Machining
Introduction
• The material removal processes are a family of shaping operations in
which excess material is removed from a starting workpart so that what
remains is the desired final geometry.
• In conventional machining, a sharp cutting tool is used to mechanically
cut the material to achieve the desired geometry.
• Abrasive processes, which mechanically remove material by the action
of hard, abrasive particles.
• Nontraditional processes, which use various energy forms other than a
sharp cutting tool or abrasive particles to remove material. The energy
forms include mechanical, electrochemical, thermal, and chemical.
Advantages
Variety of work materials:
• Metals, plastics and plastic composites, ceramics
Variety of part shapes and geometric features:
• Regular geometries, such as flat planes, round holes, and cylinders.
Irregular geometries can be created, such as screw threads and T-slots.
Dimensional accuracy:
• Machining can produce dimensions to very close tolerances.
• Good surface finishes:
• Creating very smooth surface finishes.
Disadvantages
Wasteful of material:
• Material wastage in terms of chips formation
Time consuming:
• A machining operation generally takes more time to shape a given part
than alternative shaping processes such as casting or forging.
Principles of Metal Cutting
• Machining is a manufacturing process in which a sharp cutting tool is
used to cut away material to leave the desired part shape.
• This removed (cut away) material by cutting tool is called a chip.
• The predominant cutting action in machining involves shear deformation
of the work material to form a chip; as the chip is removed, a new
surface is exposed.
• In machining operations, either the tool rotates or moves in a linear
motion or the workpiece rotates or moves.
The Cutting Tool
• A cutting tool has one or more sharp cutting edges and is made of a
material that is harder than the work material.
• The cutting edge serves to separate a chip from the parent work material.
• Connected to the cutting edge are two surfaces of the tool: the rake face
and the flank.
• The rake face, which directs the flow of the newly formed chip, is
oriented at a certain angle called the rake angle α.
• It is measured relative to a plane perpendicular to the work surface.
• The rake angle can be positive, zero, or negative.
• Tool rake ranging from negative to positive has an effect on the
formation of the chip and on the surface finish.
• Zero- and negative-rake tools are stronger and have a longer working life
than positive-rake tools.
• Negative-rake tools produce poor finishes at low cutting speeds but give
a good finish at high speeds.
• Positive-rake tools are able for cutting at low speeds and can produce
good finishes when they are properly sharpened.
• The flank of the tool provides a clearance between the tool and the newly
generated work surface, thus protecting the surface from abrasion, which
would degrade the finish.
• This flank surface is oriented at an angle called the relief angle.
• There are two basic types of cutting tools:
(a) Single-Point Tools
(b) Multiple-Cutting-Edge Tools
• .A single-point tool has one cutting edge and is used for operations such
as turning (lathe operations).
• During machining, the point of the tool penetrates below the original
work surface of the part.
• The point is usually rounded to a certain radius, called the nose radius.
• Multiple-cutting-edge tools have more than one cutting edge and usually
achieve their motion relative to the workpart by rotating.
• Drilling and milling use rotating multiple-cutting-edge tools.
Cutting Conditions
• Relative motion is required between the tool and work to perform a
machining operation.
• This relative motion is achieved in most machining operations by means
of a primary motion, called the cutting speed, v, and a secondary motion,
called the feed, f.
• In feed, the tool must be moved laterally across the work and this is a
much slower motion.
• The remaining dimension of the cut is the penetration of the cutting tool
below the original work surface, called the depth of cut, d.
• Collectively, speed, feed, and depth of cut are called the cutting
conditions.
• They can be used to calculate the material removal rate for the process:
• The cutting conditions for a turning operation are depicted next.
• Machining operations usually divide into two categories
(1) Roughing Cuts
(2) Finishing Cuts
• Roughing cuts are used to remove large amounts of material from the
starting workpart.
• Finishing cuts are used to complete the part and achieve the final
dimensions, and surface finish.
• A cutting fluid is often applied to the machining operation to cool and
lubricate the cutting tool.
Types of Chips
Discontinuous chip:
• When relatively brittle materials (e.g., cast irons) are machined at low
cutting speeds, the chips often form into separate segments (sometimes
the segments are loosely attached).
• This tends to impart an irregular texture to the machined surface.
• High tool–chip friction and large feed and depth of cut promote the
formation of this chip type.
Continuous chip:
• When ductile work materials are cut at high speeds and relatively small
feeds and depths, long continuous chips are formed.
• A good surface finish typically results when this chip type is formed.
• A sharp cutting edge on the tool and low tool–chip friction encourage the
formation of continuous chips.
• Long, continuous chips (as in turning) can cause problems with regard to
chip disposal and/or tangling about the tool.
• To solve these problems, turning tools are often equipped with chip
breakers.
Continuous chip with built-up edge:
• When machining ductile materials at low-to medium cutting speeds,
friction between tool and chip tends to cause portions of the work
material to adhere to the rake face of the tool near the cutting edge.
• This formation is called a built-up edge (BUE).
• The formation of a BUE is cyclical; it forms and grows, then becomes
unstable and breaks off.
• Much of the detached BUE is carried away with the chip, sometimes
taking portions of the tool rake face with it, which reduces the life of the
cutting tool.
• Portions of the detached BUE that are not carried off with the chip
become imbedded in the newly created work surface, causing the surface
to become rough.
Serrated Chips:
• These chips are semi-continuous.
• They possess a saw-tooth appearance that is produced by a cyclical chip
formation of alternating high shear strain followed by low shear strain.
• This chip is associated with certain difficult-to-machine metals such as
titanium alloys, nickel-base super alloys, and austenitic stainless steels
when they are machined at higher cutting speeds.
• However, the phenomenon is also found with more common work metals
(e.g., steels) when they are cut at high speeds.
Cutting Temperature
• Of the total energy consumed in machining, nearly all of it (⁓98%) is
converted into heat.
• This heat can cause temperatures to be very high at the tool–chip
interface — over 600oC is not unusual.
• The remaining energy (⁓2%) is retained as elastic energy in the chip.
• Cutting temperatures are important because high temperatures:
(1) reduce tool life
(2) produce hot chips that pose safety hazards to the machine
operator
(3) can cause inaccuracies in workpart dimensions due to thermal
expansion of the work material.