Finite element analysis of machining thin-wall parts

In an attempt to decrease weight, new commercial and military aircraft are designs with unitised monolithic metal structural components which contains of thinner ribs (i.e., walls) and webs (i.e., floors). Most of the unitised monolithic metal structural components are machined from solid plate or forgings with the start-to-finish weight ratio of 20:1. The resulting thin-walled structure often suffers a deformation which causes a dimensional surface error due to the action of the cutting force generated during the machining process. To alleviate the resulting surface errors, current practices rely on machining through repetitive feeding several times and manual calibration which resulting in long cycle times, low productivity and high operating cost. A finite element analysis (FEA) machining model is developed in this project to specifically predict the distortion or deflection of the part during end milling process. The model aims to provide an input for downstream decision making on error compensation strategy when machining a thin-wall unitised monolithic metal structural components. A set of machining tests have been done in order to validate the accuracy of the model and the results between simulation and experiment are found in a good agreement.