International Science and Technology Journal

This paper presents practical steps to design, implement, and test a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which is used to predict cutting forces of end-milling operations where helical cylindrical end-mills are used. The MATLAB software was used to design and implement the GUI that has been designed based on a mechanical istic approach of cutting force prediction. The mechanical istic approach considers an instantaneous area of undeformed chip and a differential length of the cutting edge in cutting force prediction. The mechanistic approach also relies on cutting force and edge force coefficients which were obtained from real end-milling operations using the same end-milling tool to cut the same metal under the same cutting condition since these coefficients are affected by the geometry of the end-mill geometry, the type of metal to be cut, and the type of the applied cooling approach. The developed GUI was verified by real end-milling operations and the results showed a great convergence (small error) between the predicted (theoretical)cutting forces and particle cutting forces obtained from the real end-milling operations. This GUI can be used to predict the cutting forces of any end-milling operations as long as similar helical end-mills are used to cut the same material under the same condition. The GUI can also be used to develop jigs and fixtures, to increase end-milling productivity, and to improve end-milling quality.