On the Optimized Design of Broaching Tools.

Among the cutting tools that are utilized in industry broaching tools are the most expen-sive ones. Unlike other machining operations such as milling and turning in which a cut-ting tool can be used for producing a variety of shapes, the broaching tools are uniquely designed depending on the desired profile to be produced on the workpiece. Conse-quently, the shape of broaching tools may be altered from one case to the others. This shape can be a simple keyway or a complicated fir tree on a turbine disk. Hence, a proper design of the broaching tools has the highest priority in broaching operation. Every sin-gle feature of these expensive tools must be accurately designed to increase productivity, promote part quality and reduce manufacturing cost. A geometric model of the cutting tool and a predictive force model to estimate the cutting forces are two fundamental requirements in simulation of any machining operation. This paper presents a geometric model for the broaching tools and a predictive force model for broaching operations. The broaching tooth is modeled as a cantilevered beam and the cutting forces are predicted based on the energy spent in the cutting system. A design procedure has been also devel-oped for identification of the optimized tool geometiy aiming to achieve maximum metal removal rate (MRR) by considering several physical and geometrical constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]