Comparison of Machining Surface of Mold Steel AISI-P20 in 3 and 5-Axis CNC Milling Machines

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study the surface quality of curve milling marks of mold steel AISI-P20 using automatic 3 and 5-axis milling machines. The prototype example is a curved convex waveform, featuring a convex curved surface pattern and varying concave radii. Use a command set with the Siemens NX12 program (CAD-CAM software) for machining materials and processing them with a milling process. These are right-angle end mills (Flex End Mills), 4-tooth tungsten carbide, diameter 5 mm, and curved-radius end mills of 2 mm diameter with rotational speed, movement speed, and other conditions as specified. We evaluated the surface roughness values of the test specimens for both materials and compared the operating times for 3 and 5-axis automated milling processes. According to the results, the plastic mold steel material P20, 3-axis automatic milling has the lowest average surface roughness value at the 2nd arc radius position. At the 2nd arc radius position, there is 2.039 micrometer, and 5-axis automatic milling has the lowest average surface roughness value, approximately 1.861 micrometer. The Siemens NX12 program and the actual operating times, the result shows that 3- and 5-axis milling operations are comparable. The simulation time for the program's instruction set is comparable. When the work is actually performed, 3-axis milling takes 12.98 minutes less than 5-axis milling.