Additively manufactured milling tools for enhanced efficiency in cutting applications

The automotive industry encounters daily challenges as it navigates through new design trends and technological developments, which drive companies to rapidly develop new models. This scenario paves the way for new manufacturing approaches such as additive manufacturing (AM) which is transforming the manufacturing industry by enabling the production of complex geometries while minimizing material usage. Regarding the cutting tools sector, AM enables the resource-efficient generation of shapes and features that are not possible with conventional subtractive processes. This work explores the feasibility of AM, specifically Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF), in the creation of a complex milling tool geometry with enhanced machining efficiency and increased durability in cutting applications. The final developed tool incorporates internal conformal channels, high teeth number (relatively to tool size) within a hollow interchangeable body. The combination of (post-AM) brazed PCD (PolyCrystalline Diamond) inserts, which is the hardest cutting tool material available, with enhanced tribological conditions at the cutting zone (improved cooling and lubrication of the cutting edge) and increased number of teeth is expected to promote ideal cutting conditions, therefore extending tool lifespan, which is particularly relevant in the automotive industry, where lightweight design dictates the usage of metals such as aluminium. The remarkable durability of PCD in aluminium machining makes them an ideal choice as the active cutting zone for AM produced milling tool bodies. The typical relative small series of tooling (as compared to parts produced) supports the usage of AM, which in turn boosts efficiency and cost effectiveness of these cutting tools. The demand for aluminium parts is rapidly increasing as the automotive industry accelerates towards light weighting and electrification, creating a favorable opportunity for the implementation of the developed tool within the automotive industry.