Effects of Tool Wear on Machined Surface Integrity During Milling of Inconel 718

This paper investigates the effects of tool wear on the machined surface integrity characteristics, including the surface roughness, surface topography, residual stress, microhardness and microstructure, during ball-end milling of Inconel 718. Tool wear, tool lifetime, and cutting force are measured. In addition, a two-dimensional finite element-based model is developed to investigate the cutting temperature distribution in the chip–tool–workpiece contact area. Results show that the ball nose end mill achieves tool lifetime of approximately 350 min. The cutting forces increase sharply with a greater tool flank wear width, while the highest cutting temperature has a decreasing tend at a flank wear width of 0.3 mm. Higher tool flank wear width produces larger surface roughness and deteriorative surface topography. A high-amplitude (approximately −700 MPa) and deep layer (approximately 120 mm) of compressive residual stress are induced by a worn tool with 0.3 mm flank wear width. The surface microhardness induced by new tool is larger than that induced by worn tool. Plastic deformation and strain streamlines are observed within 10 mm depth beneath the surface. The results in this paper provide an optimal tool wear criterion which integrates the surface integrity requirements and the tool lifetime for ball-end finish milling of Inconel 718.