Milling characteristics of SiCp/2024Al composites thin-walled part based on movable auxiliary support

Abstract Due to milling force and milling heat, thin-walled parts are highly susceptible to deformation and even scrap. In this paper, a method of milling thin-walled part based on the movable auxiliary support was proposed, and the second developed VDLOAD subroutine was used to simulate the movement of auxiliary support. The influences of the magnitude and area of the movable auxiliary support on the surface temperature, deformation and residual stress of the workpiece were investigated. The results showed that, with the increasing of the magnitude and area of the movable auxiliary support, both surface temperature and deformation of the workpiece decrease. The tensile residual stress decreases and gradually changes to compressive residual stress. Interestingly, when the magnitude of the movable auxiliary support exceeds 20 MPa or the area exceeds 100 mm2, the deformation of the workpiece continues to decrease, but the middle of the workpiece is concave towards the milling cutter. It is worth noting that the effect of movable auxiliary support area on the residual stress does not show a clear regularity. Thus, the reasonable auxiliary support can reduce deformation and stability in the milling of thin-walled parts and the results of the study can provide a theoretical basis for optimizing the milling process of thin-walled parts.