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Effects of microstructure on surface roughness

and burr formation in micromilling: A review

Conference Paper January 2008

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 Effects of microstructure on surface roughness and burr
formation in micromilling: A review
D.T. Pham, S.S. Dimov, K.B. Popov, A.M.A. Elkaseer

Manufacturing Engineering Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

Abstract

Micromilling concerns the machining of parts with features that range from tens of micrometres to a few
millimetres in size, with chiploads usually varying from below one micron to a few microns. Due to the fact that most
commonly used materials have crystalline grains similar in size to chiploads, the cutting process sometimes takes
place inside the individual grain itself. This phenomenon can be considered one of the main differences between
microcutting and macrocutting. Recently it has been revealed that microstructure, especially grain size, has a
dominant effect on the quality of the machined part. So far, there has been no detailed study of the influences of
microstructure in the micromilling of polycrystalline materials. This paper reviews previous work on this topic.
Special attention is given to surface finishes and burrs, as these are important issues for micro machined parts. The
paper concludes with a summary of some of the key research problems in micromilling and suggests a systematic
study of the effects of microstructure on surface generation and burr formation in the micromilling of polycrystalline
materials.

Keywords: micromilling, material microstructure, grain size effect, surface finish, surface generation, burr formation

1. Introduction While macro and micro milling are kinematically

Miniaturisation has become a common
feature of todays technology. There is a constant
requirement to make existing products smaller and
produce microcomponents with tolerances in the
submicron range [1]. Broad areas of industrial
applications of micro components include automotive
and transport systems, information technology,
telecommunication, health care technology and
biotechnology. Specific applications include
microscale fuel cells, micromoulds, deep X-ray
lithography masks, fiber optics, micronozzles for high
temperature jets and microelectronic chips [1-5]. These
applications require very tight tolerances and high
quality surface finish. Due to the variety of micro
applications, there is a need to use a wide range of
engineering materials, including aluminium alloys,
stainless steel, titanium, brass, plastics, ceramics, and
composites. Mechanical micro-cutting, as an ultra-
precision machining process, is becoming increasingly
important for its capability for producing parts with
three-dimensional features ranging from a few microns
to a few hundred microns in a wide range of materials
[6].
similar, the mechanics (i.e., the material removal
mechanisms) of micromachining and conventional
machining have significant differences. These
differences arise from changes in underlying physical
phenomena due to the scaling effects associated with
the tool geometry, tool material, and workpiecematerial
characteristics [7].
The relationship between the cut geometry and the
workpiece microstructure in microscale machining is
also markedly different from that in macroscale
machining. In microscale machining, where chiploads
may range from submicron levels to a few microns and
depths of cut may be from a few microns to perhaps
100 m, the cut geometry and the grains of the
workpiece material are now comparable in size [2].
Therefore, considering material microstructure,
micromilling can be defined as a mechanical machining
process with uncut chip thicknesses less than the
average grain size of the smallest grain type in the
material microstructure [8].
Microstructural effects in microscale cutting are not
well understood and further research is required to
answer the many challenging questions on the nature of
those effects.
This paper reviews of the work done on this topic.
Special attention is given to the effects of material
microstructure on surface roughness and burrs as they
are two of the most critical factors for a micro
machined part.
2. Material microstructure
When the tool dimension or a feature to be
generated is of the same order as the grain size,
material cannot be considered isotropic and
homogeneous and the cutting mechanism differs
substantially from conventional machining [9]. Most
polycrystalline materials are regarded as a collection of
grains with random orientation and anisotropic
properties [2, 3, 9-13].
Many researchers have observed changes in various
parameters, such as cutting force, chip formation, and
surface roughness over multi phases or multi grains in
micromachining [9]. Vogler et al. [14] conducted a
series of full-slot endmilling tests with two fluted
carbide endmills on both single-phase ferrite and
pearlite and multiphase iron. They observed low
frequency cutting forces in both pure ferrite and pure
pearlite. On the other hand, high frequency forces
appeared in the multi phase microstructure, which can
be due to the heterogeneity of the workpiece
microstructure. This in turn leads to different physical
characteristics (such as variable friction coefficients)
causing vibrations to increase and highly fragmented
chips to occur [10].
Weule et al. [11] studied the effect of the material
microstructure of steel workpieces and suggested a pre
heat treatment to the workpiece before micromachining
to obtain a homogeneous workpiece.
Simoneau et al. [8] observed surface defects as dimples
on the machined surface of plain carbon steel, surface
dimples do occur as a result of the dual phase structure
of the workpiece material and always occur at a hard-
to-soft grain transition. They do not occur when cutting
moves across a soft-to-hard grain boundary and they
explained that phenomenon by considering the transfer
and evolution of the cutting energy during the chip
formation process. That process itself is a result of a
large amount of cutting energy being absorbed by the
softer grain in the material microstructure well before
the actual grain is cut. The early and large absorption
of cutting energy causes a large plastic strain at the
grain boundary in the softer material. On the other
hand, as the cutting process moves from a soft to a hard
material the strain mismatch, which occurred earlier, is
not present. Also to examine the effects of
microstructure during microscale cutting, Simoneau et
al. [15] performed micromachining tests for normalised
AISI 1045 steel and a refined AISI 1045 steel. A
comparison of the experimental results demonstrated
that by shifting the size of the material microstructure,
the scale of cutting could be moved. For the refined
1045 steel microstructure, the shift in grain size
translated to a shift in the scale of cutting, the resulting
chip morphology and the transition between macro-,
meso- and micro-scale cutting occurred at a smaller
uncut chip thickness as compared to the cutting of
normalised 1045 steel. Also he developed a new
heterogeneous FE model to model the multi phase
microstructure materials [15-18].
Furukawa and Moronuki [19] found different cutting
mechanisms for polycrystalline, single crystal or
amorphous materials and for brittle or ductile
materials, and they suggested the use of about ten times
larger undeformed chip thickness than the grain size for
a specific material to avoid the crystallographic effects
of the grains.
2.1. Material microstructure processing
Many researchers have suggested different
ways to optimise the microstructure of the material to
be more suitable for the microcutting process [9, 11,
15, and 20]. Refinementof the grain size structure is
considered one of the accurate methods which could
lead to more favourable conditions during cutter-
material interaction and thus result in a better
machining response, especially at the microscale [9].
Severe plastic deformation (SPD) technology has
developed widely in recent years, and this technology
mainly includes equal-channel angular pressing
(ECAP), high-pressure torsion (HPT) and accumulative
roll-bonding (ARB). Bulk sub-structured or nano-
structured ultra-fined grained (UFG) materials can be
fabricated by SPD methods. Compared with
conventional materials, bulk UFG materials have
improved hardness, strength and plasticity. Materials of
this kind are promising for use in microelectronics and
microelectro-mechanical systems [21].
Equal-channel angular pressing (ECAP) has attracted
the attention of many researchers because of its
effectiveness in producing bulk UFG materials of grain
sizes in the range 200500 nm. With this technique, a
sample is pressed through a die with two intersecting
channels equal in cross section and deformed via
simple shear at the intersection of the channels [22].
There have been many reports on the UFG materials
produced by the ECAP process, which include
facecentered cubic (FCC) (Al alloys, Cu and Ni) and
body centered cubic (BCC) (low carbon steel) metals.
3. Surface roughness
Surface roughness is one of the most
important properties in any machining process and in
micromilling it is really critical as the product needs to
be of a very high surface quality. Many researchers
have focussed on the surface roughness obtained in the
micromilling process.
Vogler et al. [1] studied surface roughness generation
in micromilling and found it to be strongly affected by
the tool-edge radius and the feed rate. The authors
observed that for a 2 m edge radius, as the feed rate
was reduced to a certain value, the surface roughness
started to increase, indicating that an optimal feed rate
exists that will produce the smallest roughness value
(see Fig. 1). The authors claimed that the existence of
an optimal feed rate was due to a trade-off between the
traditional effects of feed marks as the feed rate is
increased and the minimum chip thickness effect
resulting in tool passes without material removal as the
feed rate is reduced.
Wang et al. [23] studied experimentally the surface
roughness of brass machined by micro-end-milling on a
miniaturised machine tool. They used full factorial
design to construct experimental models, then applied
the statistical methods of ANOVA and RSM to analyse
the experimental data. They found that surface
roughness increased linearly with increases in tool
diameter and spindle speed; feed rate played an
important role when the other parameters are constant.
Fig. 1. Effect of edge radius on surface roughness in
Pearlite [14].
Filiz et al. [7] performed an experimental investigation
of micro-machinability of OFHC pure copper (101) in
terms of tool wear, cutting forces, surface roughness,
and burr formation. The experiments were conducted
on an ultra-precision miniature machine tool using
tungsten carbide cutting tools. The authors concluded
that for low feed rates (up to twice the edge radius), the
surface roughness of the bottom of the channels
showlittle variation with feed rate and spindle speed.
For higher feed rates, the surface roughness increases
due to the increasing dominance of the geometric
effects.
Uhlmann et al. [24] performed micromilling
experiments for sintered tungsten-copper composite
materials with different microstructures, and observed
that a homogeneous microstructure and a homogeneous
grain-size distribution have a positive effect on the
attainable dimensional accuracy and surface quality
(see Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Microstructure of WCu [30].
Ng et al. [25] experimentally investigated the micro-
and nano-scale orthogonal cutting of aluminium 7075-
T6 and studied the effects of unreformed chip thickness
and cutting speed on the chip geometry, cutting forces
and surface roughness. The authors found that the shear
angle increased initially and then decreased as the
undeformed chip thickness was increased. Also, the
mean friction coefficient exhibits a size-effect that can
be explained by the strengthening of the material due to
a decrease in tool-chip interface temperature with
decreases in undeformed chip thickness. In addition,
the authors observed that the machined surface at an
undeformed chip thickness smaller than the edge radius
of the tool (1060 nm) was rougher than at larger
undeformed chip thicknesses for both low and high
cutting speeds (10 m/min and 150 m/min).
Filiz et al. [26] performed an investigation on the
viability of micromilling for fabricating micro-scale
piercing elements (microbarbs) from biocompatible
materials that would be compatible for medical
attachment applications. They experimentally studied
the effect of machining conditions on micromilling
forces, surface roughness, and burr formation and
performed ANOVA analyses on the results for PMMA
workpieces machined using V-shaped and T-shaped
micro-endmills. For the surface roughness of the
PMMA V-channels, they found that only the main
effect of the spindle speed was statistically significant.
This indicates the possibility of increasing the material
removal rate without compromising on surface
roughness.
Bissacco et al. [27] performed an experimental
investigation into the effects of size on surface
generation by ball nose and flat end micro milling
hardened steel tools. They found that increasing the
ratio between cutting edge radius and chip thickness
had two effects on the tool-workpiece material
interaction at the micro scale. These two effects are
responsible for the limited reduction in roughness; the
first effect is strictly related to the geometry of the tool
and consists in the accumulation of plastically
deformed material in the main ridges of the machined
surface. The second effect consists in the smearing of
material behind the tool, forming small waves in the
feed direction.
Liu [6] attributed the increase in roughness from a
minimum level in the micromilling of Al5083-H116 to
the increase in side flow caused by the strain-gradient
induced strengthening of the material directly ahead of
the tool. He developed a 2D surface roughness model
that takes into account the effect of plastic side flow,
tool geometry, and process parameters.
Liu [28] developed a more detailed surface generation
model for prediction of the side wall and floor surface
of micro endmilling. His model consists of two distinct
components: a deterministic/ geometric component
from the process geometry and a stochastic component
from the ploughing related phenomena. However, his
model did not include the effect of the workpiece
material microstructure on the produced surface.
Popov et al. [20] studied the machining response of
mechanically and metallurgically modified Al alloy
when milling thin features in micro components. Their
investigation showed that through refinement of
material microstructure it was possible to improve
significantly the surface integrity of the machined
micro features. Popov et al. concluded that the
roughness of micro features produced by micromilling
was highly dependent on the material grain size. For
example, the surface roughness of thin features in
micro components improved more than three times as a
result of the reduction in grain sizes and material
anisotropy of the Al alloy used in the experiments,
from 100200 m to 0.6 m. The authors also found
that the favourable crystalline texture of the material
with regard to the machining direction and the narrow
grain size distribution could lead to surface roughness
improvements. However, such improvements were an
order of magnitude smaller than those achievable
through a refinement of the material grain structure.
Finally, the authors suggested further research to
benefit from the grain size effects in manufacturing
micro components in a range of micro engineering
applications. For example, they proposed studying the
use of UFG brass as a material.
4. Burr formation
Burrs in machined workpieces are real
productivity killers. They make assembly difficult
and require additional finishing operations (deburring)
which can damage the part [29]. Burrs can be classified
as entrance, exit, top and bottom burrs (Fig. 3) [30].
Up-milling and down-milling top burrs have different
characteristics. Dornfeld [29] showed that, in
micromilling, up-milling burrs are small and ragged,
whereas downmilling burrs are larger and wavier.
Fig. 3. Categorisation of burr types [30].
Gillespie [30] observed burr formation at the micro
scale and discovered macro scale burr removal
techniques could not be applied at the micro scale.
Gillespie and Blotter stated that there are three
generally accepted burr formation mechanisms: lateral
deformation; chip bending and chip tearing.Wang et al.
[10] found that in polycrystalline materials, which
comprise different metal grains, the physical
characteristics are obviously different. Consequently,
the friction coefficient is different and according to the
equation developed by the authors which relates the
minimum chip thickness to the friction coefficient, the
minimum chip thickness is different also. Fig. 4 depicts
a case where there are four grains dispersed along the
cutting edge. Because of their different minimum chip
thicknesses, the chip formation statuses are different.
For grains with high friction coefficients, chips are
formed. However, for grains with lower friction
coefficients, only little burrs are created or the material
is just compressed.
Fig. 4. Cutting zone [10].
Min et al. [31] performed experiments on single-crystal
oxygen-free high conductivity (OFHC) copper
workpieces. They used two-flute uncoated WC end
mills, 150 microns in diameter, in a slot-milling fashion
to create a series of circular slots in each of the
workpieces. They found a clear difference in entrance
and exit burrs at the top edges of the micromachined
slots. Fig. 5 shows SEM images of the micromilling
burrs varying with respect to the crystal orientation of
the workpiece. Also, the influence of up and down
milling can be clearly seen. A significant variation of
burr height with crystallographic orientation has been
found in the micromachining of single crystal copper.
The authors made the following observations
concerning machining in particular crystallographic
orientations:
Micromilling process parameters did not have as
significant an effect on burr formation as
crystallographic orientation.
There was a distinct variation in burr height as a
strong function of crystallographic orientation,
particularly for the (110) and (111) cases.
The (100) machining case did not have as clear a
correlation possibly due to less anisotropy of the slip
systems.
The authors suggested paying further attention to the
influence of workpiece microstructure on
micromachining. Also they proposed more refined
testing of other crystallographic orientations to see the
effect on surface and edge condition. They suggested
investigating burr formation in other micromachining
processes, such as microdrilling, and establishing
analytical relationships between crystallographic
orientation, cutting direction, and the resulting surface
and edge quality.
(a) (b)
Fig. 5. SEM images of burr shape variation on
(100)Plane at (a) 135o and (b) 180o (ft= 1m, Vc= 17
m/min) [31].
5. Recommendations
Although there have been several studies in the
micromilling area, most of the work to date has been
experimental in nature. There are still many
challenging research issues that need addressing. Some
of the key actions to be undertaken are:

Developing a more accurate model for the
micromilling cutting mechanism considering
the effects of microstructure on the chip
morphology and chipping mechanism. The
suggested model should be valid for a wide
range of materials considering factors like
minimum chip thickness, heterogeneity of the
material, ploughing and elastic recovery and
grain sizes of different materials.

Introducing ultra refining methods to optimise
the material microstructure and validating
them on a wide range of materials.

Combining optimisation of the machining
process conditions (cutting speed, feed rate,
depth of cut and use of coolant), tool
geometry (rake angle, lip relief angle and
cutting edge radius ) and material properties (
material microstructure, strength, ductility,
strain hardening coefficient and temperature
dependence) to develop a comprehensive
optimisation model.

Developing a new analytical model for
surface roughness and burr formation
considering the microstructure effects. This
model should consider micro burr formation
and quantitatively model its effect on the total
surface generated.
6. Conclusion
This paper has reviewed previous research into the
effects of microstructure on the micromilling process
and the surface quality obtained. Further theoretical,
modelling and experimental work is needed. Special
attention should be given to the effects of the
microstructure of the material on surface roughness
generation and burr formation, as these are critical in
the case of micro machined parts. The ultimate aim of
the further studies proposed in this paper will be to
build a comprehensive model of the micromilling
process to help researchers fully understand its
governing principles.
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