A study on initial contact detection for precision micro-mold and surface generation of vertical side walls in micromachining

The surface quality and the dimensional accuracy are important criteria for micro-mold production, specially for micro-fluidic devices. Important cutting parameters that affect the quality of vertical side walls created by the peripheral cutting edge in micro-end-milling operations were identified. Surface roughness and form error were used to define the quality of side walls on stainless steel and aluminum workpieces. An acoustic emission sensor was used to detect initial contact between a tool and a workpiece for higher dimensional accuracy where the referencing is a critical element for precision micromachining feature creation.