Original Article

Proc IMechE Part B:

J Engineering Manufacture
2014, Vol. 228(11) 13501358
Micromilling high aspect ratio features IMechE 2014
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DOI: 10.1177/0954405414522214
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Inigo Llanos1, Amaia Agirre1, Harkaitz Urreta1, Thanongsak Thepsonthi2

and Tugrul Ozel2

Abstract
This article presents experimental studies on micromilling thin walls to explore process capabilities in direct manufactur-
ing of high aspect ratio features using tungsten carbide micro-end milling tools for two different materials: aluminium and
brass. This study has been conducted in two phases. At first, the effects of micromilling parameters on the surface
roughness have been investigated and most suitable machining conditions in obtaining highest surface quality have been
identified. In the second phase, the effects of machining strategies have been explored in order to optimize final quality
of the thin walls in terms of straightness of the machined thin walls, uniformity of wall thickness and burr presence. As a
result of this experimental study, optimized machining parameters and strategies are presented. In the case of micromill-
ing brass (CuZn36Pb3), a down-milling cutting direction with a Z-step milling strategy at a spindle speed of
35,000 r min21, an axial depth of cut of 150 mm and a feed rate of 150 mm min21 provided the best overall thin-wall quality.
In the case of micromilling aluminium (Al6061-T4), a down-milling cutting direction with a ramp milling strategy, a spindle
speed of 25,000 r min21, an axial depth of cut of 150 mm and a feed rate of 200 mm min21 yielded the best results.

Keywords
Micromilling, thin walls, quality, machining strategies

Date received: 17 July 2013; accepted: 13 January 2014

Introduction breakage of the tools or the damage on the workpiece

The demand for miniaturized products from diverse
industries and markets has rapidly increased during the
last few decades. Several distinct advantages such as
savings in material and energy, portability or accessibil-
ity have made both manufacturers and customers
attracted to the micro-technologies.1,2 Although manu-
facturing methods based on etching and lithography
processes are well developed with the strong appear-
ance of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS),
there are needs for advanced geometries and properties,
which are not attainable by such processes. Direct man-
ufacturing of three-dimensional (3D) geometrical fea-
tures with high aspect ratio topographies and the use of
metallic materials are strongly desired characteristics in
several industries such as micro-heat sinks that can be
accomplished by mechanical micromilling processes.3
While mainly a direct miniaturization of the milling
processes, when dealing with the design of a micromill-
ing process, several aspects have to be taken into
account. Due to the small dimensions of the micromill-
ing tools, the effect of wear and deflections on the
can be of great importance in the micromilling.4 Also,
the scaling effect makes the dynamics of the process
behave in a dissimilar manner to the milling processes
in the macro domain.5 Several other problems can be
found related to the chip formation process at such a
small scale as well. The size effect when processing
small material volumes,6,7 the existence of minimum
uncut chip thicknesses,8 the material heterogeneities9 or
the appearance of high burr sizes compared to the
machined features10 can have a significant role on the
performance of micromilling processes.
1
Department of Microtechnology and Ultraprecision, IK4-IDEKO
Technology Centre, Elgoibar, Spain
2
Manufacturing & Automation Research Laboratory, Department of
Industrial and Systems Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ,
USA
Corresponding author:
Inigo Llanos, Department of Microtechnology and Ultraprecision,
IK4-IDEKO Technology Centre, Arriaga industrialdea 2, Elgoibar E-20870,
Spain.
Email: illanos@ideko.es

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Llanos et al.
Regarding the manufacturing of high aspect ratio
geometries such as thin walls, care must be taken
mainly due to the low stiffness of the features. Thus, in
order to obtain the desired quality and accuracy, a pre-
cise planning of the machining strategies is required.11,12
Due to the superior properties of diamond tools and
the existing capability of generating sharp edges on
them, such tools are preferred for micromachining
applications.1 Thus, extensive work can be found on
thin feature micromachining using high-quality dia-
mond tools.1316 However, presently, the use of carbide
tools for machining in the micrometer range can also be
found, where the tooling cost is significantly lower in
comparison to the diamond-based tools. The minimum
achievable cutting edge radii on carbide tools are lim-
ited to 1.55 mm range,17,18 making them more prone to
size effectrelated issues than diamond tools.
Yet, there are reports on micromilling thin-wall fea-
tures using tungsten carbide tools.19,20 In order to con-
trol the cutting forces generated and, thus, the possible
wall deflection or folding of the thin walls, the feed per
tooth and the cutting speed are preferred parameters to
be controlled. However, the machining data usually
available on the cutting tool catalogues, and mainly
used in the workshops, are the feed rate, Vf (mm min21)
and the spindle speed, O (r min21). Thus, this article will
explore and analyse the suitability of the cutting condi-
tions provided by the tool manufacturers in order to
obtain thin walls in the micromilling range using tung-
sten carbide tools.
Experimental work
This work is aimed to identify the most suitable cutting
conditions and strategy for the micromilling of thin
walls/fins on brass and aluminium workpiece using
tungsten carbide tools and minimum quantity lubrica-
tion (MQL). First, cutting tests for obtaining thin walls
of thickness (t = 50 mm) and height (h = 750 mm) with
an aspect ratio of 15 were conducted. By employing the
resultant surface roughness as the evaluation parameter,
an initial selection for the suitable values of cutting
Figure 1. (a) Micromilling machine at IK4-IDEKO and (b) a close-up view of the experimental set-up.
Downloaded from pib.sagepub.com at UNIV OF MICHIGAN on July 8, 2015
1351
speed, cutting direction (up/down-milling), feed rate
and axial depth of cut was carried out.
Then, three machining strategies have been applied
for micromilling thin walls of height (h = 1.5 mm) and
variable thicknesses (t = 25, 50 and 75 mm) in order to
identify the most suitable strategy. This evaluation has
been carried out by means of the quality of the walls
(straight/folded/broken), their dimensional accuracy
and burr formation.
Experimental set-up
An in-house developed micromilling machine from Ik4-
IDEKO was employed. It is constructed in natural gran-
ite for high stability, and its architecture is based on
three axes mounted on aerostatic bearings accounting
for 0 frictional forces. It can cover a working volume of
220 mm in the x-axis, 400 mm in the y-axis and 200 mm
in the z-axis. The spindle can reach rotational speeds up
to 120,000 r min21 and the stages can account for an
accuracy below 1 mm. Figure 1 shows an overview of the
machine and a close-up view of the experimental set-up.
After the cutting tests, roughness characterization of
the machined surfaces was carried out on surface topo-
graphies obtained with a Sensofar PLu Neox 3D opti-
cal profiler. The thicknesses of the thin walls were
inspected and measured in the optical profiler as well,
thanks to its bright-field microscopy capabilities.
Furthermore, machined thin walls were carefully
inspected in a scanning electron microscope (SEM)
Zeiss Evo 40, searching for wall bending and burrs.
Workpiece and tool specifications
The tests were conducted on commercially available
brass (CuZn36Pb3) and aluminium (Al6061-T4) alloys.
Concerning the cutting tools, a micro-end mill from
Union Tool (CAS 2005-0075) with two flutes, square
end, 500 mm diameter, 750 mm effective cutting length
and 45 helix angle was used in the first phase of the
experiments. Regarding the second phase, since thin
walls of 1.5 mm height were machined, a micromilling
1352
Figure 2. (a) Topography of a cutting edge and (b) edge profile obtained from the topography.
Table 1. Micromilling parameters employed Phase I tests.
Material Brass (CuZn36Pb3)
Parameter Level
1 2
Cutting direction, CD Down-milling
Spindle speed, O (r min21) 25,000
Feed rate, Vf (mm min21) 100
Axial depth of cut, az (mm) 191
Radial depth of cut, ap (mm) 25
tool with longer cutting length was required. This way,
a micro-end mill from Union Tool (C-CES 2005-0150)
with two flutes, square end, 500 mm diameter, 1500 mm
effective cutting length and 30 helix angle was used.
The cutting tools were inspected with the optical
profiler in order to account for cutting edge radius
measurements. Topographies of the cutting edges were
obtained along the flute of the tools (see Figure 2(a)),
and the edge radii were measured from profiles perpen-
dicular to the cutting edge (see Figure 2(b)). All the
tools employed in this study presented a cutting radius
of rb = 2 6 0.5 mm.
Experiments on effects of micromilling parameters
and machining strategy
The experimental work has been conducted in two con-
secutive phases. In the first phase, the effects of micro-
milling parameters on the surface roughness have been
investigated. In the second phase, the effects of machin-
ing strategies have been explored in order to optimize
the final quality of the thin walls.
Phase I: effects of micromilling parameters on the surface
roughness. In this phase, effects of micromilling para-
meters such as cutting direction (up-milling/down-
milling), spindle speed (O), feed rate (Vf) and axial
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Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 228(11)
Aluminium (Al6061-T4)
Level
1 2
Up-milling Down-milling Up-milling
35,000 15,000 25,000
200 150 300
381 187.5 375
25 25 25
depth of cut (az) were analysed for two different work
materials: brass (CuZn36Pb3) and aluminium (Al6061-
T4). When defining the ranges for the cutting condi-
tions for the tests, the upper and lower values specified
by the provider were used for the cutting parameters
(Table 1).
In order to reduce the number of tests, a Taguchi
orthogonal array for four factors and two levels was
employed for each material case. This led to a total of
16 tests, which were repeated up to three times in order
to account for the experimental variability on the mea-
surements. Tables 2 and 3 show the cutting conditions
employed on each tests and roughness results obtained
on these machined surfaces.
The thin walls have been prepared on a roughing
phase, leaving a 25 mm clearance for the tests. The
roughing operations were conducted using gentle cut-
ting conditions, avoiding any damage on the thin walls
to be tested or any effect on the results to be obtained
from the later tests.
As it can be seen, the variability for the roughness
measurements can be as high as the 20% of the average
value. In order to analyse the effect of the cutting con-
ditions employed on the tests, the main effects on the
surface roughness have been obtained for each of them.
According to the main effects, the lowest surface
roughness value can be obtained by employing a
Llanos et al. 1353

Table 2. Experimental results for Phase I tests on brass (CuZn36Pb3).

Test number Cutting conditions Results

Cutting Spindle speed, Feed rate, Feed per tooth, Axial depth of cut, Mean roughness,
direction, CD O (r min21) Vf (mm min21) fz (mm tooth21) az (mm) Ra (mm)

Brass_1_1 Down 25,000 100 2 191 0.279 6 0.02

Brass_1_2 Down 25,000 100 2 381 0.237 6 0.05
Brass_1_3 Down 35,000 200 2.86 191 0.259 6 0.04
Brass_1_4 Down 35,000 200 2.86 381 0.291 6 0.04
Brass_1_5 Up 25,000 200 4 191 0.368 6 0.07
Brass_1_6 Up 25,000 200 4 381 0.297 6 0.04
Brass_1_7 Up 35,000 100 1.43 191 0.217 6 0.02
Brass_1_8 Up 35,000 100 1.43 381 0.272 6 0.03

Table 3. Experimental results for Phase I tests on aluminium (Al6061-T4).

Test number Cutting conditions Results

Cutting Spindle speed, Feed rate, Feed per tooth, Axial depth of cut, Mean roughness,
direction, CD O (r min21) Vf (mm min21) fz (mm tooth21) az (mm) Ra (mm)

Al_1_1 Down 15,000 150 5 187.5 0.274 6 0.02

Al_1_2 Down 15,000 300 10 375 0.357 6 0.03
Al_1_3 Down 25,000 150 3 375 0.217 6 0.03
Al_1_4 Down 25,000 300 6 187.5 0.246 6 0.03
Al_1_5 Up 15,000 150 5 375 0.369 6 0.02
Al_1_6 Up 15,000 300 10 187.5 0.474 6 0.08
Al_1_7 Up 25,000 150 3 187.5 0.228 6 0.03
Al_1_8 Up 25,000 300 6 375 0.319 6 0.04

for the brass. Once again, the magnitude of the effect

of the axial depth of cut (az) is of much lower magni-
tude than the other three input parameters.

Phase II: effects of machining strategy. In Phase II of the

Figure 3. Main effect plots for the roughness analysis on brass
and aluminium.
down-milling cutting direction, a spindle speed of
35,000 r min21 and a feed rate of 100 mm min21. The
effect of the axial depth of cut (az) is of considerable
lower magnitude than the other three factors and, thus,
can be neglected. Figure 3 shows the main effect plots
for the input parameters on brass (CuZn36Pb3) and
aluminium (Al).
Regarding the cutting direction, spindle speed and
feed rate, the results are analogous to the ones obtained
on brass (CuZn36Pb3). However, in this case, the
effects of the cutting direction and the spindle speed
show a much higher magnitude than the ones obtained
experiments, three different machining strategies were
applied to the micromilling of thin walls (see Figure 4).
The first one (Z-step) involves machining the wall in a
layered manner, modifying the Z-position of the tool
after the whole piece has been machined at the present
Z-location. Theoretically, this strategy is not suitable
for thin-wall machining. Since the even passes have no
mechanical support from the opposite side of the wall,
higher wall deflections and dimensional inaccuracies
would be generated.
In order to overcome this issue, a modified tool path
proposed by Li et al.20 is analysed (Variable Z-step). In
this case, applying a Z-level variation from odd to even
passes, each pass will be done maintaining some mate-
rial on the opposite side and, thus, contributing some
mechanical support for the wall being machined.
The third strategy analysed (Ramp) involves a
ramped cut along each pass. Each pass would start
without Z-level modification and end after applying a
Z-modification of half the actual depth of cut. This
way, after the two first passes, every pass would have a
constant depth of cut equal to the defined value for the
axial depth of cut (az).

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1354
Figure 4. Different machining strategies employed during the second analysis.
Table 4. Cutting parameters employed on Phase II tests on brass (CuZn36Pb3).
Material Brass (CuZn36Pb3)
Parameter Level
1 2
Wall thickness, t (mm) 25 50
Tool path strategy, TPS Z-step Variable Z-step
Axial depth of cut, az (mm) 150 250
Feed rate, Vf (mm min21) 50 100
Radial depth of cut, ap (mm) 25
Cutting direction, CD Down-milling
Spindle speed, O (r min21) 35,000
Regarding the cutting conditions, the ones employed
on this Phase II experiments were based on the results
obtained from Phase I experiments. Thus, machining
conditions of a down-milling cutting direction and a
spindle speed of 35,000 r min21 were employed for
micromilling brass (CuZn36Pb3) since these provided
the lowest Ra values in Phase I experiments. In the case
of the feed rate, due to a possible effect of this para-
meter on cutting forces and, thus, on the wall deflec-
tions, three different levels were employed on these
experiments. Since the level obtaining the lowest Ra
value was obtained at a feed rate of 100 mm min21,
three levels (50, 100 and 150 mm min21) were selected
accordingly. On the other hand, machining conditions
of a down-milling cutting direction and a spindle speed
of 25,000 r min21 have been applied for micromilling
aluminium. Regarding the feed rate, three levels (100,
150 and 200 mm min21) have been selected based on
the ones which resulted in the lowest Ra value during
Phase I experiments.
Phase I experiments show that the axial depth of cut
(az) did not exhibit a significant effect on Ra values;
however, it was expected to influence the cutting forces
and wall deflections. Therefore, three levels of axial
depth of cut (150, 250 and 500 mm) were selected for
Phase II experiments. Besides the machining strategy
and cutting conditions, three different thicknesses
(t = 25, 50 and 75 mm) were defined as well for the thin
walls to be machined.
As in the case of Phase I, the thin walls have been
prepared on a roughing phase, leaving a 25 mm
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Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 228(11)
Aluminium (Al6061-T4)
Level
3 1 2 3
75 25 50 75
Ramp Z-step Variable Z-step Ramp
500 150 250 500
150 100 150 200
25
Down-milling
25,000
clearance for the tests. The roughing operations were
conducted using the same gentle cutting conditions as
before, trying to avoid any damage on the thin walls to
be tested or any effect on the results to be obtained
from the later tests. In summary, Table 4 shows the
parameters and levels employed for the cutting tests in
Phase II.
As in the case of Phase I tests, a Taguchi orthogonal
array was applied for the design of experiments reduc-
ing significantly the number of cutting tests. This meth-
odology resulted in a set of nine cutting tests for each
material, which was repeated twice for consistence
analysis. Tables 5 and 6 show the cutting conditions
employed on each test and the results obtained from
them.
Analysis of machined thin walls. The evaluation of the qual-
ity of the thin walls was carried out by observation of
the walls on an SEM. Figure 5 shows examples of some
of the obtained images.
Since no quantitative evaluation of the wall condi-
tion can be done, this evaluation was done qualitatively
by applying an arbitrary scale from 0 to 5. In this scale,
the value 0 would represent a failed-broken wall (worst
condition) and the value 5 would represent a straight
flawless wall (best condition). The different intermedi-
ate values were applied by taking into account the
defects as folding, the presence of ADOC (az) marks or
broken corners on the walls (see Figure 5).
The presence of burrs was evaluated by an arbitrary
scale as well. In this case, the value 0 would indicate a
Llanos et al. 1355

Table 5. Cutting conditions for Phase II tests on brass (CuZn36Pb3).

Test number Cutting conditions Results

Wall thickness, Tool path strategy, Depth of cut, Feed rate, Wall Burr Thickness
t (mm) TPS az (mm) Vf (mm min21) condition presence error (%)

Brass_2_1 25 Z-step 150 50 4 3 44.33

Brass_2_2 25 Variable Z 250 100 0
Brass_2_3 25 Ramp 500 150 1.5 1.5 66.33
Brass_2_4 50 Z-step 250 150 5 2 21.17
Brass_2_5 50 Variable Z 500 50 4 3 9.67
Brass_2_6 50 Ramp 150 100 5 2 4.83
Brass_2_7 75 Z-step 500 100 5 1.5 9.22
Brass_2_8 75 Variable Z 150 150 5 2 5.89
Brass_2_9 75 Ramp 250 50 5 2 1.00

Table 6. Cutting conditions for Phase II tests on aluminium (Al6061-T4).

Test number Cutting conditions Results

Wall thickness, Tool path Depth of cut, Feed rate, Wall Burr Thickness
t (mm) strategy, TPS az (mm) Vf (mm min21) condition presence error (%)

Al_2_1 25 Z-step 150 100 1 1 15.33

Al_2_2 25 Variable Z 250 150
Al_2_3 25 Ramp 500 200 0.5 1 44.67
Al_2_4 50 Z-step 250 200 4 0.5 4.5
Al_2_5 50 Variable Z 500 100 3.5 2 1.67
Al_2_6 50 Ramp 150 150 5 3 0.33
Al_2_7 75 Z-step 500 150 4 1 1.11
Al_2_8 75 Variable Z 150 200 5 0 8.89
Al_2_9 75 Ramp 250 100 5 3 3.56

Figure 5. Examples of SEM examinations of machined thin walls.

burrless thin wall, while the value 3 was applied to a
wall with burrs of considerable dimension on the top
and side surfaces of the walls. Intermediate values were
applied depending on the size of the burrs and their
quantity. If the wall was broken, it was disregarded
from the burr analysis.
Results of thin-wall quality on micromilling of brass
(CuZn36Pb3). For the case of brass thin-wall machin-
ing, the numeric values given in Table 5 show that
while some of these walls presented poor quality, most
of them were almost flawless. Regarding the appear-
ance of burrs, all the walls showed considerable burr
presence, especially in their top surfaces. Figure 6
shows the main effect plots obtained for the input para-
meters for three evaluations: wall thickness, burr for-
mation and overall quality.
Regarding the quality of the thin walls, the best wall
condition could be obtained applying a Z-step milling
strategy and the lowest levels of feed rate (Vf = 50 mm

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1356
Figure 6. Main effect plots on the wall quality obtained on brass.
Figure 7. Examples of lateral images obtained for the tests on
brass.
min21) and axial depth of cut (az = 150 mm). In the
case of the thickness of the wall, the machining of
25 mm thickness walls is not recommended, at least
within the ranges of the cutting parameters employed
in this study. In the case of the burr generation, the
lowest burr presence could be obtained by applying a
Variable Z-step cutting strategy and the intermediate
values for the feed rate and the axial depth of cut.
Comparing both plots, it is remarkable that the condi-
tion that would obtain the best wall condition would
have the highest burr presence and vice versa.
In order to evaluate the dimensional accuracy of the
thin walls, they were inspected through optical micro-
scopy in order to account for thickness measurements.
Figure 7 shows examples of lateral images obtained for
two thin walls. As it can be seen, the wall thickness is
variable along the height of the walls, probably due to
the bending of the walls during the micromilling pro-
cess. In order to account for such variability, several
measurements were carried out on each image. An error
has been defined for the average value of the measure-
ments in comparison to the theoretical value of the thin
walls (see Table 5). When the walls were broken, they
were disregarded from the analysis.
Figure 6 shows the main effect plots for the input
parameters on the thickness error. As it can be seen, the
higher the theoretical value of the wall, the lower the
obtained deviation on the wall thickness. Regarding the
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Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 228(11)
cutting conditions, the lowest thickness deviation would
be obtained with the intermediate levels for the feed
rate (Vf = 100 mm min21) and axial depth of cut (az =
250 mm). In the case of the milling strategy, the variable
Z-step would lead to lower deviations in comparison to
the other two strategies analysed.
Results of thin-wall quality on micromilling of aluminium
(Al6061-T4). The quality of the thin walls obtained on
aluminium (Al6061-T4) was evaluated by applying
qualitative scales for the wall condition and burr pres-
ence analogous to the ones exposed for the brass, as
given in Table 6. Figure 8 shows the main effect plots
on the wall condition, burr presence and wall thickness.
In comparison to the tests carried out on brass, the
tests on aluminium led to slightly lower thin-wall qual-
ity condition, while the presence of burrs in the thin
walls was also noticeably lower.
As it can be seen in Figure 8, the best wall condition
on aluminium can be obtained by employing a ramped
tool path strategy and the lowest level of axial depth of
cut (az = 150 mm). As in the case of the brass, the
machining of thin walls of 25 mm thickness is not rec-
ommended, at least in the range of cutting parameters
analysed in this study. Regarding the feed rate, the var-
iation of its value shows a marginal effect on the wall
condition of the workpieces.
In the case of the burr presence, the combination of
the highest tool feed level (Vf = 150 mm min21), the
lowest level for axial depth of cut (az = 150 mm) and a
Z-step tool path strategy would lead to the lowest pres-
ence of burrs on the thin walls. Regarding the effect of
the thickness of the walls, the lowest burr presence has
been obtained for the walls of 25 mm thickness.
The dimensional accuracy of the thin walls machined
on aluminium was evaluated in an analogous manner
to the one previously exposed for brass. Figure 9 shows
two examples of the lateral images obtained for walls
machined on aluminium. As in the case of the brass, the
wall thickness is variable along the height of the walls.
Llanos et al.
Figure 8. Main effect plots on the wall quality obtained for aluminium.
Figure 9. Examples of lateral images obtained for the tests on
aluminium.
While in the case of the brass, the lowest thickness
error was obtained for the highest theoretical value
(75 mm), the thin walls machined on aluminium
obtained lower thickness error for the intermediate
thickness value (50 mm). Concerning the cutting condi-
tions, machining with the intermediate values for the
axial depth of cut (az = 250 mm) and the feed rate (Vf
= 150 mm min21) would lead to a lower thickness
error. Employing a Variable Z-step tool path strategy
would obtain slightly better results than the Z-step one
and, as in the case of the brass, the ramped strategy
would obtain the highest thickness error.
Conclusion
The effect of several cutting parameters has been ana-
lysed along this work. Regarding the cutting direction,
Phase I tests carried out on both materials have shown
that a down-milling direction is preferred when trying
to minimize the surface roughness as expected. In the
case of the spindle speed, both materials obtained better
surface finish on the tests with the higher spindle speed
value.
The axial depth of cut did not show a noteworthy
effect on the surface finish of the thin walls. In the case
of the quality results of the thin walls, it can be said that
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1357
the effect of the axial depth of cut is not linear. In gen-
eral terms, lower values led to a better wall condition
and a lower thickness error. However, the lowest thick-
ness deviations were obtained for the intermediate axial
depth of cut value. Concerning the burr generation, the
depth of cut showed contrary behaviours for both
materials. In the case of brass, the lowest axial depth of
cut value obtained the highest burr presence, while on
aluminium the lowest and highest values obtained lower
results than the intermediate one.
Regarding feed rate effects, lower levels of feed rate
generated lower surface roughness values on both mate-
rials as initially expected. Comparable to the case of the
axial depth of cut, the effect of the feed rate value on
the wall quality parameters is not linear. Concerning
the thickness error, the effect of the feed rate is similar
to that seen for the ADOC, being the intermediate feed
value the one with lower deviations from the theoretical
thickness values. While the feed variations did not seem
to affect the wall quality on aluminium, higher feed rate
values tend to diminish the wall condition for brass.
Concerning the burr formation, higher feed rate values
would lead to lowest burr presence on aluminium. In
the case of brass, the intermediate value would be pre-
ferred in order to reduce the burrs.
Regarding the tool path strategy, the variable Z-step
obtained the worst wall condition results while generat-
ing the lowest thickness deviations for both materials.
On the other hand, the Z-step strategy generated the
best wall condition while generating the highest amount
of burrs and thickness deviations on brass. In the case
of aluminium, the ramp strategy provided the best thin-
wall quality condition, the highest presence of burrs
and the highest thickness deviations.
Concerning the materials analysed, in comparison to
the results obtained on aluminium, the tests on brass
obtained lower roughness values and better overall wall
quality. On the other hand, the burr presence and the
thickness errors were lower for the tests carried out on
aluminium.
1358
After analysing the results obtained, the following
conclusions can be drawn:
 Better surface roughness can be obtained on thin
walls made by brass and aluminium by employing a
down-milling cutting direction, high spindle speeds
and low feed rate values.
 The overall best quality for the thin walls can be
obtained by employing a Z-step machining strategy,
150 mm axial depth of cut and the intermediate
(150 mm min21) feed rate value in the case of the
brass. Regarding aluminium, the ramp milling strat-
egy together with 200 mm min21 feed rate value and
150 mm axial depth of cut would yield the overall
best results.
 The parameters affecting undeformed chip thick-
ness values (feed rate and axial depth of cut) show
a nonlinear effect on the state of the micromilled
thin walls. Further analysis on the size effect when
micromilling aluminium and brass should be car-
ried out in order to understand this behaviour and
plan effective micromachining strategies for high
aspect ratio structures.
 Care must be taken when choosing a tool path
strategy for micromachining high aspect ratio fea-
tures. The use of modified tool paths (variable
Z-step) for improving the dimensional accuracy can
reduce the quality of the features to be machined.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any fund-
ing agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit
sectors.
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