This study establishes a systematic and reproducible workflow for topology optimization (TO) of indexable face milling cutter bodies with integrated internal coolant channels, designed for Additive Manufacturing (AM) of metallic parts. Grounded in Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) principles, the workflow combines displacement-based TO and computational fluid dynamics analysis to generate simulation-driven tool geometries tailored to the constraints of AM. By leveraging iterative design knowledge, the proposed methodology enhances the scalability and repeatability of the design process, reducing development time and supporting rapid adaptation across various tool geometries. AM is explicitly exploited to integrate support-free internal coolant channels directed toward the insert cutting edge, thereby achieving a 20% mass reduction relative to the initial milling tool designs, and improving material usage efficiency at the design stage. The workflow yields numerically optimized geometries that maintain simulated global stiffness under the considered loading conditions and exhibit coolant flow distributions that effectively target the exposed cutting edges. These simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of an AM oriented, workflow-based approach for the numerical design of milling tools with internal cooling, mass reduction and provide a focused basis for subsequent experimental validation and comparison with conventionally manufactured counterparts.
Cunha et al. (Mon,) studied this question.