Micro milling of sintered tungsten–copper composite materials

Tungsten–copper sintered composite materials are used in different applications as well as for electrode materials for electrical discharge machining (EDM). Cutting technologies like milling and drilling are applied for the machining of these materials, but the microstructure properties of tungsten–copper make the cutting process more difficult. Because of the difficulty in machining the usage of these multifunction materials with high potentials for micro technics was impossible up to now. For the first time this report demonstrates that the micro milling of tungsten–copper sintered composite materials with end mills is possible if suitable machine tool equipment is available and the cutting speed as well as the feed per tooth are adjusted correctly. Furthermore major improvements of surface roughness and an optimization in dynamic tool loads can be achieved. Additionally, this paper gives insight into the problems and the way of developing machining technologies in the micro cutting process.