Research On The CNC Cutting Tools Of Foam Pattern

Owing to loads of advantages including environmentally friendliness, high prec ision and high productivity, lost foam casting(LFC) is gaining more and more popularity in the industry. During the process, the manufacturing of the foam pattern is of vital importance. In light of this, a 3D printing based high speed milling strategy for the manufacturing of the pattern is proposed in this thesis considering the merits of the CNC machine. In the strategy, problems in the manufacturing of small-batched pattern with complicated geometry are solved. At the same time, detailed research has been conducted to find out the most suitable tools for the process in order to get the best surface quality.At first, based on the features of the foam material, an assumption is made in which the foam grains should be torn off during the milling process in order to get a smooth finish of the pattern. And then a unique tool with spiral serrated tooth was designed and applied in Carver 400 machine. Compared with parts made by the normal milling tool, those made by the new tool have higher precision.And then, in order to cut the time in the process, an original idea to make special tools with 3D printing technology is brought up. These tools are used to cut the rough patterns. In the process of 3D printing, the tools were designed with the software UG NX first and manufactured with two 3D printing methods mainly, fused deposition modeling(FDM) and selected laser sintering(SLS). This methods can be widely used in the designing and manufacturing unique tools in a short time.At last, the rough patterns cut by the tools were cut again by high precision rasp to make a better surface quality. At the same time, a duct seduction cover fixed to the machining spindle was made. It is connected the vacuum cleaner with a tube so that the scraps can be collected and the environment is improved. After the cutting process, powerScan 3D scanning software is used to identify the shape the patterns and the data is post-processed by GeomagicStudio. Then the patterns made were compared with the C AD model designed. After analyzing the shape and deformation, it is proved that the new method proposed in this thesis is of high efficiency and precision. It has good prospect in the real application.