Defining the effects of cutting parameters on burr formation and minimization in ultra-precision grooving of amorphous alloy

Amorphous nickel phosphorus (Ni-P) alloy is a suitable mold material for fabricating micropatterns on optical elements for enhancing their performances. Ultra-precision cutting is preferred to be used to machine the mold material for high precision in a large workpiece. However, burrs and chippings always form and are detrimental especially when fabricating micropatterns. The formation mechanisms of burrs and chippings have not yet been revealed precisely in the cutting processes of amorphous alloys, because their cutting behavior is more complex and less discussed in existing researches than that of crystalline metals. In the present study, the burr formation process of amorphous Ni-P is defined and a three-dimensional cutting model using energy method is proposed to predict and minimize burrs and chippings. Microgrooving experiments were conducted with different undeformed chip geometries using three types of cutting tools to observe burr formation processes. Large burrs and chippings were formed when cutting with a tapered square tool and a tilted triangle tool. These large burrs and chippings were found to be induced by large slippages that are unique to amorphous alloys. It was revealed that burrs and chippings appear when the angle between the chip flow direction and the groove edge is less than a critical value. Energy method was used to predict the chip flow directions and the calculated results agree with the experimental ones, which proved that the energy method is valid for designing an appropriate undeformed chip geometry to reduce burrs and chippings in ultra-precision grooving.