Modeling thread milling forces in mini-hole in dental metallic materials

Thread milling processes produces lower forces and residual stresses if compared to thread cutting by turning, as the cutting area is lower because the feed rate is not dependent to the cutting speed. In industry, internal threads on the abutments for metallic dental implant are usually produced by turning, although thread milling could be an alternative choice. In this article, thread milling is used to manufacture internal threads in two metallic dental materials: Titanium alloy and Cr-Co alloys, using the M2 thread geometry typical of those elements. Commercial tool is used and the relation with machined geometry is analyzed. It is concluded that the small tool diameter/ internal diameter ratio impacts on the reduced steady state region compared with the region affected by penetration. The specific cutting forces were found similar in both materials using two feed rates, for three initial depth of cut and same cutting speed and identical thread geometry, considering the maximum value per revolution. (C) 2017 (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.