An investigation of the machining performance and mechanisms with rake face textured cutting tools

Abstract

A literature review about the surface texture fabrication technologies and the previous studies of using surface textured cutting tools to improve the cutting performance is reported. It is shown that cutting tool surface texture is a promising technology to reduce the friction at the tool-chip and tool-work interfaces and cutting tool wear in machining. However, a comprehensive investigation is imperative to provide an insight into the mechanisms under which cutting tool surface textures improve the cutting performance.

An experimental study is reported to investigate the effect of parallelly arranged micro-groove arrays on the surface wettability of cemented carbides to an emulsified cutting fluid, and the tribological performance of the textured surfaces. It is found that suitably designed micro-grooves can lead to complete wetting where liquid propagates quickly along the grooves to improve the tribological condition of the textured surfaces with much reduced frictional coefficient as compared to untextured samples.

An experimental investigation into the effect of rake face textures on the cutting performance in orthogonal machining of the AISI 1040 steel is presented. It is revealed that micro-grooved surface textures on the rake face of cutting tools can reduce the thrust force by up to 14.68%, owing to the reduced tool-chip frictional force and the increased shear angle in the share plane as compared to untextured tools. A predictive cutting force model for machining with rake face textured cutting tools is then developed using the unified mechanics of cutting approach and experimentally verified for carbide cutting tools cutting the AISI 1040 steel.

A finite element model representing the machining process using a rake face textured cutting tool is established and experimentally verified. A simulation study is then undertaken using the developed model, which reveals the mechanisms behind which cutting tool rake face textures affect the friction and wear on the rake face. It shows that rake face textured cutting tools affect the amount of heat generated during chip formation and heat conduction into the cutting tool, so as to reduce the cutting temperatures and tool wear on the rake face.