Prediction and experimental validation of micro-milling cutting forces of AISI H13 steel at hardness between 35 and 60 HRC

This paper presents prediction and validation of micro-milling cutting forces of AISI H13 steel at hardnesses between 35 and 60 HRC. The cutting forces are predicted based on an approach considering the full kinematics of the cutting tool including the run-out effect, effects of the cutting velocity and tool geometry, ploughing and chip formation phenomena and the hardness of the AISI H13 steel. A plane strain dynamic thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) model of orthogonal cutting is used to predict the cutting forces where the geometry of the cutting tool edge is modelled based on scanning electron microscope measurements. A constitutive elastic–plastic isotropic material model describing the relationship between stresses, strains, strain rates and hardnesses is modelled and implemented into ABAQUS/Explicit FE code by the user-defined subroutine VUMAT. Finite element analyses (FEA) are employed to obtain the relationship between cutting forces, uncut chip thickness, cutting velocity and material hardness. Numerous FEA are performed at different uncut chip thicknesses (0–20?μm), cutting velocities (104.7–4,723?mm/s) and hardnesses (35–60 HRC) using the FE model of orthogonal cutting. The full kinematics of the cutting tool including the run-out effect and the FE-predicted cutting forces are incorporated to predict the micro-milling cutting forces. The predicted micro-milling cutting forces have been experimentally validated at hardness of 43.2 HRC at different feed rates and spindle speeds. The result showed that the cutting forces and cutting temperatures increase by increasing the hardness of the AISI H13 while the stability limits of the process decrease by increasing the hardness.     

H13淬硬模具钢精车过程的数值模拟

采用热力学耦合有限元方法研究了淬硬钢精车过程中切屑形成规律。运用H13 淬硬模具钢流动应力模型进行数值模拟,考查了H13淬硬模具钢精车过程中工艺参数对工件性能和刀具的影响。结果表明:切削速度愈高,进给量愈小,刀具刀尖半径愈大,则工件加工层上的静水拉应力愈小,表面质量愈好; 淬硬钢精车时径向力起主要作用,大于切削力;切削速度愈大,切削力和径向力则愈小,愈有助于改善工件加工层上的表面质量;切削速度、进给量和刀具刀尖圆角半径愈大,工件和刀具温度愈高,愈易导致刀具前刀面扩散磨损和刀具后刀面磨损。研究结论有助于优化H13淬硬模具钢精车过程中工艺参数选择和改进刀具镶片设计。     

Use of Ceramic Tools in Hard Turning of Hardened AISI M2 Steel

Tool wear and machining performance of hardened AISI M2 steel in hard turning has been studied. Ceramic tools were used in the cutting tests without coolants, and the workpiece was heat treated to increase its hardness up to Re 60. Cutting forces, temperature, and tool wear were measured in the experiments and the effects of cutting conditions on these were investigated. Important aspects from the research are summarized as follows: 1. Flank wear was the dominant wear mode on the ceramic tool insert in hard turning. In contrast, crater wear was very small due to the ceramics high resistance against chemical reactions at high temperature. A notch was unlikely to be formed in the tool.

2. The initial flank wear rate mainly depends on the feed rate. High feed rates cause a high initial flank wear rate.

3. Depth of cut was the most important cutting parameter to affect cutting force variation, and the cutting force increased due to tool wear.

     

On the machining characteristics of H13 tool steel in different hardness states in ball end milling

This paper investigates and compares the machining characteristics of AISI H13 tool steel in hardness states of 41 and 20 HRC in the ball end milling process. The machining characteristics are illustrated through three types of process outputs from the milling experiments: the milling force, the chip form, and the surface roughness. Characteristic differences in these process outputs are shown to reflect the hardness effect of the tool steel on the ball end milling process. The mechanistic phenomena of the milling process are revealed by the six shearing and ploughing cutting constants extracted from the milling forces. The experimental results show that all the cutting constants of the softer tool steel are greater than those of the hard steel, indicating that higher cutting and frictional energies are required in the chip shearing as well as in the nose ploughing processes of the softer tool steel. The higher cutting energy is also attested by the more severely deformed, shorter, and thicker chips of the softer steel. Surface roughness of the hard steel is shown to be considerably better than that of the soft steel at all cutting speeds and feed rates and is independent of cutting speed, whereas the surface roughness of the softer steel is significantly improved with increasing cutting speed.     

Assessment of flank wear and nose radius wear from workpiece roughness profile in turning operation using machine vision

Although literature on the measurement of flank wear and crater wear in single-point turning tools using machine vision is well documented, the study on the effect of nose radius wear on the roughness profile and dimensional changes of workpiece is less explored. The measurement of flank wear using the 2-D profile of the tool nose region or the roughness profile of the workpiece has also not been attempted in the past. In this work, the nose radius wear of cutting tools and roughness profile of turned parts in a lathe operation were measured using the machine vision method. The flank wear width VB_C in the nose area was determined from the nose radius wear using the tool setup and machining geometry. The nose radius wear was also determined from the roughness profile of the workpiece and used in calculating the flank wear width. Comparison between the maximum flank wear width VB_Cmax determined from the roughness profile and that obtained using a toolmaker’s microscope showed a mean deviation of 5.5%. This result indicates that flank wear can be determined fairly accurately from the workpiece roughness profile if the tool and machining geometry are known.     

Effects of cutting edge geometry, workpiece hardness, feed rate and cutting speed on surface roughness and forces in finish turning of hardened AISI H13 steel

In this study, the effects of cutting edge geometry, workpiece hardness, feed rate and cutting speed on surface roughness and resultant forces in the finish hard turning of AISI H13 steel were experimentally investigated. Cubic boron nitrite inserts with two distinct edge preparations and through-hardened AISI H13 steel bars were used. Four-factor (hardness, edge geometry, feed rate and cutting speed) two-level fractional experiments were conducted and statistical analysis of variance was performed. During hard turning experiments, three components of tool forces and roughness of the machined surface were measured. This study shows that the effects of workpiece hardness, cutting edge geometry, feed rate and cutting speed on surface roughness are statistically significant. The effects of two-factor interactions of the edge geometry and the workpiece hardness, the edge geometry and the feed rate, and the cutting speed and feed rate also appeared to be important. Especially honed edge geometry and lower workpiece surface hardness resulted in better surface roughness. Cutting-edge geometry, workpiece hardness and cutting speed are found to be affecting force components. The lower workpiece surface hardness and honed edge geometry resulted in lower tangential and radial forces.     

Comparative evaluations of machining performance during turning of 17-4 PH stainless steel under cryogenic and wet machining conditions

Productivity in machining of 17-4 PH stainless steel is adversely affected by the premature failure of tool and poor surface finish as a consequence of high cutting temperatures. Conventional cutting fluids not only create environmental and health problems but also fail to overcome the high cutting temperatures during machining. Cryogenic cooling is an environmentally clean cooling technology for attractive management of machining zone temperatures. The present study investigates the effect of cryogenic liquid nitrogen (LN₂ at ?196°C) on cutting temperatures, cutting forces (main cutting force, feed force), surface roughness, tool flank wear and chip morphology in turning of 17-4 PH stainless steel with AlTiN PVD-coated tungsten-coated carbide inserts and results were compared to wet machining. In overall, cryogenic machining reduces the cutting temperature, cutting forces, surface roughness and tool flank wear to a maximum of 73.4, 17.62, 44.29 and 55.55%, respectively. Improved chip breakability was found in cryogenic machining.     

Performance studies of multilayer hard surface coatings (TiN/TiCN/Al2O3/TiN) of indexable carbide inserts in hard machining: Part-I (An experimental approach)

In recent years, hard machining using CBN and ceramic inserts became an emerging technology than traditional grinding and widely used manufacturing processes. However the relatively high cost factors associated with such tools has left a space to look for relatively low cost cutting tool materials to perform in an acceptable range. Multilayer coated carbide insert is the proposed alternative in the present study due to its low cost. Thus, an attempt has been made to have an extensive study on the machinability aspects such as flank wear, chip morphology, surface roughness in finish hard turning of AISI 4340 steel (HRC 47 ± 1) using multilayer coated carbide (TiN/TiCN/Al₂O₃/TiN) insert under dry environment. Parametric influences on turning forces are also analyzed. From the machinability study, abrasion and chipping are found to be the dominant wear mechanism in hard turning. Multilayer TiN coated carbide inserts produced better surface quality and within recommendable range of 1.6 μm i.e. comparable with cylindrical grinding. At extreme parametric conditions, the growth of tool wear was observed to be rapid thus surface quality affected adversely. The chip morphology study reveals a more favorable machining environment in dry machining using TiN coated carbide inserts. The cutting speed and feed are found to have the significant effect on the tool wear and surface roughness from ANOVA study. It is evident that, thrust force (Fy) is the largest component followed by tangential force (Fz) and the feed force (Fx) in finish hard turning. The observations yield the machining ability of multilayer TiN coated carbide inserts in hard turning of AISI 4340 steel even at higher cutting speeds.     

INVESTIGATION OF THE TOOL WEAR AND SURFACE FINISH IN LOW-SPEED MILLING OF STAINLESS STEEL UNDER FLOOD AND MIST LUBRICATION

This paper examines the performance of AlN/TiN coated carbide tool during milling of STAVAX® (modified AISI 420 stainless steel) at a low speed of 50 m/min under conventional flood and mist lubrication. Abrasion, chipping, fracture resulting in the formation of crater and catastrophic failure are the wear mechanisms encountered during machining under flood lubrication. The flank wear, and the likeliness of the cutting tool to fracture, chip and fail prematurely increased with an increase in the hardness of the workpiece and a reduction in the helix angle of the tool. Small quantity of mineral oil sprayed in mist form was effective in reducing the flank wear and severity of abrasion wear, and preventing the formation of crater and the occurrence of catastrophic failure. In milling 35 and 55 HRC-STAVAX® using a feed rate of 0.4 mm/tooth and a depth of cut of 0.2 mm under mist lubrication, the cutting edge of the 25° and 40° helix angle tools only suffered small-scale edge chipping and abrasive wear throughout the entire duration of testing. The influence of the ductility of the workpiece on the surface finish and the effectiveness of mist lubricant in improving the surface finish are also discussed.     

Finite element modeling and simulation in dry hard orthogonal cutting AISI D2 tool steel with CBN cutting tool

The influences of cutting parameters on temperature, stress, and shear angle during dry hard orthogonal cutting (DHOC) of D2 tool steel (62?±?1 HRC) are investigated in this paper. Temperature and stress are considered the most important aspects to be taken into account in dry hard machining; however, dry hard machining is a complex process, and the temperature fields and residual stress are the most difficult to be measured. Up to now, only very few studies have been reported on influences of cutting parameters on shear angle, temperature, and stress of AISI D2 tool steel (62?±?1 HRC). In this paper, the Johnson–Cook model is utilized to propose a finite element (FE) model. The FE model is properly calibrated by means of an iterative procedure based on the comparison between experimental resultant forces obtained from literatures and simulated resultant forces. At last, this FE model is utilized to predict the influences of cutting speed and depth of cut on temperature fields and residual stress within a workpiece, cutting tool edge temperature, and shear angle during DHOC hardened AISI D2 tool steel (62?±?1 HRC) and validated by experimental results. As shown in this investigation, it is also possible to properly analyze the influences of cutting parameters on the cutting mechanism for industrial application.     

Orthogonal cutting of hardened AISI D2 steel with TiAlN-coated inserts—simulations and experiments

This paper presented a finite element simulation model for the analysis of AISI D2 steel turning with TiAlN-coated inserts. In this study, material constitutive model of hardened AISI D2 steel (HRC62) was built based on power law relationship, which was used in the FEM codes to describe the effect of strain, strain rate, and temperature on the material flow stress. A damage model was employed to predict the chip separation. Cutting edge radius and thickness of TiAlN coating were obtained by micro-optical system and SEM, respectively. The average friction coefficients were obtained by ball-on-disk friction test using UMT-2 high-speed tribometer. Numerical simulations of AISI D2 steel turning were performed using AdvantEdge? software. The simulated results of forces and chip morphology showed good agreement with the experimental results, which validated the precision of the process simulation method. The shear stress on the interface between coating and substrate of cutting tool was analyzed. And the maximal shear stress between coating and substrate was found on the cutting edge roundness near the flank face of cutting tool.     

Theoretical modelling of cutting forces in helical end milling with cutter runout

A theoretical cutting force model for helical end milling with cutter runout is developed using a predictive machining theory, which predicts cutting forces from the input data of workpiece material properties, tool geometry and cutting conditions. In the model, a helical end milling cutter is discretized into a number of slices along the cutter axis to account for the helix angle effect. The cutting action for a tooth segment in the first slice is modelled as oblique cutting with end cutting edge effect and tool nose radius effect, whereas the cutting actions of other slices are modelled as oblique cutting without end cutting edge effect and tool nose radius effect. The influence of cutter runout on chip load is considered based on the true tooth trajectories. The total cutting force is the sum of the forces at all the cutting slices of the cutter. The model is verified with experimental milling tests.     

Effects of blended vegetable‐based cutting fluids with extreme pressure on tool wear and force components in turning of Al 7075‐T6

In this study, performances of four different types of vegetable‐based cutting fluids (VBCFs) over a commercial mineral cutting fluid were evaluated for machinability of Al 7075‐T6. Lubrication properties of VBCFs were improved with additive of extreme pressure. Cutting force and tool wear data were obtained for performance analyses of cutting fluids during longitudinal turning of Al 7075‐T6. Cutting, feed and radial forces indicated 1.70–38.25% improvements for VBCFs over the commercial mineral cutting fluid. The lowest average values of flank and nose wears obtained with blended cutting fluid containing 12% of extreme pressure were 0.09 and 0.10 mm, respectively, whereas these values for the commercial mineral cutting fluid were 0.18 and 0.15 mm. The scanning electron microscope results showed adherence of workpiece material occurred on rake and flank faces, and flank and nose wears were the dominant wear modes. It was found that performances of VBCFs during turning of Al 7075‐T6 were better than that of the commercial mineral cutting fluid. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tool life and wear mechanism of coated and uncoated Al2O3/TiCN mixed ceramic tools in turning hardened alloy steel

The focus of this paper is the continuous turning of hardened AISI 52100 (～63HRc) using coated and uncoated ceramic Al₂O₃–TiCN mixed inserts, which are cheaper than cubic boron nitride (CBN) or polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN). The machinability of hardened steel was evaluated by measurements of tool wear, tool life, and surface finish of the workpiece. Wear mechanisms and patterns of ceramic inserts in hard turning of hardened AISI 52100 are discussed. According to the results obtained, fracture and chipping type damages occur more frequently in uncoated tools, whereas crater wear is the more common type of damage in TiN coated tools. Most important result obtained from the study is that TiN coating and crater wear affect chip flow direction. In uncoated ceramic tool, the crater formation results in decrease of chip up-curl radius. Besides, uncoated cutting tool results in an increase in the temperature at the tool chip interface. This causes a thermal bi-metallic effect between the upper and lower sides of the chip that forces the chip to curl a smaller radius. Chips accumulate in front of the tool and stick to the workpiece depending on the length of the cutting time. This causes the surface quality to deteriorate. TiN coating not only ensures that the cutting tool is tougher, but also ensures that the surface quality is maintained during cutting processes.     

Effect of very high cutting speeds on shearing, cutting forces and roughness in dry turning of austenitic stainless steels

Behavior of austenitic stainless steels has been studied at very high cutting speeds. Turning tests were carried out using the AISI 303 austenitic stainless steel. In particular, the influence of cutting speed on tool wear, surface quality, cutting forces and chip geometry has been investigated. These parameters have been compared when performing machining at traditional cutting speeds (lower than 350?m/min) versus high cutting speeds. The analysis of results shows that the material undergoes a significant change in its behavior when machining at cutting speeds above 450?m/min, that favors the machining operation. The main component of cutting forces reaches a minimum value at this cutting speed. The SEM micrographs of the machined surfaces show how at the traditional cutting speeds the machined surfaces contain cavities, metal debris and feed marks with smeared material particles. Surfaces machined at high cutting speeds show evidence of material side flow, which is more evident at cutting speeds above 600?m/min. Tool wear is located at the tool nose radius for lower cutting speeds, whereas it slides toward the secondary edge when cutting speed increases. An analysis of chips indicates also an important decrement in chip thickness for cutting speeds above 450?m/min. This study concludes that there is an unexplored range of cutting speeds very interesting for high-performance machining. In this range, the behavior of stainless steels is very favorable although tool wear rate is also significant. Nevertheless, nowadays the cost of tool inserts can be considered as secondary when comparing to other operation costs, for instance the machine hourly cost for high-end multitasking machines.     

Analysis of surface roughness and cutting force components in hard turning with CBN tool: Prediction model and cutting conditions optimization

In this study, the effects of cutting speed, feed rate, workpiece hardness and depth of cut on surface roughness and cutting force components in the hard turning were experimentally investigated. AISI H11 steel was hardened to (40; 45 and 50) HRC, machined using cubic boron nitride (CBN 7020 from Sandvik Company) which is essentially made of 57% CBN and 35% TiCN. Four-factor (cutting speed, feed rate, hardness and depth of cut) and three-level fractional experiment designs completed with a statistical analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed. Mathematical models for surface roughness and cutting force components were developed using the response surface methodology (RSM). Results show that the cutting force components are influenced principally by the depth of cut and workpiece hardness; on the other hand, both feed rate and workpiece hardness have statistical significance on surface roughness. Finally, the ranges for best cutting conditions are proposed for serial industrial production.     

Machinability investigation in hard turning of AISI D3 cold work steel with ceramic tool using response surface methodology

The hard turning process has been attracting interest in different industrial sectors for finishing operations of hard materials. In this paper, the effects of cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut on surface roughness, cutting force, specific cutting force, and power in the hard turning were experimentally investigated. An experimental investigation was carried out using ceramic cutting tools, composed approximately with (70 %) of Al₂O₃ and (30 %) of TiC, in surface finish operations on cold work tool steel AISI D3 heat-treated to a hardness of 60 HRC. Based on 3³ full factorial designs, a total of 27 tests were carried out. The range of each parameter is set at three different levels, namely, low, medium, and high. Analysis of variance is used to check the validity of the model. Experimental observations show that higher cutting forces are required for machining harder work material. This cutting force gets affected mostly by feed rate followed by depth of cut. Feed rate is the most influencing factor on surface roughness. Feed rate followed by depth of cut become the most influencing factors on power; especially in case of harder workpiece. Optimum cutting conditions are determined using response surface methodology (RSM) and the desirability function approach. It was found that, the use of lower depth of cut value, higher cutting speed, and by limiting the feed rate to 0.12 and 0.13 mm/rev, while hard turning of AISI D3 hardened steel, respectively, ensures minimum cutting forces and better surface roughness. Higher values of depth of cut are necessary to minimize the specific cutting force.     

Effect of work material hardness and cutting parameters on performance of coated carbide tool when turning hardened steel: An optimization approach

In present work performance of coated carbide tool was investigated considering the effect of work material hardness and cutting parameters during turning of hardened AISI 4340 steel at different levels of hardness. The correlations between the cutting parameters and performance measures like cutting forces, surface roughness and tool life, were established by multiple linear regression models. The correlation coefficients found close to 0.9, showed that the developed models are reliable and could be used effectively for predicting the responses within the domain of the cutting parameters. Highly significant parameters were determined by performing an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). Experimental observations show that higher cutting forces are required for machining harder work material. These cutting forces get affected mostly by depth of cut followed by feed. Cutting speed, feed and depth of cut having an interaction effect on surface roughness. Cutting speed followed by depth of cut become the most influencing factors on tool life; especially in case of harder workpiece. Optimum cutting conditions are determined using response surface methodology (RSM) and the desirability function approach. It was found that, the use of lower feed value, lower depth of cut and by limiting the cutting speed to 235 and 144 m/min; while turning 35 and 45 HRC work material, respectively, ensures minimum cutting forces, surface roughness and better tool life.     

Cutting forces, chip formation, and tool wear in high-speed face milling of AISI H13 steel with CBN tools

High-speed face milling experiments of AISI H13 steel (46–47 HRC) with cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools were conducted in order to identify the characteristics of cutting forces, chip formation, and tool wear in a wide range of cutting speed (200–1,200 m/min). The velocity effects are focused on in the present study. It was found that, at the cutting speed of 800 m/min, which can be considered as a critical value, relatively low mechanical load, relatively low degree of chip segmentation, and relatively long tool life can be obtained at the same time. Both the cutting forces and the degree of chip segmentation firstly decrease and then increase with the cutting speed, while the tool life exhibits the opposite trend. By means of analyzing the wear mechanisms of tools tested under different cutting speeds, it was found that, as the cutting speed increases, the influences of fracture and chipping resulting from mechanical load on tool wear were reduced, while the influences of adhesion, oxidation, and thermal crack accelerated by high cutting temperature became greater. There exist obvious correlations among cutting forces, chip formation, and tool wear.     

A step towards the in-process monitoring for electrochemical microdrilling

The bandsawing as a multi-point cutting operation is the preferred method for cutting off raw materials in industry. Although cutting off with bandsaw is very old process, research efforts are very limited compared to the other cutting process. Appropriate online tool condition monitoring system is essential for sophisticated and automated machine tools to achieve better tool management. Tool wear monitoring models using artificial neural network are developed to predict the tool wear during cutting off the raw materials (American Iron and Steel Institute 1020, 1040 and 4140) by bandsaw. Based on a continuous data acquisition of cutting force signals, it is possible to estimate or to classify certain wear parameters by means of neural networks thanks to reasonably quick data-processing capability. The multi-layered feed forward artificial neural network (ANN) system of a 6?×?9?×?1 structure based on cutting forces was trained using error back-propagation training algorithm to estimate tool wear in bandsawing. The data used for the training and checking of the network were derived from the experiments according to the principles of Taguchi design of experiments planned as L ₂₇. The factors considered as input in the experiment were the feed rate, the cutting speed, the engagement length and material hardness. 3D surface plots are generated using ANN model to study the interaction effects of cutting conditions on sawblade. The analysis shows that cutting length, hardness and cutting speed have significant effect on tooth wear, respectively, while feed rate has less effect. In this study, the details of experimentation and ANN application to predict tooth wear have been presented. The system shows that there is close match between the flank wear estimated and measured directly.