have other external shapes. For example, in another embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the peak portion 34b has a pointed outer shape. As another example, in the alternative embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the peak portion 34c has a flat outer shape.

  As can be understood from FIGS. 3 to 6, the peak portion 34 of the cutting head 10 protrudes in the axial direction so as to move away from the upper region 22. Can be gradually engaged). Specifically, when the cutting head 10 is advanced along the axis 12, the peak 34 can provide initial contact with the workpiece and thereafter into the central region 28 and peripheral portion 32 of the cutting edge. The part that extends is continued. This feature provides improved material removal compared to cutting heads (such as the milling tool 100 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B) where the cutting surface is located in a common plane, for example, during feed cutting along the Z axis. Process can be provided.

  As can be further understood from FIG. 3, each peak portion 34 is located near the peripheral portion 32. Accordingly, the speed of each upper tooth 24 at the peak portion 34 is larger than the speed of each upper tooth 24 near the central region 28. The relatively high speed of the peak 34 can also provide improved operation to the cutting head 10 during feed cutting.

  As further shown in FIG. 3, the cutting edge 26 of each upper tooth 24 includes a first portion 36 and a second portion 38. The first portion 36 extends between the central region 28 and the peak portion 34. The second portion 38 extends between the peak portion 34 and the peripheral portion 32. In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 8, each first portion 36 is disposed at a first angle 42 with respect to a reference plane 44 orthogonal to the axis 12, and each second portion 38 is The second angle 46 is arranged with respect to the reference plane 44. As shown in FIG. 3, the first angle 42 is greater than the second angle 46.

  As further shown in FIG. 3, the first portion 36 and the second portion 38 of each cutting edge 26 are such that each peak portion 34 is further away from the base surface 16 than the first portion 36 and the second portion 38. It intersects with each peak part 34 so that it may be located in a big distance. Also, in one exemplary embodiment, the cutting edge 26 of the cutting head 10 includes a common first angle 42 and a common second angle 46 so that the peak 34 can define a circle. Further, in one exemplary embodiment, the intersection of each cutting edge 26 with the central region 28 and the intersection 32 with the peripheral portion 32 of each cutting edge 26 are in a common plane. These attributes of the cutting head 10 enable the peak 34 of the cutting head 10 to simultaneously contact the workpiece along a common circle during Z-axis feed cutting.

  In alternative embodiments, the first angle 42 or the second angle 46 may be different in the upper teeth 24 to provide peaks 34 that are different in distance from the base surface 16. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 7, several peak portions 34 ′ can be set to a first distance 17 from the base surface 16 and a first distance 19 from the center 56. The portion 34 ″ can be set to a second distance 21 from the base surface 16 and a second distance 23 from the center 56.

  With reference to FIG. 8, each upper tooth 24 may define a spoke axis 48 disposed at an angle 52 relative to a reference radius line 54 extending from the center 56 of the upper region 22. As further shown in FIG. 8, each spoke shaft 48 can intersect a respective reference radius line 54 at the periphery 32. In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 8, the angle 52 is such that the second portion 38 of each cutting edge 26 lags behind the first portion 36 of each cutting edge 26 in the direction 14 of rotation of the cutting head 10. Composed.

  9 to 11 show various detailed views of the cutting edge 26 of the cutting head 10 taken along line AA in FIG. As can be seen in FIGS. 9 to 11, each cutting edge 26 includes a front surface 58 facing the direction of rotation 14 of the cutting head 10 and a rear surface 62. A chamfered surface 76 is provided between the front surface 58 and the rear surface 62. The chamfered surface 76 is arranged at an angle 78 with respect to a reference surface 68 parallel to the rotation axis 12 of the cutting head 10.

  In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 8-11, the front surface 58 comprises a flat region 64 that is parallel to the spoke axis 48 of the cutting edge. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the flat region 64 may be disposed at an angle 66 with respect to the reference plane 68. For example, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the angle 66 is configured such that the lower portion 74 of the flat region lags behind the upper portion 72 of the flat region in the direction 14 of rotation of the cutting head 10.

  As further shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the front surface 58 further comprises an undercut surface 82 below the flat region 64. The undercut surface 82 is disposed at an angle 84 with respect to the reference surface 68 such that the lower portion 86 of the undercut surface 82 lags behind the upper portion 88 of the undercut surface 82 in the direction 14 of rotation of the cutting head 10.

  In the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 8 to 11, the first surface 92 has a rear surface 62 disposed at an angle 96 with respect to a reference surface 98 orthogonal to the rotation axis 12 of the cutting head 10, and a reference surface 98. And a second portion 94 disposed at an angle 102. The angle 96 of the first part is set so that the front part 104 of the first part 92 is located at a greater distance from the base surface 16 than the rear part 106 of the first part 92. In addition, the angle 102 of the second part is such that the front part 108 of the second part 94 intersects the rear part 106 of the first part 92, and the distance from the base surface 16 is larger than the rear part 110 of the second part 94. It is comprised so that it may be located in. Further, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and FIGS. 8-11, the first portion angle 96 is less than the second portion angle 102.

  As already mentioned, the cutting head 10 can be used to perform material removal or cutting operations on a workpiece. Although not limited to this, as a specific example, the cutting head 10 is moved to a motor (see FIG. 1) during manufacture of a compressor impeller blade that can be used to pressurize oil or gas in an oil or gas pipeline. (Not shown) to rotate the cutting head 10 about the Z axis and translate the cutting head 10 along the Z axis to be used to perform a Z-axis feed operation. it can. However, it should be understood that the cutting head 10 can be used for removal of other materials other than the impeller blades of the compressor, cutting, or machining operations. It should be noted that the cutting head 10 is configured to remove material not only in front of the milling tool but also on the side of the milling tool as it is advanced along the Z direction.

  Thus, according to an exemplary embodiment, a method 1000 for cutting a workpiece includes a step 1002 of rotating the cutting head about an axis, and removing material from the workpiece with the cutting edge of the upper teeth of the cutting head. The cutting edges extend from the central region of the upper region toward the periphery of the upper region, and each cutting edge is axially disposed between the central region and the periphery. It has a peak that protrudes from the top.

  Throughout this specification, reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” refers to a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment at least one of the disclosed subject matter. It is meant to be included in one embodiment. Thus, the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” appearing in various places in the specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, in the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a comprehensive understanding of the claimed invention. However, one of ordinary skill in the art appreciates that various embodiments can be practiced without such specific details.

  Although the features and components of the present exemplary embodiment have been described in specific combinations in the embodiments, each feature or component is used alone without the other features and components of the embodiment. It can be used, or can be used in various combinations with or without other features and components disclosed herein.

  This written description uses examples of the disclosed subject matter to enable those skilled in the art to make and use any apparatus or system and perform any related methods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims.

  The above-described embodiments are intended to be illustrative of the invention in all respects rather than limiting. All such variations and modifications are considered to be within the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the following claims. Any elements, acts, and instructions used in the description of this application should not be construed as essential or essential to the invention unless specifically stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the article “a” is intended to include one or more of its items.

10, 150 Cutting head 12 Rotating shaft 14 Direction of rotation 16 Base surface 17.19 First distance 18 Lateral area 21, 23 Second distance 22 Upper area 24 Upper tooth 26 Cutting edge 28 Central area 32 Peripheral parts 34, 34 ' , 34 ″, 34b, 34c Peak portions 36, 92 First portion 38, 94 Second portion 42 First angle 44, 68, 98 Reference plane 46 Second angle 48 Spoke shafts 52, 66, 78, 84, 96, 102 Angle 54 Reference radius line 56 Center 58 Front surface 62 Rear surface 64 Flat region 72 Upper portion of flat region 74 Lower portion of flat region 76 Chamfer surface 82 Undercut surface 86 Lower portion of undercut surface 88 Upper portion of undercut surface 100 Milling Tool 102 insert milling tool 104 first part front part 106 first part rear part 108 second part front part 110 second part Rear part 151 of part Upper cutting tooth 171 Teeth 173 Axis 1002, 1004 Step

Claims (10)

A cutting head (10) configured to rotate about an axis (12) to remove material from a workpiece,
A base surface (16);
A lateral region (18) connected to the base surface (16);
An upper region (22) connected to the lateral region (18) and defining a central region (28) and a peripheral portion (32);
Upper teeth (24) disposed in the upper region (22),
The upper teeth (24) have cutting edges (26) configured to contact the workpiece to remove the material, each cutting edge (26) having a central region (28). ) To the peripheral part (32), and a cutting head (10) provided with a peak part (34) protruding in the axial direction.   A first portion (36) of each cutting edge (26) extends between the central region (28) and the peak portion (34), and a second portion ( 38) extends between the peak portion (34) and the peripheral portion (32), and the first portion (36) is a reference plane (44) perpendicular to the axis (12). The second part (38) is arranged at a second angle (46) with respect to the reference plane (44). Cutting head.   The first part (36) and the second part (38) of each blade edge intersect at the peak part (34), and each peak part (34) is the first part. The cutting head according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cutting head is located at a greater distance from the base surface (16) compared to (36) and the second part (38).   The cutting edge (26) has a common first angle (42), the cutting edge (26) has a common second angle (46), and the peak portion (34). Defines a circle, and the intersection of each cutting edge (26) with the central region (28) and the intersection of each cutting edge (26) with the peripheral portion (32) are on the same plane. The first angle (42) is greater than the second angle (46) and each upper tooth (24) extends from a center (56) of the upper region (22). Defining a spoke axis (48) that forms a non-zero angle (52) with respect to line (54), said spoke axis (48) being at said reference radial line (54) at said peripheral portion (32) The cutting head according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which intersects.   Each of the cutting edges (26) includes a front surface (58) facing the rotation direction (14) of the cutting head (10) and a rear surface (62), and the front surface (58) is the spoke shaft. A flat region (64) parallel to (48), said flat region (64) being non-zero relative to a reference plane (68) parallel to said axis of rotation (12) of said cutting head (10) The angle (66) of the flat region is arranged such that the lower portion (74) of the flat region (64) is the upper portion of the flat region (14) in the rotational direction (14) of the cutting head (10). 72. The cutting head according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is set so as to be later than 72).   Each of the cutting edges (26) includes a chamfered surface (76) between the front surface (58) and the rear surface (62), the chamfered surface (76) of the rotation of the cutting head (10). Cutting head according to any one of the preceding claims, arranged at a non-zero angle (78) with respect to the reference plane (68) parallel to the axis (12).   The cutting edge includes an undercut surface (82) below the flat region (64), and the undercut surface (82) is parallel to the axis of rotation (12) of the cutting head (10). A cutting head according to any one of the preceding claims, arranged at a non-zero angle (84) with respect to the surface (68).   The rear surface (62) is disposed at a first non-zero angle (96) with respect to a reference surface (98) orthogonal to the axis of rotation (12) of the cutting head (10). And a second part (94) disposed at a non-zero second part angle (102) with respect to the reference plane (98), the angle of the first part (96) the front portion (104) of the first portion (92) of the rear surface (62) is compared with the rear portion (106) of the first portion (92) of the rear surface (62). The second part angle (102) is set so that the front part (108) of the second part (94) is located at the first part (108). 92) and the rear part (106) of the second part (94). Cutting head according to any one of claims 1 to 7 scan plane from (16) is configured to be positioned a large distance. A method of cutting a workpiece,
Rotating a milling tool about an axis;
Removing material from the workpiece at the cutting edge (26) of the upper tooth (24) of the milling tool,
The cutting edge (26) extends from the central area (28) of the upper area (22) toward the peripheral part (32) of the upper area (22), and the cutting edge (26) 28) and an axially protruding peak portion (34) disposed between the peripheral portion (32). A method of cutting a workpiece,
Rotating a milling tool about an axis;
Removing material from the workpiece at the cutting edge (26) of the upper tooth of the milling tool,
The cutting edges (26) extend from the central area (28) of the upper area (22) toward the periphery of the upper area (22), and each cutting edge (26) extends to the upper area (22). ) Defining a spoke axis (48) that forms a non-zero angle (52) with respect to a reference radius line (54) extending from the center (56) of the spoke axis (56), the spoke axis (48) ) Crossing the reference radius line (54).