Experimental and Numerical Studies on the Flank Wear During the Thread Milling; Effect of Infeed Strategies in Different Cutting Speeds

Thread milling is an alternative to tapping in which tool wear is one of the main limitations. Infeed strategies significantly affect tool wear, which has not been studied in previous investigations. Hence, current research studies the effect of infeed strategies (radial, modified flank, and incremental) on flank wear during thread milling considering different cutting speeds. According to FEM simulations, the incremental method led to the minimum tool temperature and the highest cutting length (tool life). According to experimental results, incremental and modified flank infeed methods improved tool life up to 340 % and 80 %, respectively compared to the radial infeed method in cutting speed of 48 m/min. Also, the incremental infeed method was superior in higher cutting speeds.