Application of Bayesian Inference to Milling Force Modeling

This paper describes the application of Bayesian inference to the identification of force coefficients in milling. Mechanistic cutting force coefficients have been traditionally determined by performing a linear regression to the mean force values measured over a range of feed per tooth values. This linear regression method, however, yields a deterministic result for each coefficient and requires testing at several feed per tooth values to obtain a high level of confidence in the regression analysis. Bayesian inference, on the other hand, provides a systematic and formal way of updating beliefs when new information is available while incorporating uncertainty. In this work, mean force data is used to update the prior probability distributions (initial beliefs) of force coefficients using the Metropolis-Hastings (MH) algorithm Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach. Experiments are performed at different radial depths of cut to determine the corresponding force coefficients using both methods and the results are compared.