PSI - Issue 53

Bruno Sousa et al. / Procedia Structural Integrity 53 (2024) 291–298

297

Author name / Structural Integrity Procedia 00 (2023) 000–000

7

in significant time savings in mold production. Still, it is important to note that with regards to Rz values, the A1 milling condition resulted in better surface roughness (explained by the finer smaller a e of A1 condition).

Fig. 6. Measured surface roughness values for polished samples, machined with A1 and A3 machining parameters.

4. Conclusions

The combination of milling and polishing parameters in mold manufacturing is of utmost importance for attaining a required surface quality without compromising productivity. The presented work analysed the final roughness condition of distinct milling followed by polishing routes in representative conditions of mold production. Radial depth of cut plays a very significant role in the pre-polishing stage of mold production. Focusing on Sa technical requirements, redundant polishing steps can be identified in pre-defined milling / polishing routes (especially on initial grinding steps), which reveal potential in improved processing sequences for mold manufacturing. Still, more restrictive technical requirements (Sa and Sz thresholds) may impose the need for further processing. The proposed polishing methodology enabled a parametric control of the operation, discarding human bias and therefore allowing for a thorough understanding of advantageous (productivity-wise) scenarios.

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding from Project Hi-rEV—Recuperac¸a˜o do Setor de Componentes Automo´veis (C644864375-00000002), cofinanced by Plano de Recuperac¸a˜o e Resilieˆncia (PRR), Repu´blica Portuguesa, through NextGeneration EU.

References

Almeida, R., Bo¨rret, R., Rimkus, W., Harrison, D. K., DeSilva, A. K., 2017. Material removal simulation for steel mould polishing. Production & Manufacturing Research, 5(1), 235-249. Almeida, R., Bo¨rret, R., Pohl, M., Harrison, D. K., De Silva, A. K., 2018. Geometrical shape improvement of steel moulds by robot polishing process for polymer optic replication. Production & Manufacturing Research, 6(1), 247-263. Boerret, R., Klingenmaier, J., Berger, U., Frick, A., 2008. Minimized process chain for polymer optics. In Novel Optical Systems Design and Optimization XI (Vol. 7061, pp. 337-344). SPIE. de Souza, A. F., Machado, A., Beckert, S. F., Diniz, A. E., 2014. Evaluating the roughness according to the tool path strategy when milling free form surfaces for mold application. Procedia CIRP, 14, 188-193. Grandguillaume, L., Lavernhe, S., Quinsat, Y., Tournier, C., 2015. Mold manufacturing optimization: A global approach of milling and polishing processes. Procedia CIRP, 31, 13-18.