Tool wear measurement in turning using force ratio

The aim of this work was to develop a reliable method to predict flank wear during the turning process. The present work developed a mathematical model for on-line monitoring of tool wear in a turning process. Force signals are highly sensitive carriers of information about the machining process and, hence, they are the best alternatives for monitoring tool wear. In the present work, determination of tool wear has been achieved by using force signals. The relationship between flank wear and the ratio of force components was established on the basis of data obtained from a series of experiments. Measurement of the ratio between the feed force and the cutting force components (F_f/F_c) has been found to provide a practical method for an in-process approach to the quantification of tool wear. A series of experiments was conducted to study the effects of tool wear as well as other cutting parameters on the cutting force signals, and to establish a relationship between the force signals, tool wear and other cutting parameters. The flank wear and the ratio of forces at different working conditions were collected experimentally to develop a mathematical model for predicting flank wear. The model was verified by comparing the experimental values with the predicted values. The relationship was then used for determination of tool flank wear.     

A computer algorithm for flank and crater wear estimation in CNC turning operations

In order to increase the productivity of turning processes, several attempts have been made in the recent past for tool wear estimation and classification in turning operations. The tool flank and crater wear can be predicted by a number of models including statistical, pattern recognition, quantitative and neural network models. In this paper, a computer algorithm of new quantitative models for flank and crater wear estimation is presented. First, a quantitative model based on a correlation between increases in feed and radial forces and the average width of flank wear is developed. Then another model which relates acoustic emission (AE_rms) in the turning operation with the flank and crater wear developed on the tool is presented. The flank wear estimated by the first model is then employed in the second model to predict the crater wear on the tool insert. The influence of flank and crater wear on AE_rms generated during the turning operation has also been investigated. Additionally, chip-flow direction and tool–chip rake face interfacing area are also examined. The experimental results indicate that the computer program developed, based on the algorithm mentioned above, has a high accuracy for estimation of tool flank wear.     

The statistical modeling of surface roughness in high-speed flat end milling

Surface roughness is one of the most important requirements in machining process. The surface roughness value is a result of the tool wear. When tool wear increase, the surface roughness also increases. The determination of the sufficient cutting parameters is a very important process obtained by means of both minimum surface roughness values and long tool life. The statistical models were developed to predict the surface roughness.This paper presents the development of a statistical model for surface roughness estimation in a high-speed flat end milling process under wet cutting conditions, using machining variables such as spindle speed, feed rate, depth of cut, and step over. First- and second-order models were developed using experimental results of a rotatable central composite design, and assessed by means of various statistical tests. The highest coefficient of correlation (R_adj²) (88%) was obtained with a 10-parameter second-order model. Meanwhile, a time trend was observed in residual values between model predictions and experimental data, reflecting the probable effect of the tool wear on surface roughness. Thus, in order to enhance the estimation capability of the model, another independent variable was included into the model to account for the effect of the tool wear, and the total operating time of the tool was selected as the most suitable variable for this purpose. By inserting this new variable as a linear term into the model, R_adj² was increased to 94% and a good fit was observed between the model predictions and supplementary experimental data.In this study, it was observed that, the order of significance of the main variables is as X₅>X₃>X₄>X₁>X₂ (total machining time, depth of cut, step over, spindle speed and feed rate, respectively).     

Modelling geometric and thermal errors in a five-axis cnc machine tool

The total volumetric error within the workspace of a machine tool is induced by the propagation of both scalar and position dependent geometrical errors, as well as time-variant thermal errors. This paper presents a compact volumetric error model which can be used as a basis for a practical compensation scheme. The broad objective is to increase the achievable accuracy of an industrial five-axis CNC machine tool. In place of using Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) transformations, the method used here directly considers the shape and joint transformations for inaccurate links and joints using small angle approximations and then finds the total volumetric error in the workspace as a function of all the possible errors.The development of the model shows that angular deviations are independent of translational errors. However, the tool point deviations are dependent on both translational and rotational errors. The model has been used for the design and testing of a compensation strategy. The simulation studies indicate that CNC compensation for errors in X, Y and Z axes is possible. However, the capability of the CNC compensation for pitch, roll and yaw errors is dependent on the positioning of the rotary axes on the machine tool. This is shown by an example using the compensation scheme developed.     

Mechanistic model for the reaming process with emphasis on process faults

A mechanistic model is developed to predict the cutting forces for an arbitrary reamer geometry. Inputs to the model include: tool geometry, feed, speed, initial hole geometry, and process faults including parallel offset runout, spindle tilt, their respective locating angles, and tool/hole axis misalignment. Given these input parameters, the model predicts torque, thrust, and radial forces. The cutting edges of the reamer are divided into elements and the elemental forces are determined from a fundamental oblique cutting model. The model is calibrated over a range of feed, speed, and varying tool geometry. Model validation tests were conducted and model predictions match experimental data well. The effects of process faults on cutting forces are examined through model-based studies. It was found that parallel offset runout, spindle tilt, spindle tilt locating angle, and tool/hole axis misalignment have significant effects on the radial forces. These radial forces are shown to be correlated to hole quality.     

Heat transfer and solidification analysis in the mould region of a horizontal copper alloy billet continuous caster

Abstract

Mathematical modelling has been widely used as a powerful tool for process design and optimisation of the continuous casting process. A three-dimensional heat transfer model was developed to simulate heat transfer and solidification in a horizontal billet continuous casting system. In this model, the air gap formation and its effect on heat extraction from the billet was also modelled and considered. The developed model was run to simulate the heat transfer and solidification for an industrial billet casting machine. The predicted temperature distribution within the mould and billet was compared with those measured on an industrial caster and good agreement was obtained. Parametric studies were carried out to evaluate the effects of different parameters on the temperature distribution and solidification profile within the cast brass billet. Finally, the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) was determined experimentally and a semi-empirical correlation between measured SDAS and corresponding calculated cooling rate was proposed for continuously cast brass billet.     

On the dynamics of ball end milling: modeling of cutting forces and stability analysis

This paper presents a dynamic force model and a stability analysis for ball end milling. The concept of the equivalent orthogonal cutting conditions, applied to modeling of the mechanics of ball end milling, is extended to include the dynamics of cutting forces. The tool is divided into very thin slices and the cutting force applied to each slice is calculated and summed for all the teeth engaged. To calculate the instantaneous chip thickness of each tooth slice, the method of regenerative chip load calculation which accounts for the effects of both the surface undulations and the instantaneous deflection is used. To include the effect of the interference of the flank face of the tool with the finished surface of the work, the plowing force is also considered in the developed model. Experimental cutting forces are obtained using a five-axis milling machine with a rotary dynamometer. The developed dynamic model is capable of generating force and torque patterns with very good agreement with the experimental data. Stability of the ball end milling in the semi-finishing operation of die cavities is also studied in this paper. The tangential and radial forces predicted by the method of equivalent orthogonal condition are fitted by the equations F_t = K_t(Z)bh_av and F_r = K_r(Z)F_t, where b is the depth of cut and h_av is the average chip thickness along the cutting edge and Z is the tool axis coordinate. The polynomial functions K_t(Z) and K_r(Z) are the cutting force constants. The interdependency of the axial and radial depths of cut in ball end milling results in an iterative solution of the characteristic equation for the critical width of cut and spindle speed. In addition, due to different cutting characteristics of the cutting edge at different heights of the ball nose, stability lobes are represented by surfaces. Comparison of the time domain simulation for the shoulder removal process in die cavity machining with the analytical predictions shows that the proposed method is capable of accurate prediction of the stability lobes.     

Experimental investigation and empirical modeling of the dry electric discharge machining process

Dry electric discharge machining (EDM) is an environment-friendly modification of the oil EDM process in which liquid dielectric is replaced by a gaseous medium. In the current work, parametric analysis of the process has been performed with tubular copper tool electrode and mild steel workpiece. Experiments have been conducted using air as the dielectric medium to study the effect of gap voltage, discharge current, pulse-on time, duty factor, air pressure and spindle speed on material removal rate (MRR), surface roughness (R_a) and tool wear rate (TWR). First, a set of exploratory experiments has been performed to identify the optimum tool design and to select input parameters and their levels for later stage experiments. Empirical models for MRR, R_a and TWR have then been developed by performing a designed experiment based on the central composite design of experiments. Response surface analysis has been done using the developed models. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were performed to identify the significant parameters. Current, duty factor, air pressure and spindle speed were found to have significant effects on MRR and R_a. However, TWR was found to be very small and independent of the input parameters.     

Modelling thermal cycles and intermetallic growth during friction melt bonding of ULC steel to aluminium alloy 2024-T3

Abstract

Dissimilar materials, aluminium 2024-T3 and ultralow carbon steel, have been welded by a novel process called friction melt bonding. A finite element thermal model is developed to predict temperature cycles and to estimate the fusion pool geometry and the intermetallic bonding layer thickness. The total mechanical power input in pseudo-steady state is inferred from in situ measurements at the tool torque and rotational speed. Temperature dependent properties, including the latent heat of fusion, and proper contact conditions between the welded plates and the backing plate are included. Predicted temperatures are in agreement with the measurements at various distances from the weld centreline. Molten pool geometries and intermetallic thicknesses, whose control is crucial to insure good weld mechanical performances, are also in accordance with the experimental observations.     

Thermal and metal transfer behaviours in pulsed current gas metal arc weld deposition of Al–Mg alloy

Abstract

The control of pulsed current gas metal arc (GMA) welding is highly critical owing to the simultaneous influence of the pulse parameters on thermal and metal transfer behaviours of the process. An analytical model has been developed to provide a theoretical understanding of the influence of pulse parameters on the behaviour of metal transfer and thermal characteristics in pulsed current GMA welding using Al–Mg filler wire. The variations in thermal and metal transfer behaviours with changes in pulse parameters have been satisfactorily analysed considering a summarised influence of pulse parameters defined by a dimensionless factor &phis; = (I _b/I _p)ft _b, proposed previously. A large number of process parameters have been considered, as a result of using four different GMA welding power sources. The hypothesis has been verified using some previously reported experimental results. The theoretical model may be useful in the control of pulse parameters to achieve desired behaviours of thermal and metal transfer under different conditions of weld fabrication, thereby facilitating more universal application of GMA welding.     

Development of new-concept desk top size machine tool

A desktop multiprocess machinery has been designed that has two concepts: miniaturizing of machine tool and multiprocessing with a same machine tool. The prototype of desktop multiprocess machinery is developed in this study. This is tabletop size machine tool that has five changeable machining heads. Outline of main body and machining head are presented.In order to know the basic accuracy of desktop multiprocess machinery, experimental evaluation is carried out. Machining head setting error, stiffness of multiprocess machinery and straightness of X, Y, Z stage is measured. To study the basic performance of desktop multiprocess machinery, a complex machining experiment is carried out with the developed machine tool. The complex machining consists of three steps: electrode machining by milling, hole shaping by EDM, and hole finishing by ECM. These steps are performed in sequence on the same machine tool. The complex machining is successfully carried out. In order to evaluate the desktop multiprocess machinery from environmental point of view, machining energy, volume of machining liquid, and installation space of desktop multiprocess machinery are measured. The measured values are compared with estimated values with conventional machine tools. The machining energy, the volume of machining liquid, and the installation space of desktop multiprocess machinery are smaller than those of conventional machine tool.     

Themo-elasto-viscoplastic modelling of friction stir welding

Abstract

A coupled two-dimensional Eulerian thermo-elasto-viscoplastic model has been developed for modelling the friction stir welding process. First, a coupled thermo-viscoplastic analysis is performed to determine the temperature distribution in the full domain and the incompressible material flow around the spinning tool. Next, an elasto-viscoplastic analysis is performed outside the viscoplastic region to compute the residual stress. Both frictional heat and plastic deformation heat generation are considered in the model. Furthermore, this is the only known model computing residual stress accounting for plasticity caused by both thermal expansion and mechanical deformation due to material spinning. The computed residual stress is verified by comparing to experimentally measured data.     

Development of small-sized friction stirs welding equipment for hand-operated welding

Much attention has been paid to FSW as a useful joining process that provides superior characteristics compared with conventional fusion welding. However, the FSW equipment must have a high stiffness due to the applied load and the tool torque, which increases the size of the equipment. Therefore, it is difficult to use the FSW technique on-site for repairs and/or hand-operated welding. In this study, the relationship between the FSW parameters and the process loads was investigated for the FSW with a counterbalanced tool and preheating to evaluate the possible miniaturization of the equipment. The results revealed that the counterbalanced tool concept with preheating was effective for the miniaturization of the equipment because it reduces the applied l and the tool torque during the FSW. Welding direction force Fx and transverse direction force Fy can be reduced below 70 N and 50 N respectively.     

Tool setting on a B-axis rotary table of a precision lathe

A method has been developed for setting a single-point cutting tool on the axis of rotation of a B-axis rotary table on a precision lathe. The method requires that three grooves be machined in the face of a workpiece with the B-axis set at three different angles. The depths of each of the grooves are then measured, and the measured values are used to calculate the tool offset vector. Experiments on a four-axis diamond turning machine have verified the precision of this method. This method has a significant advantage over commercially available touch probe tool set stations, because touch probes are well known to damage the cutting edges of fragile tools, such as single-point diamond tools with a small nose radius and a large primary clearance angle. The method developed in this study does not subject the cutting edge of the tool to any stress beyond that of its intended purpose of machining workpiece material. Therefore, this method can be used to set extremely fragile single-point cutting tools without the risk of damaging the tools.     

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy as a monitoring tool for passivation and localized Corrosion of aluminum alloys

Pitting and crevice corrosion of Al alloys and Al-based metal matrix composites can be detected by characteristic changes of the impedance spectra in the low frequency region. A pitting model has been developed which is in agreement with the experimental data. A fitting procedure has been used to analyze a large number of data which have been obtained for as-received samples and samples which had been passivated in CeCl₃ solutions. This chemical passivation process produces surfaces which are very resistant to localized corrosion. Al 6061, Al/SiC and Al/graphite which had been passivated in CeCl₃ for one week did not pit in 0.5 N NaCl for at least one month. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is a convenient tool for monitoring of the passivation and the corrosion processes.     

Thermal fluid dynamics of liquid bridge transfer in laser wire deposition 3D printing

ABSTRACT

Liquid bridge transfer mode is most favourable deposition pattern in laser wire deposition. However, the thermal fluid dynamics has not been well understood. In this paper, we systematically investigated the fluid dynamics during liquid bridge transfer in the printing process. We developed a novel three-dimensional heat transfer and fluid flow model by considering the effect of wire feeding. The results showed that for typical process parameters the Weber number (We) of the fluid on the liquid bridge is on the order of O(10⁰～10¹). A dimensionless slenderness number (Sl), was roughly estimated at the range of 3.17～4.57 for maintaining the liquid bridge. This study provides the fluid mechanics insights of the metal transfer mechanisms in 3D printing process.     

Numerical optimisation of laser assisted friction stir welding of structural steel

ABSTRACT

Significant progress has been made on the implementation of friction stir welding (FSW) in the industry for aluminium alloys. However, steel FSW and other high-temperature alloys is still the subject of considerable research, mainly because of the short life and high cost of the FSW tool. Different auxiliary energies have been considered as a means of optimising the FSW process and reducing the forces on the tool during the plunge and traverse stages, but numerical studies on steel are particularly limited. Building on the state-of-art, laser-assisted steel FSW has been numerically developed and analysed as a viable process amendment. Laser-assisted FSW increased the traverse speed up to 1500?mm?min^?1, significantly higher than conventional steel FSW. The application of laser assistance with a distance of 20?mm from the rotating tool reduced the reaction force on the tool probe tip up to 55% when compared to standard FSW.     

A fine tool servo system for global position error compensation for a miniature ultra-precision lathe

There is an increasing demand for single-point diamond turning to manufacture micro components as well as micro features on a large workpiece surface. In order to obtain high accuracy and a fine surface finish of the large area workpiece, position control of machine tool has become the main concern to achieve the high precision position control. A coarse-fine servo system is able to provide a cost-effective solution. This system can provide information on the entire guidance errors profile data and simultaneously compensate the error in real-time by using the fine position control technique. In this study, a piezoelectric actuator based fine tool servo (FTS) system has been developed and it has been incorporated with a miniature ultra-precision lathe. A cost-effective position sensitivity detector (PSD) is integrated in the FTS design, which is able to measure the global straightness error of the translational slide accurately. The detected error signals are compensated by the FTS during the turning process. For better tracking performance, a proportional-integral (PI) feedback controller has been implemented and tested in this study. Experimental results show that the developed FTS can effectively and successfully compensate the micro waviness error which is caused by the x-axis translational slide of the miniature ultra-precision lathe.     

Dispersoid precipitation and process modelling in zirconium containing commercial aluminium alloys

Small dispersoid particles inhibit recrystallisation and are thus critical in controlling the grain structure of many high strength commercial aluminium alloys. A general, physical model has been developed for the precipitation of Al₃Zr dispersoids in aluminium alloys. The predictions of the model have been compared with results of an experimental investigation of Al₃Zr precipitation in 7050. The model has been shown to faithfully reproduce the distribution of dispersoids observed in this alloy, correctly predicting dispersoid free zones observed in interdendritic regions and at grain boundaries. Furthermore, the predicted precipitation kinetics agree well with experimental observation. The model has been used to study the effects of homogenisation conditions and alloy composition on dispersoid formation and has been shown to be a powerful tool for optimising the dispersoid distribution in 7xxx series aluminium alloys.