Chapter 7

Machining of metals
Subjects of interest
• Introduction/objectives
• Type of machining operations
• Mechanics of machining
• Three dimensional machining
• Temperature in metal cutting
• Cutting fluids
• Tool materials and tool life
• Grinding processes
• Non traditional machining processes
• Economics of machining
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 Objectives

• This chapter aims to provide basic backgrounds of

different types of machining processes and highlights on an
understanding of important parameters which affects
machining of metals.
• Mechanics of machining is introduced for the calculation of
power used in metal machining operation
• Finally defects occurring in the machining processes will
be discussed with its solutions. Significant factors
influencing economics of machining will also be included to
give the optimum machining efficiency.

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 • Machining is operated by selectively
Introduction removing the metal from the workpiece
www.dragonworks.info to produce the required shape.
• Removal of metal parts is accomplished
by straining a local region of the
workpiece to fracture by the relative
motion of the tool and the workpiece.

Turning of metal

• Conventional methods require

mainly mechanical energy.
• More advanced metal-removal
processes involve chemical, electrical
or thermal energy.

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EDM machining Jan-Mar 2007
• Produce shapes with high dimensional tolerance, good surface
finish and often with complex geometry such as holes, slots or re-
entrant angles.
• A secondary processing operation (finishing process) employed
after a primary process such as hot rolling, forging or casting.
• Tooling must be stronger than the workpiece.

Machined parts Micro machined parts

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 Type of machining operations

Classification of machining operations is roughly divided into:

• Single point cutting

• Multiple point cutting
• Grinding
• Electro discharge machining
• Electrochemical machining

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 Single point cutting
Removal of the metal from the workpiece by means of cutting
tools which have one major cutting edge.

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 Multiple point cutting
Removal of the metal from the workpiece by means of cutting
tools which have more than one major cutting edge.

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 Grinding
Removal of the metal from the workpiece using tool made from
abrasive particles of irregular geometry.

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 Electrical discharge machining
Removal of material from the workpiece by spark discharges,
which are produced by connecting both tool (electrode) and
workpiece to a power supply.

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 Electrochemical machining
Removal of material from the workpiece by electrolysis. Tool
(electrode) and workpiece are immersed in an electrolyte and
connected to a power supply.

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Mechanics of machining
What happens during
machining of a bar on a lathe?

A chip of material is
removed from the surface
of the workpiece.
Principal parameters:
• the cutting speed, v
• the depth of cut, w or d
• the feed, f.

Time requires to turn a cylindrical

surface of length Lw,

Lw Where nw is the number

t= of revolutions of the
fn w workpiece per second.
Geometry of single-point lathe turning
…Eq. 1
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 workpiece feed
Mechanism of chip
formation
Chip formation t

• The tool removes material near the tc

α
surface of the workpiece by rake angle
rake
chip

face
shearing it to form the chip. Clearance
Clearance
angle θ
• Material with thickness t is sheared face
tool

and travels as a chip of thickness tc Machined

surface
along the rake face of the tool.
0.25 mm
• The chip thickness ratio (cutting t
ratio) r = t / tc.
• Extensive deformation has taken φ tc
place, as seen from the fibre texture
of the polished and etched metal
workpiece. rake angle α

Section through chip and workpiece

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 Two basic deformation zone:
• The entire chip is deformed as it meets the tool, known as primary
shear. Shear plane angle is φ.

• Localised region of intense shear occurring due to the friction at the

rake face, known as secondary shear.

Before
deformation

Shear
angle φ Primary shear

Secondary shear Secondary shear

Well defined
shear plane

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 The relationship between
The shear angle φ is controlled by
rake angle, shear angle,
the cutting ratio r.
and chip thickness ratio, r
can be derived as follows
shear angle φ
t OD sin φ
rake angle α r= = …Eq. 2
t c OD cos(φ − α )

r cos α
t and tan φ = …Eq. 3
1 − r sin α
φ−α

Triangle ODF has been

φ tc sheared to form ODF’, which
Wedge
α has the same area.
angle ω
The shear strain is given by

FF ' cos α
γ = =
h sin φ cos(φ − α )
Primary shear in single point cutting
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…Eq. 4
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 • The amount of primary shear is related to the rake angle α.

(a) Positive rake angle α (6-30o)

(a) If α is a large positive value,
leads to low cutting forces but the material is deformed less in
fragile tools
the chip.

(b) Negative rake angle α

(b) If α is a negative value, the
produces higher cutting forces material is forced back on itself, thus
and more robust tools.
requiring higher cutting forces.

(c) The tool has a negative α

(c) Negative rake angle tool with
chip breaker – a useful but a small area of positive rake
compromise. just behind the cutting edge.

chip breaker.
Rake face configuration

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 Effect of rake face contact length on
chip thickness and shear plane angle

• The deformed chip is flowing over

a static tool, leading to frictional
t force similar to friction hill.
• If µ is greater than 0.5, sticky
friction will result and flow will
occur only within the workpiece
but not at the tool-workpiece
interface.
tc = t
tc > t
• Sticky friction is the norm in
cutting due to difficulty in applying
lubricant.

force to move the chip chip thickness
change shear angle φ

Efficient cutting occurs when shear angle φ ~ 45o.

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 The cutting speed
There are three velocities:
1) Cutting speed v, is the velocity of the tool relative to the workpiece.
2) Chip velocity vc, is the velocity of the chip relative to the tool face
3) Shear velocity vs, is the velocity of the chip relative to the work.

Kinematic relationship
vc From continuity of mass, vt = vctc
workpiece t φ−α
v t vc
r= = …Eq. 5
v φ
vs tc v
D
From kinematic relationship, the vector
φ vs vc
O tc sum of the cutting velocity and the chip
velocity = the shear velocity vector.
tool

υ cos α
υs = …Eq. 6
cos(φ − α )
Velocity relationships in orthogonal
machining
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 Calculation of the cutting ratio from chip length

t
Since volume is constant during
plastic deformation, and chip
v width b is essentially constant,
Lc
D
φ vs vc
Lw tb = Lc t c b
O tc
t Lc …Eq. 7
tool = =r
t c Lw
workpiece

• Therefore we could also obtain r from the ratio of the chip length Lc, to
the length of the workpiece from which it came, Lw

• If Lc is unknown, it can be determined by Wc …Eq. 8

measuring the weight of chips Wc and by Lw tb =
ρ
knowing the density of the metal ρ.
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 Shear strain rate in cutting

• dγ υs
γ = = …Eq. 9
dt ( y s ) max

Where (ys)max is the estimate of the maximum value of the

thickness of the shear zone, ~ 25 mm.

Example: Using realistic values of φ = 20, α = 5o, ν = 3 m.s-1 and

(ys)max ~ 25 mm. We calculate γ = 1.2 x 105 s-1.

This is about several orders of magnitude greater than the strain

rate usually associated with high-speed metal working operation.

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 Forces and stresses in metal cutting
Fns
Fv
PR - the resultant force between the tool
P’R
Fh Fs face and the chip
chip
P’R - the equal resultant force between
the workpiece and the chip
α
φ
Fn β PR Rake
face The resultant force to the rake face of the
Ft tool can be resolved into tangential
Force component in orthogonal component Ft and normal component Fn,
machining.

• The horizontal (cutting) Fh and vertical (thrust) Fv forces in cutting can

be measured independently using a strain-gauge toolpost dynamometer.
Rake face
• It can be shown that α
Fn β
Ft = Fh sin α + Fv cos α PR

h cosα
Fh α
Ft F c
v os
Fn = Fh cos α − Fv sin α α

α F
Fv α
Fh si

Fv sin
nα

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 • If the components of the cutting force are
known, then the coefficient of friction µ in the
tool face is given by

Ft Fv + Fh tan α
µ = tan β = = …Eq. 10
Fn Fh − Fv tan α

Finally, the resultant force may be resolved parallel Fs and normal

Fns to the shear plane.

Fns
Fv sinφ
Fv
…Eq. 11 Fs = Fh cos φ − Fv sin φ φ
Fv cosφ
Fh
P’R φ Fs
…Eq. 12 Fns = Fh sin φ + Fv cos φ Fh cosφ
Fh sinφ

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 The average shear stress τ is
Fs divided by the area of the t
shear plane As = bt / sinφ D
φ Fs
Fs Fs sin φ O tc
τ= = …Eq. 13 tool
As bt
workpiece

The shear stress in cutting is the

main parameter affecting the
energy requirement.
Fns t D

And the normal stress σ is

Fs
φ
Fns Fns sin φ
σ= = …Eq. 14 O
As bt

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• We need to know the shear angle φ in t 0.25 mm

order to calculate the shear stress in cutting

from force measurements.
φ tc
• The shear angle φ can be measured
experimentally by suddenly stopping the rake angle α
cutting process and using metallographic
techniques to determine the shear zone.
Section through chip and
workpiece

• Merchant predicted φ by assuming that the shear plane would

be at the angle which minimises the work done in cutting.

π α β
φ= + + …Eq. 15
4 2 2

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 However, in practice, the shear plane angle φ is varied
depending on the nature of each material (composition & heat
treatment) to be machined.

Based on the upper bound model of the shear zone, a criterion

for predicting φ has been developed. The predicted shear plane
angle φο is given by

ko   α  α 
cos(φ o − α )sin φ o = cos 45 − 2  sin  45 + 2  …Eq. 16
k1     

Where α = rake angle

ko = σo /√ 3 and σo is the yield strength of the material
k1 = σu /√ 3 and σu is the tensile strength of the material.

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 Example: Determine the shear plane angle in orthogonal
machining with a 6o positive rake angle for hot-rolled AISI 1040 steel
and annealed commercially pure copper.

Given Hot-rolled 1040 steel σo = 415 MPa, σu = 630 MPa

Annealed copper σo = 70 MPa, σu = 207 MPa

ko   6  6  For hot-roll 1040 steel:

cos(φ o − 6 )sin φ o =  cos 45 −  sin  45 + 
k1   2  2    415 
2φ o = sin −1 1.104 × − 0.1045  + 6 o
ko  
cos(φ o − 6 )sin φ o = (0.552)  630
k1 2φ o = sin −1 (0.6227) + 6 o = 44.5 o
1
2
[ k
]
sin 6 o + sin (2φ o − 6 ) = o (0.552)
k1
φo = 22.3 o Experimental range is 23 to 29o

  k  For annealed copper:

2φ o = sin −1 1.104 o − 0.1045  + 6 o
  k1    70 
2φ o = sin −1 1.104 × − 0.1045  + 6 o
  207 
Note that ko/k1 is a fraction, then
2φ o = sin −1 (0.2688) + 6 o = 21.6 o
we can use tensile values
directly in the above equations. φo = 10.8 o Experimental range is 11 to 13.5o

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 Specific cutting energy

• Power required for cutting is Fhv

• The volume of metal removed
per unit time (metal removal rate)
is Zw = btv

• Therefore the energy per unit

volume U is given by
Fh v Fh v Fh
U= = = …Eq. 17
Zw btv bt

Where b is the width of the chip

Force values of specific cutting energy for
t is the undeformed chip thickness various materials and machining
operations

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 The specific cutting energy U depends on the material being
machined and also on the cutting speed, feed, rake angle, and
other machining parameters.
(at cutting speed > 3 m.s-1 , U is independent of speed)

The total energy for cutting can be divided into

a number of components:

1. The total energy required to produce the gross deformation in

the shear zone.
2. The frictional energy resulting from the chip sliding over the
tool face.
3. Energy required to curl the chip.
4. Momentum energy associated with the momentum change as
the metal crosses the shear plane.
5. The energy required to produce the new surface area.

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 Example: In an orthogonal cutting process v = 2.5 m.s-1, α = 6o,
and the width of cut is b = 10 mm. The underformed chip thickness
is 200 µm. If 13.36 g of steel chips with a total length of 500 mm
are obtained, what is the slip plane angle? density = 7830 kg.m-3.

From Eq.8, thickness of chip Chip thickness ratio

Wc 0.01336kg t 0.200
tc = = r= = = 0.586
ρbL (7830kg.m −3 ) × (0.010m)(0.500m) t c 0.341
tc = 0.341mm

From Eq.3 β =?, from Eq.10

r cos α 0.586 cos 6 o Ft Fv + Fh tan α

tan φ = = = 0.621 µ = tan β = =
1 − r sin α 1 − 0.586 sin 6 o Fn Fh − Fv tan α
φ = 32 o 440 + 1100 tan 6 o
tan β = = 0.527
1100 − 440 tan 6 o

β = 27.8 o
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If a toolpost dynamometer gives cutting and thrust forces of Fh = 1100 N
and Fv = 440 N, determine the percentage of the total energy that goes
into overcoming friction at the tool-chip interface and the percentage that
is required for cutting along the shear plane. (Density ρ = 7830 kg.m-3.)

The total specific energy is The frictional specific energy at the tool-
chip interface Uf and along the shear plane
U = U f +Us Us is
From Eq. 17 Fh Ft vc Ft r Fv
U= Uf = = and, U s = s s
bt btv bt btv
Fv Fns Friction energy U f Ft vc Ft r
Thus = = =
P’R
Fh Fs Total energy U Fh v Fh
Vc chip
Ft = PR sin β , and PR = PR' = Fv2 + Fh2
α
φ PR = (440) 2 + (1100) 2 = 1185 N
Fn β Rake
( )
PR
face
Ft = 1185 sin 27.8 o = 553N
Ft
553(0.586)
% friction energy = × 100 = 29.5%
1100
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 From Eq.17, From Eq.11,

Shearing engergy Fs v s Fs = Fh cos φ − Fv sin φ

=
Total energy Fh v Fs = 1100 cos 32 o − 440 sin 32 o
Fs = 700 N
v cos α 2.5 cos 6 o
vs = = = 2.77 m.s −1
cos(φ − α ) cos(32 − 6)
700 × 2.77
% shearing energy = × 100 = 70.5%
1100 × 2.5
Fh v 1100 × 2.5 −2 −3
U= = N .m = 550 MJm
btv 0.010 × (200 × 10 −6 ) × 2.5

This analysis of energy distribution neglects two other energy

requirements in cutting:
• Surface energy required to produce new surfaces.
• Momentum change as the metal crosses the shear plane
(significant in high-speed machining at cutting speeds above 120 m.s-1.)
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Type of machining chips

Three general classifications of chips are formed in the machining

process.

(a) Continuous chip (b) Chip with a built up (c) Discontinuous chip
edge, BUE

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 Continuous chips Discontinuous chips

Continuous chip is characteristic Discontinuous chip is formed

of cutting ductile materials under in brittle materials which cannot
steady stage conditions. withstand the high shear strains
However, long continuous chips imposed in the machining
present handling and removal process without fracture.
problems in practical operation. Ex: cast iron and cast brass,
may occur in ductile materials

required chipbreaker. machined at very low speeds
and high feed.
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Chip with a built-up edge (BUE)

• Under conditions where the friction

between the chip and the rake face of the
tool is high, the chip may weld to the tool
face.
• The accumulation of the chip material is
known as a built-up edge (BUE). Built-up edge

• The formation of BUE is due to work

hardening in the secondary shear zone at
low speed (since heat is transferred to the
tool).
Chip formation with a
• The BUE act as a substitute cutting built-up edge.

edge (blunt tool with a low rake angle).

Poor texture on the surface

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 Machining force

• Due to complexity of practical

machining operations, the machining
force Fh often is related empirically to
the machining parameters by equation
of the type

Fh = kd a f b …Eq. 18
Effect of cutting speed on cutting force.

Where d is the depth of cut Speed Force

f is the feed
k is a function of rake angle,
Due to low temperature at low
decreasing about 1% speed
work hardening
per degree increase in
rake angle.
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 Three-dimensional machining
• Orthogonal machining such as surface broaching, lathe cutoff
operations, and plain milling are two dimensional where the
cutting edge is perpendicular to the cutting velocity vector.
• Most practical machining operations are three dimensional.
• Ex: drilling and milling.

z • Rotating the tool around x axis

z

change the width of the cut.
• Rotating the tool around y axis

change the rake angle α.
x x • Rotating the tool around z axis
( by an inclination angle i)

y y change the cutting process to
(a) Orthogonal cutting (b) Three dimensional cutting three dimensional.

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Three dimensional cutting tool

• has two cutting edges, which cut simultaneously.

• primary cutting edge is the side-cutting edge.
• secondary cutting edge is the end-cutting edge.
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 Drilling machine
Multiple-edge cutting tools
Drilling

• Used to created round holes in a

workpiece and/or for further operations.
• Twist drills are usually suitable for holes
which a length less than five times their
diameter.

Drill-workpiece
interface

Specialised tools for drill presses

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 Multiple-edge cutting tools
Milling
• Used to produce flat surfaces, angles, gear teeth and slotting.
• The tool consists of multiple cutting edges arranged around
an axis.
• The primary cutting action is produced by rotation of the tool
and the feed by motion of the workpiece.
Tool
Work Primary
surface motion
Machined
surface
Continuous
feed
motion, f Face mill

Work
piece
Transient surface Peripheral mill End mill

Tool-workpiece arrangement typical for

Three common milling cutters.
milling.
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 Temperature in metal cutting
• A significant temperature rise is due
to large plastic strain and very high
strain rate although the process is
normally carried out at ambient
temperature.
• Strain rate is high in cutting and
almost all the plastic work is converted
into heat.
• Very high temperature is created in
the secondary deformation zone.
Temperature gradient (K) in the cutting • At very high strain rate
no time for
zone when machining steel. heat dissipation
temperature rise.

Temperature in metal cutting is therefore an important factor

affecting the choice of tool materials, tool life, type of lubricant,
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 If all the heat generated goes into the chip, the adiabatic
temperature is given by

U Where U = specific cutting energy

Tad = ρ = the density of the workpiece material
ρc …Eq. 19 c = specific heat of workpiece.

For lower velocities, the temperature will be less than in Eq.19. The
approximate chip-tool interface temperature is given by
Where C ~ 0.4 and p ~ 1/3 to 1/2.
p
T  1  Rt is thermal number
= C  
Tad  Rt 
Note: The finite element method has been
…Eq. 20
used for calculating the temperature
distributions in the chip and the tool.
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 Cutting fluids
• The cutting fluids are designed to ameliorate the effects of high
local temperatures and high friction at the chip-tool interface.

Primary functions of cutting fluid :

• To decrease friction and wear.
• To reduce temperature generation
in the cutting area.
• To wash away the chips from the
cutting area.
• To protect the newly machined
surface against corrosion.

Also, cutting fluids help to Cutting fluid used in machining

• Increase tool life, • Reduce power consumption

• Improve surface finish • Reduce thermal distortion of the
• Reduce cutting force workpiece.

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Cutting fluids are normally liquids, but can be gases.

There are two basic types of liquid cutting fluids

1) Petroleum-based nonsoluble fluids (straight cutting oils).
May contain mineral oil, fatting oils, sulphur or chlorine.
2) Water-miscible fluids (soluble oils). May contain some
contamination of fatty oils, fatty acids, wetting agents,
emulsifiers, sulphur, chlorine, rust inhibitors and germicides.
• Sulphur and chloride react with
fresh metal surfaces (active sites for
chemical reaction) to form compounds
with lower shear strength
reduce
friction.
• Chlorinated fluids work well at low
speeds and light loads due to slower
reaction of chlorine and metal whereas
sulphur compounds work well at
severe conditions. Vegetable-based cutting fluid
• Combination of both
more effective.
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 Tool materials and tool life
Properties of cutting tool materials:
• Hardness, particularly at high temperature
• Toughness to resist failure or chipping
• Chemical inertness with respect to the workpiece
• Thermal shock resistance
• Wear resistance, to maximise the lifetime of the tool. www.pdbrownesouth.com

Tool materials:
• Carbon and low alloy steels
• High speed steels (HSS)
• Cemented carbide
• Ceramic or oxide tools
• Diamond like structure

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Three main forms of wear in metal cutting

1) Adhesive wear : the tool and the chip weld together at local
asperities, and wear occurs by the fracture of the welded
junctions.
2) Abrasive wear : occurs as a result of hard particles on the
underside of the chip abrading the tool face by mechanical
action as the chip passes over the rake face.
3) Wear from solid-state diffusion from the tool materials to the
workpiece at high temperature and intimate contact at the
interface between the chip and the rake face.

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Two main types of wear in cutting tool:
1) Flank wear is the development of a
wear land on the tool due to abrasive
rubbing between the tool flank and the
newly generated surface.
2) Crater wear is the formation of a
circular crater in the rake face of the
tool, as a result of diffusion wear due
to high temperature developed at the Crater wear and flank wear
interface between the chip and the
rake face of the tool.

Rapid wear
Initial breakdown
Length of wear land
The predominant wear process

of cutting edge
depends on cutting speed.
• Flank wear dominates at low speed.
• Crater wear predominates at higher
speeds Cutting time
Typical wear curve for cutting
tool
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 Types of wear observed in single point cutting tools

1) Clearance face wear

2) Crater wear
3) Oxidation wear

High speed steel Cemented carbide Ceramic

The higher temperatures that occur at high cutting speeds ,

which results in increased tool wear.

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 Tool materials
Carbon and low alloy steels

• High carbon tool steel is the oldest cutting tool materials, having
C content ranging from 0.7 – 1.5% carbon.
• Shaped easily in the annealed condition and subsequently
hardened by quenching and tempering.
• Due to insufficient hardenability, martensite only obtained on
the surface whereas a tough interior provides the final tool very
shock resistant.
• Hv ~ 700 after quenching and tempering. However the tool will
be soften and becomes less and less wear resistance due to
coarsening of fine iron carbide particles – that provide strength.
• For low cutting speed due to a drop in hardness above 150oC.

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High speed steels (HSS)
• Retain their hot hardness up to 500oC.
• Cutting speed ~ 2 times higher than
carbon tool steels.
• Very stable secondary carbide
dispersions (between 500-650oC), giving
Tempering curve for M2 high speed steel
rise to a tempering curves.
• Carbon content in each steel is
balanced against the major alloying
elements to form the appropriate stable
mix of carbides with W, Mo, Cr and V.
• Cobalt is added to slow down the rate of
carbide coarsening
material can
withstand higher temperatures.
• M series have higher abrasive resistance
and cheaper.
• Cannot stand very high speed cutting.
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 • Consist of heat-resistant refractory
Cemented carbides carbides (hardness) embedded in a
ductile metal matrix (toughness).

• Normally made by powder processing using liquid

phase sintering.
• Has advantage over high speed steel in that the
obtained carbides are much more stable, see Table.
• They are brittle so should run without vibration or
Cemented carbides chatter.
fastened to the tool post.
• Cobalt is used as a binder.
• σo ~ 1500 - 2500 MPa,
depending on Vf and size
distribution of carbides.
• Cutting temperature up to
1100oC.
• Cutting speed ~ 5x that used
Microstructure of a K grade with high speed steel.
(WC-Co) cemented carbide.
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 Tool coatings
• Changing the tool surface properties.
surface engineering
• Coating can improve the performance of both high speed steel
and cemented carbide tool materials.
increased materials
removal rates, time taken to change the tool.
• Coating a very thin layer of TiC or TiN over the WC-Co tool
reduces the effects of adhesion and diffusion and reduces the
crater wear.
• Chemical and physical vapour
deposition (CVD, PVD) are two
methods of depositing thin carbide
layers onto materials.
• TiN layer (golden colour) is hard and
has low dissolution rate and friction
coefficient in steel.
• TiC binds well with the matrix,
has good abrasion and solution
wear resistance.
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
Ceramics or oxide tools
There are three categories:
1) Alumina (Al2O3)
2) A combination of alumina and titanium carbide
3) Silicon nitride (Si3N4), less thermal expansion than Al2O3

minimise thermal stress

• For machining cast irons at high speeds.

• Better wear resistance and less tendency for the tool to weld to
the chip.
• Cutting speed at 2-3 times > cemented carbides in uninterrupted
cuts where shock and vibration are minimised (due to poor
thermal shock and brittleness of ceramics).
• Required rigid tool mounts and rigid machine tools.
• Inherent unreliability of ceramic tooling limits its use to specialist
cutting operation.
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 ‘Diamond like’ structure

• Diamond provides the highest hot hardness of any material.

• Synthetic diamonds (1950s) and cubic boron nitride CBN (1970s),
made by high pressure, high temperature pressing. The latter
possesses Hv = 4000.
• Highest thermal conductivity
ideal for cutting tool, but has two
disadvantages; cost and diamond – graphite reversion at 650oC.
• Made by depositing a layer of small crystals on a carbide backing and
sintering them with a binder
polycrystalline diamond tooling
(PCD).
• Used for cutting low temperature materials, i.e., aluminium or
copper alloys.
• Used at very low cutting speed for very hard materials, i.e.,
ceramics.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

Tool performance
• Tool performance has been improved by the development
of tool coatings.

Minimum time required to surface machine a hot rolled mild

steel bar
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 Tool life determination

Tool life can determined based on different criteria;

1) The point at which the tool no longer makes economically
satisfactory parts, or
2) Defined in terms of an average or maximum allowable wear
land.
3) The point at which the tool has a complete destruction when
it ceases to cut, or
4) The degradation of the surface finish below some specified
limit, or the increase in the cutting force above some value, or
5) When the vibrational amplitude reaches a limiting value.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Taylor equation
• Cutting speed is the most important operating variable
influencing tool temperature, and hence, tool life.

Taylor has established the empirical relationship between

cutting speed v and the time t to reach a wear land of certain
dimension as

vtn = constant …Eq. 21

Where typical values of

the exponent n are: 0.1 for high-speed steel
0.2 for cemented carbide
0.4 for ceramic tool

Note: this is the machining time between regrinding the tool

not the total life before it is discarded.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Modified Taylor equation

Taylor equation has been extended by including parameters

such as feed f and depth of cut w as follows;

vtnwxfy = constant …Eq. 22

Note: Taylor equation is completely empirical and as with

other empirical relationships, it is dangerous to extrapolate
outside of the limits over which the data extend.

Rapid wear
Initial breakdown
Length of wear land
However, tool life can be conservatively

of cutting edge
estimated by using wear curves and the
replacement of the tool should be made
before they have used up their
economical life.
Cutting time
Typical wear curve for cutting
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol tool Jan-Mar 2007
 Machinability
Definition: The ability of a material to be machined.

Machinability depends of a number of factors:

1) Hardness – soft materials are easily sheared and require
low cutting forces.
2) Surface texture – how easy it is to produce the required
surface finish. Materials with high work hardening
exponent n tend to form built-up edge (BUE).
3) The maximum rate of metal removal – allow low cycle
times.
4) Tool life – abrasive particles can increase tool wear.
5) Chip formation – uniform discrete chips suggest good
machinability.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 To improve machinability

• Change the microstructure of the

materials. Soft particles are often deliberately
added to improve machinability.
• Reducing the cutting temperature by using
cutting fluid – can effectively act as coolant
and lubricant. Maximum tool surface
temperature remains the same but the volume
of the tool that reached the high temperature is
reduced.
• Control surface texture – reduce the
formation of built-up edge.
• Increase rate of material removal – modern
Effect of coolant on tool cutting machines, effective toolings.
temperatures.

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 Grinding process
Grinding processes employ an abrasive wheel containing
grains of hard material bonded in a matrix.

• Similar to multiple edge

cutting but with irregularly
shaped grain (tool).
• Each grain removes a short
chip of gradually increasing
thickness.
after a while
sharp edges become dull.

Geometry of chip formation in grinding

• Large negative rake angle α.
grains could slide over the

workpiece than cut.
• The depth of cut d in grinding is very small (a few µm).
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 Grinding wheel
• Employ aluminium oxide Al2O3 or silicon
carbide SiC as abrasive grain, which are often
alloyed with oxides of Ti, Cr, V, Zr, etc, to
impart special properties.
• Since SiC is harder than Al2O3, it finds
applications for the grinding of harder
materials.
Alumina grinding wheel
• Diamond wheels are used for fine finishing.
• Soft grade alumina wheel has a large Vf of
pores and low glass content
surprisingly
used for cutting hard materials and fast
material removal, where as hard grade
alumina wheel (denser) is used for soft
materials and for large area grinding. Diamond grinding wheel

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

• Wheel performance is controlled by
the strength of the bond. Binders
used are depending on application,
i.c., glass, rubber or organic resin.
• Interconnected porosity provides
the space to which the chips can go
and provides a path for the coolant to
be delivered to the cutting surface.

• Specific cutting energy is 10 times >

other cutting process since not all of
particles can cut but rub on the surface,
and also the rake angle is not optimised.
Glass bonded grinding wheel
• 70% of energy goes to the finished microstructure.
surface
very high temp, residual
stresses.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Grain depth of cut
The grain depth of cut t is
given by Approximate x-section of
grinding chip
b’

vw d t
t=2 …Eq. 23
Crv g D
D/2
Fh v g
Where U=
t v w bd
C = the number of active grains θ vg
on the wheel per unit area B A
(~1 – 5 mm-2) d
D = diameter of the wheel, and Lc
r = b’/t vw
vw = velocity of the workpiece Geometry in surface grinding
vg = velocity of the grinding wheel

d = wheel depth of cut and t << d

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 Specific cutting energy
The specific cutting energy U And U is strongly dependent
in grinding is on t
1
Fh v g U∝
U= …Eq. 24 t
v w bd
Where
Fh is the tangential force on the wheel , b is the chip width
vg is the velocity of grinding wheel , d is the wheel depth of cut
vw is the velocity of the workpiece.

If the grain cross section is assumed triangular, the force on a

single abrasive grain Fg will be

rv w d …Eq. 25
Fg ∝ rt ∝
Cv g D

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

Surface temperature
Large portion of energy in grinding process goes to raising
the temperature. The surface temperature Tw, strongly
dependent on the energy per unit surface area, is given by

Fg v g
Tw ∝ ∝ Ud …Eq. 25
vwb

• Ground surface temperature can be > 1600oC, which can lead

to melting or metallurgical changes, i.e., untempered
martensite, grinding cracks, surface oxidation (grinding burn).
• Improper grinding can also lead to residual tensile stresses
in the ground surface
using proper grinding fluid and softer
wheel at lower wheel speeds.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Grindability

Grindability is measured by using grinding ratio or G ratio,

which is the volume of material removed from the work per unit
volume of wheel wear.

G ratio Easier to grind

• The G ratio depends on the grinding process and grinding

conditions (wheel, fluid, speed and feed) as well as the material.
• The values of G ratio can vary from 2 to over 200.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

Example: A horizontal spindle surface grinder is cutting with
t = 5 mm and U = 40 GPa. Estimate the tangential force on the
wheel if the wheel speed is 30 m.s-1, the cross-feed per stroke
is 1.2 mm, the work speed is 0.3 m.s-1, and the wheel depth of
cut is 0.05 mm.

The rate of metal removal M = speed x feed x depth of cut

M = v w bd = 0.3(1.2 × 10 −3 )(0.05 × 10 −3 ) = 0.018 × 10 −6 m 3 s −1

From Eq. 24, required power

Power = U × M = (40 × 10 9 Nm −2 )(0.018 × 10 −6 m 3 s −1 )

Power = 720 Nm.s −1 = 720W

But Power = Fhvg

720 Nm.s −1
Fh = −1
= 24 N
30 m.s

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Non-traditional machining
processes
• The search for better ways of machining complex shapes
in hard materials.
• Use forms of energy other than mechanical energy.

Source of energy Name of process

Thermal energy processes Electrical discharge machine, EDM
Laser-beam machining, LBM
Plasma-arc machining, ECM
Electrical energy processes Electrochemical machining, ECM
Electrochemical grinding, ECG
Chemical process Chemical machining process
Mechanical process Ultrasonic machining, USM

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Electrical discharge machining (EDM)
• Required electrically conductive materials. Workpiece – anode and tool –
cathode. Independent of material hardness.
• Removal of material through melting or vaporisation caused by a high-
frequency spark discharge. EDM machined surface may be deleterious to
fatigue properties due to the recast layer.
• good selection of the proper electrode material for the workpiece
• Produce deep holes, slots, cavities in hard materials without drifting or can
do irregular contour.

Electrical discharge machining Electrical discharge wire cutting

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 Electrochemical machining (ECM)
• Metal is removed by anodic dissolution in an electrolytic cell. Workpiece –
anode, tool – cathode.
• rate of metal removal depends upon the amount of current passing
between the tool and the workpiece, independent of material hardness.
• ECM is a cold process which results in no thermal damage to the workpiece,
hence, giving a smooth burr-free surface.
• Not suited for producing sharp corners or cavities with flat bottoms.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Electrochemical grinding (ECG)

• A combination of ECM and abrasive grinding in which most

of the metal is removed by electrolytic action.
• It is used with hard carbides or difficult-to-grind alloys where
wheel wear or surface damage must be minimised.

ECG equipment Schematic diagram of ECG process

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Chemical machining (CHM)
• Metal is removed by controlling
chemical attack with chemical
reagents.
Process

Surface cleaning

Masking areas not Chemical machining of microscopic

to be dissolved holes and grooves in glass.

Attacking chemicals Photo

chemical
machining
product
Cleaning

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 Ultrasonic machining (USM)

USM
• The tool is excited around 20,000 Hz products
with a magnetostrictive transducer
while a slurry of fine abrasive
particles is introduced between the
tool and the workpiece.
• Each cycle of vibration removes
minute pieces of pieces of the
workpiece by fracture or erosion.
• Used mostly for machining brittle
hard materials such as
semiconductors, ceramics, or glass.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol

USM apparatus Jan-Mar 2007
 Economics of machining
Speed , feed Machining cost

tool cost
Tool wear Machining cost
Tool changing

• Optimum speed which balances these opposing factors and

results in minimum cost per piece.

Total cost Cu = C m + C n + Cc + Ct …Eq. 26

Where Cu = the total unit (per piece) cost

Cm = the machining cost
Cn = the cost associated with non-machining time,
i.e., setup cost, preparation, time for loading &
unloading, idle machine time.
Cc = the cost of tool changing
Ct = the tool cost per piece.
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 1) Machining cost
Machining cost Cm can be expressed by

C m = t m ( Lm + O m ) …Eq. 27

Where tm = the machining time per piece (including the time

the feed is engaged whether or not the tool is cutting.
Lm = the labour cost of a production operator per unit time
Om = the overhead charge for the machine, including
depreciation, indirect labour, maintenance, etc.

2) Cost of non-machining time

The cost of non-machining time Cn is usually
expressed as a fixed cost in dollars per piece.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 3) Cost of tool changing
The cost of tool changing Cc can be expressed by.

t 
C c = t g  ac (Lg + O g ) …Eq. 28
 t 

Where tg = the time required to grind and change a cutting edge

tac = the actual cutting time per piece
t = the tool life for a cutting edge
Lg = the labour rate for a toolroom operator
Og = the overhead rate for the tool room operation.

The Taylor equation for tool life can be written

K
1
πLa D
t = 
n
…Eq. 29 t ac = …Eq. 30
v fv

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

 4) Tool cost per piece

The tool cost per piece can be expressed by

t ac
Ct = C e …Eq. 31
t

Where Ce is the cost of a cutting edge, and tac/t is the

number of tool changes required per piece.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007

Variation of machining costs with
cutting speed

Cu = Cm+ Cn + Cc + Ct

Total unit cost

Cu

Production
Cost per piece

rate, pieces
per hour
Machining cost
Cm
Tool cost Tool changing
Ct
Cc
Cn- idle cost

Cutting speed
Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007
 References

• Dieter, G.E., Mechanical metallurgy, 1988, SI metric edition,

McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-100406-8.
• Edwards, L. and Endean, M., Manufacturing with materials,
1990, Butterworth Heinemann, ISBN 0-7506-2754-9.
• Beddroes, J. Bibbly M.J., Principles of metal manufacturing
processes, Arnold, ISBN 0 340 731621.

Suranaree University of Technology Tapany Udomphol Jan-Mar 2007