Effects of Milling Parameters on Residual Stress and Cutting Force

Abstract

The 7075-T7451 aluminum alloy, widely used in aerospace, aviation, and automotive fields for critical load-bearing components due to its excellent mechanical properties, suffers from residual stresses induced by thermo-mechanical coupling during milling, which deteriorate workpiece performance. This study explores how key milling parameters—spindle speed *nc*, feed per tooth *fz*, cutting depth *ap*, and cutting width *ae*—affect surface residual stress and cutting force via orthogonal experiments and finite element analysis (FEA). Results show *ae* is critical for X-direction residual stresses, while *fz* dominates Y-direction ones. Cutting force increases with *fz*, *ap*, and *ae* but decreases with higher *nc*. Multivariate regression-based prediction models for residual stress and cutting force were established, which effectively characterize parameter–response relationships with maximum prediction errors of 18.69% (residual stress) and 12.27% (cutting force), showing good engineering applicability. The findings provide theoretical and experimental foundations for multi-parameter optimization in aluminum alloy milling and residual stress/cutting force control, with satisfactory practical effectiveness.