The Effect of Thermal Modification of Oak Wood on Waviness Values in the Planar Milling Process, Monitored with a Contact Method

This article focuses on the evaluation of the process of planar milling of natural and thermally modified oak wood. The standard Thermowood process was used for the thermal modification. The quality of the machined surface was evaluated after planar milling. Various machining process parameters were set for individual samples. The effects of individual technical and technological factors on the quality of the newly created surface were subsequently evaluated. The mean arithmetic deviation of the waviness profile (Wa) was chosen as the evaluation parameter for milling. The effects of the following factors were monitored: cutting speed, feed rate, rake angle, and their mutual combinations. Natural and thermally modified oak wood were milled and subsequently evaluated. The quality of the machined surface was determined using a contact measuring device. Reducing the cutting speed increased the waviness, and decreasing the feed rate decreased the waviness. However, the cutting speed was not a statistically significant factor. The rake angle proved to be a factor that significantly affected the surface waviness. Thermal modification had a statistically significant effect on the surface waviness.