Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
DOI 10.1007/s00170-010-2703-6
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Effect of tool edge wear on the cutting forces
and vibrations in high-speed finish machining of Inconel
718: an experimental study and wavelet transform analysis
Ning Fang & P. Srinivasa Pai & S. Mosquea
Received: 4 November 2009 / Accepted: 26 April 2010 / Published online: 10 May 2010
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2010
Abstract High-speed machining has been receiving grow-
ing attention and wide applications in modern manufacture.
Extensive research has been conducted in the past on tool
flank wear and crater wear in high-speed machining (such
as milling, turning, and drilling). However, little study was
performed on the tool edge wear—the wear of a tool cutting
edge before it is fully worn away—that can result in early
tool failure and deteriorated machined surface quality. The
present study aims to fill this important research gap by
investigating the effect of tool edge wear on the cutting
forces and vibrations in 3D high-speed finish turning of
nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718. A carefully designed
set of turning experiments were performed with tool inserts
that have different tool edge radii ranging from 2 to 62 μm.
The experimental results reveal that the tool edge profile
dynamically changes across each point on the tool cutting
edge in 3D high-speed turning. Tool edge wear increases as
the tool edge radius increases. As tool edge wear
dynamically develops during the cutting process, all the
three components of the cutting forces (i.e., the cutting
force, the feed force, and the passive force) increase. The
cutting vibrations that accompany with dynamic tool edge
wear were analyzed using both the traditional fast Fourier
transform (FFT) technique and the modern discrete wavelet
transform technique. The results show that, compared to the
FFT, the discrete wavelet transform is more effective and
advantageous in revealing the variation of the cutting
vibrations across a wide range of frequency bands. The
discrete wavelet transform also reveals that the vibration
amplitude increases as the tool edge wear increases. The
N. Fang (*) : P. S. Pai : S. Mosquea
College of Engineering, Utah State University,
Logan, UT 84322-6000, USA
e-mail: ning.fang@usu.edu
average energy of wavelet coefficients calculated from the
cutting vibration signals can be employed to evaluate tool
edge wear in turning with tool inserts that have different
tool edge radii.
Keywords High-speed machining . Tool edge wear .
Cutting forces . Cutting vibrations . Inconel 718 .
Discrete wavelet transform
1 Literature review and introduction
High-speed machining (HSM) is an advanced machining
technology that yields high productivity and product quality
while simultaneously reducing manufacturing costs. Recent
years have seen the growing attention on and the wide
applications of HSM in modern manufacture, particularly in
the aerospace, aircraft, defense, automotive, and die and
mold-making industries. Depending on work and tool
materials and tool life requirements, the cutting speed used
in HSM is often 2–50 times higher than those employed in
conventional (relatively low speed) machining. For example,
for the HSM of easy-to-machine aluminums [1, 2], the
cutting speed may vary between 4,000 and 6,000 m/min. For
the HSM of difficult-to-machine materials, such as titanium
alloy Ti–6Al–4V [3–5] and nickel-based superalloy Inconel
718 [6–13], the cutting speed in HSM may vary between 60
and 100 m/min with acceptable tool life.
1.1 Tool edge wear in high-speed finish machining
of Inconel 718
With a high strength-to-weight ratio, excellent mechanical
properties, and superior corrosion resistance, Inconel 718
has been increasingly used for making critical components,
66
parts, and structures in the aerospace and aircraft industries.
For example, it has been used as a structural material for a
variety of components in jet engines, and it accounts for
more than half of the total weight of the jet engine. Inconel
718 has also received wide application in rocket motors and
thrust reversers, pump bodies and parts, nuclear fuel
element spacers, hot extrusion tooling, and so on.
However, due to its high strength and low thermal
conductivity, the machining of Inconel 718 often generates
numerous concerns or problems, such as high cutting forces
and temperature, significant tool wear, short tool life, strong
vibrations, and poor integrity of the machined surface [6–
13]. Particularly, in high-speed finish machining—where
the feed rate is low and in the same order of magnitude as
the tool edge dimension—tool edge wear typically domi-
nates the tool wear patterns before a round tool cutting edge
is fully worn away. This is because the cutting action is
undertaken by the round tool cutting edge, and a significant
amount of tool wear occurs on the tool cutting edge itself
other than on the tool rake and flank surfaces. Only after
the round tool cutting edge is worn away do tool flank and
crater wear begin to dominate the tool wear patterns.
Wu and Fang [14] defined tool edge wear as “the wear of a
tool cutting edge before it is fully worn away.” Their
experimental results showed the dynamic development of
tool edge wear before a round tool cutting edge was fully worn
away. To more clearly illustrate tool edge wear, Fig. 1 shows
the location of tool edge wear on a cutting tool, including a
3D view and a 2D cross-sectional view of the tool cutting
edge. As seen from Fig. 1, the location of tool edge wear is
different from those of crater wear and flank wear. Tool edge
wear is also different from tool notch wear (also called tool
nose radius wear or depth-of-cut notching in some literature).
Tool notch wear occurs in the tool nose radius area and is
typically measured on the tool rake face. Tool edge wear can
a b
Fig. 1 Location of tool edge wear on a cutting tool: a 3D view and b 2D cross-sectional view
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
occur not only in the tool nose radius area but can also at any
other locations along the tool cutting edge.
Tool edge wear can be measured at a selected point on
the tool cutting edge by using a fine contour measuring
instrument [14]. The change in the area of the cross-section
of the tool cutting edge at the selected point (as shown in
Fig. 1b) before and after cutting can be taken as the amount
of tool edge wear (in mm2) at that selected point.
During machining, the tool cutting edge is subjected to
extremely high mechanical and thermal loads, and the
effect of tool edge geometry has been proven to be
significant in a variety of finish machining operations
[15–21]. The failure of the tool cutting edge, due to severe
plastic deformation, severe wear, and even catastrophic
breakage, is often a direct contributor to early tool failure.
The experimental results of 2D orthogonal HSM have
shown that tool edge wear constantly changes the tool edge
geometry and dimensions before the tool edge is fully worn
away [14]. A solid understanding of tool edge wear helps
better understand various machining phenomena that lead to
early tool failure and deteriorated machined surface quality.
1.2 Discrete wavelet transform
A brief introduction to wavelet transform is provided to better
understand the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) algorithm
that is employed in vibration analysis as involved in the
present study. Wavelet transform is capable of compressing or
de-noising a signal without appreciable degradation [22]. It is
generally a mathematical function that multiplies the signal
during all its length, with elongated and compressed versions
of a mother wavelet that satisfies
Z þ1
y ðtÞdt ¼ 0 ð1Þ
1
gt h
Broken lines: worn tool
ct len
conta hip
ce
Solid lines: fresh tool
R a ke fa
c
Tool-
Cutting
edge
Flank face
Tool-edge
wear
r
Tool flank wea
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
The translation and scaling operations on ψ(t) creates a
family of functions as
 
1 tb
y a;b ðtÞ ¼ p ffiffi
ffi y ð2Þ
a a
where the parameter a is a scaling factor and stretches (or
compresses) the mother wavelet. The parameter b is
translation along the time axis and simply shifts a wavelet
and so delays or advances the time at which it is activated.
pffiffiffi
The factor 1= a is used to ensure that the energy of the
scaled and translated versions, respectively, is the same as
the mother wavelet. The stretched and compressed wavelets
through translation and scaling operation are used to
capture the different frequency components of the function
being analyzed. The translation operation involves shifting
of the mother wavelet along the time axis to capture the
time information of the function to be analyzed at a
different position. A family of scaled and translated wave-
lets can be created using scaling and translation parameters
a and b. This allows signals occurring at different times and
having different frequencies to be analyzed [22].
The discrete wavelet transform is based on the concept
of multi-resolution [23]. A signal is recursively decom-
posed into a sum of details and approximations at different
levels of resolution. The approximations are the high-scale,
low-frequency components of the signals, whereas the
details are the low-scale, high-frequency components. The
discrete wavelet transform can be implemented by using
hierarchical filter banks. At any scale, level, or resolution, a
pair of high- and low-pass filters is used to process an
incoming signal. The output from the low-pass filter
represents the “approximations” of the signal, and the
output from the high-pass filter provides the “details” lost
through low-pass filtering. The approximations can be
further processed by another pair of high- and low-pass
filters, with half of the previous cutoff frequency to
generate further “approximations” and “details.”
The discrete wavelet transform uses scale and position
values based on powers of two (so called dyadic scales and
positions) and makes the analysis much more efficient,
whilst remaining accurate [24]. To do this, the scale and
time parameters are discretized as follows
a ¼ am
0 ð3Þ
b ¼ nb0 an0 ð4Þ
where m and n are two integers. The family of wavelets is
given by
 
y m;n ðtÞ ¼ am=2
0 y am
0 t  nb0 ð5Þ
67
resulting in a discrete wavelet transform of the form
[22]
 
DWTf ðm; nÞ ¼ f ; y m;n
R þ1   ð6Þ
m=2
¼ a0 1 f ðtÞ y am
0 t  nb0
1.3 Goal and significance of the present study
The goal of the present study is to investigate the effect
of tool edge wear on the cutting forces and vibrations in
high-speed finish turning of Inconel 718. This goal is
achieved by conducting a carefully designed set of
turning experiments with tool inserts that have different
initial tool edge radii ranging from 2 to 62 μm. The
scope of the present study does not include the effect of
tool edge wear on the machined surface integrity (such
as surface roughness and residual stresses). To ensure
that tool edge wear (other than tool flank or crater wear)
dominates the tool wear patterns, the cutting time was
controlled in all the cutting experiments. The cutting
experiments stopped if measurements showed that the
round tool cutting edge was fully worn away and
significant tool flank or crater wear occurred.
The scientific significance of the present study lies in
two aspects. First, the vast majority of literature on tool
wear in HSM has focused on tool flank wear and/or
crater wear [such as 25, 26]. Little published literature
deals with tool edge wear in HSM. The only exception is
the work that focused on tool edge wear in 2D HSM [14].
To the best of the authors’ knowledge and based on the
extensive literature review that used common literature
database such as the Web of Science and EI, the present
paper is the first to study tool edge wear in 3D HSM of
any known work materials. In particular, this paper deals
with the profiles of worn tool cutting edges and the
variations of the cutting forces and vibrations that
accompany dynamic tool edge wear.
Secondly, the present study is also the first study that
applies the wavelet transform technique to analyze the
dynamic nature of the cutting vibration signals that
accompany dynamic tool edge wear. Dealing with non-
stationary sensor signals, wavelet transform involves
representing time varying function or signal in terms of
simple, fixed building blocks termed wavelets [27].
Wavelet transform provides good resolution in both time
and frequency domains synchronously and can extract more
information in time domain at different frequency bands. It
has been successfully applied in signal processing, image
compression and enhancement, pattern recognition, commu-
nication systems, control systems, biomedical imaging, air
acoustic, radar, theoretical mathematics, etc. [23, 27–29]. It
68
has also been applied to monitor tool flank wear in
machining [30–33]. However, no literature is found on
applying wavelet transform to study tool edge wear based
on vibration signals. The vast majority of study on
machining dynamics (such as the cutting vibrations and
chatter) focused on cutting with a fresh cutting tool or with
a cutting tool having flank wear [34–38]. No published
literature is found that links tool edge wear and the cutting
vibrations. As will be shown later in this paper, wavelet
transform can provide much useful information for moni-
toring and investigating tool edge wear in HSM.
1.4 Logic structure of this paper
This paper starts with a description of the experimental
setup (including work material, tool inserts, and the
cutting conditions) and the methods of measuring the
tool edge profile, the cutting forces, and the cutting
vibrations. Then, the experimental results and observa-
tions of dynamic tool edge wear are presented. The
effects of tool edge wear on the cutting forces and
vibrations are studied. Next, both the traditional fast
Fourier transform (FFT) technique and the modern
discrete wavelet transform technique are applied to
process the collected vibration signals. The performance
of these two techniques is compared. The results from
the discrete wavelet transform analysis are presented.
Finally, the major scientific contributions and new research
findings are summarized at the end of this paper.
2 Experimental setup and measurements
The experimental setup and the methods of measuring the
tool edge profile (including fresh and worn tool edge
profiles), the cutting forces, and the cutting vibrations are
described in detail in the following five sub-sections.
2.1 Work material
A CNC turning center (HAAS SL10) was employed to
perform high-speed finish turning experiments on commer-
cially available, nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718. The
work material has the following chemical compositions in
percentage of weight: Ni (+Co), 50–55%; Cr, 17–21%; Nb
(+Ta), 4.75–5.5%; Mo, 2.8–3.3%; Ti, 0.65–1.15%; Co,
1.0%; Mg, 0.35%; Cu, 0.3%; Si, 0.35%; Al, 0.2–0.8%; C,
0.08%; Fe, balance. The work material has shear strength of
860 MPa and hardness of 36 HRC. Its heat treatment
conditions were as follows: 1 h at 954°C to 982°C, air cool,
8 h at 718°C, cool 56°C/h to 621°C, hold 8 h, and finally
air cool. Before cutting, the work material was made into a
solid cylindrical bar with a diameter of 45 mm.
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
2.2 Tool inserts and the measurement of the tool edge profile
Three round-edge tools with different tool edge radii and
a sharp tool were selected for use in the cutting
experiments. The round-edge tools were triangular, flat-
faced TPGN 220408 carbide inserts (KC 8050) made by
Kennametal Inc. The sharp tool was a triangular, flat-
faced TPGN 220408 carbide insert (KC 313, also made
by Kennametal Inc.). Both the round-edge tools and the
sharp tool had a tool (working) rake angle of 5o, a tool
(working) flank angle of 6o, a tool (working) side cutting
angle of 0o, and tool nose radius of 0.8 mm. The tool nose
radius and the tool edge radius are two different concepts,
and they are measured in different geometrical planes in
3D space.
The profile of fresh or worn tool cutting edges was
measured offline using a Mitutoyo type-SV600 fine
contour measuring instrument, which was equipped with
a diamond stylus with a tip radius of 5 μm. Each tool
insert was used only once for cutting. The tip radius of
the diamond stylus was taken into account when
measuring the tool edge profile. Considering the actual
area of tool edge engagement with the work material
during cutting, the tool edge profile was measured at five
points along the tool cutting edge, as shown in Fig. 2.
For fresh tools, it was found that the tool edge radius was
not uniform along the tool cutting edge due to manufac-
turing errors. More than 20 commercially available tool
inserts were initially measured, and those four inserts with
the most uniform distribution of the tool edge radius along
the tool cutting edge were finally selected for use in the
cutting experiments.
The four selected tool inserts are listed in Table 1,
where the average tool edge radius was calculated using
the individual tool edge radius at those five points. For
round-edge tools #1, #2, and #3 and the sharp tool, the
tool edge radius was 38, 48, 62, and 2 μm, respectively.
After cutting, the profile of worn tool edges was measured
again at each of these five measurement points on each
tool insert.
En
1 dc
2
Depth 3 ut
ti
us
ng
of cut
di
4 ed
ra
ge
e
os
n
5
ol
To
Side cutting edge
Tool rake face
Feed direction
Fig. 2 Measurement of the tool edge radius at five points along the
tool cutting edge
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
Table 1 Variation of the tool
edge radius along the tool cut- Tool edge radius (μm)
ting edge before cutting
Point 1
Round-edge tool #1 39
Round-edge tool #2 47.5
Round-edge tool #3 59.8
Sharp tool 2.8
2.3 Cutting conditions
The cutting conditions were as follows: cutting speed,
225 m/min; feed rate, 0.10 mm/rev; and depth of cut,
0.8 mm. In practical machining, the cutting speed for
machining Inconel 718 is typically below 30 m/min. The
cutting speed used in the present study was more than
seven times higher than the typical, practical cutting speed
to satisfy high-speed machining conditions and also to
intentionally speed up the tool edge wear process. The feed
rate was almost at the same magnitude as the tool edge
radius of the round-edge tools in order to magnify the tool
edge effect. The depth of cut was the same as the tool nose
radius. No coolants were employed in the cutting experi-
ments to facilitate the collection of the cutting force and
vibration signals.
Each cutting experiment was repeated two times, with
the variation of measurements generally within 5%
range. The average value of the cutting force and the
root mean square (RMS) of the cutting vibration
measurements were taken as experimental data and were
reported in this paper.
2.4 Measurement and processing of the cutting force
signals
The cutting force measurement system consisted of a
Kistler 9257B, quartz three-component dynamometer, a
Kistler 5010 B multi-channel dual-mode charge amplifier,
and a computer data acquisition system (Labview). The
measurement system frequency was far more than two
times the frequency of the cutting forces. An analog anti-
alias filter was used.
The cutting force signals were acquired at a sampling
rate of 10,000 Hz. After the force signals were collected
using the dynamometer, MATLAB was employed to filter
the high-frequency noise from the signal. The digital filter
employed in MATLAB was Butterworth (1, 0.015). A
MATLAB code was written to determine the average of the
three components of the cutting forces, namely, the cutting
force Fc, the feed force Ff, and the passive force Fp. These
three forces are in the tangential (x or the cutting speed),
axial (y or the feed rate), and radial (z or the depth of cut)
direction, respectively.
69
Point 2 Point 3 Point 4 Point 5 Average
38.5 35.1 40 39.2 38
47.8 45.6 46.9 51 48
61.3 60.8 61.8 66.6 62
0.1 3.0 2.3 3.7 2
2.5 Measurement and processing of the cutting vibration
signals
While the cutting forces were measured using the Kistler
9257B dynamometer, the cutting vibration signals were
simultaneously measured via a 356A63 Triaxial ICP
accelerometer that was fixed onto the tool holder through
an insulation screw hole. The tool overhang length was
50 mm. The sensitivity of the accelerometer was 10 mV/g
(±15%), and its measurement range was ±5 g (peak). The
accelerometer sensed the vibration signals in the x, y, and z
directions, that is, the cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of
cut directions, respectively. The signal along the cutting
speed direction (x direction) was taken into account for
analysis because it was found to be highly sensitive to the
phenomena accompanying tool wear.
The sensed vibration signals, at the sampling frequency
of 10 kHz, were sent to a PCB 482A22 low noise signal
conditioner and a NI SCXI-1530/1531 ICP accelerometer
conditioning module. This amplified the conditioned signal,
which was finally sent to the computer with LABVIEW
software for further processing and signal display.
The collected vibration signals were subjected to post-
processing in both time and frequency domains. In the time
domain, the RMS value of vibration signal for each
experiment was calculated. The RMS value of a vibration
signal is the square root of the average of the squared
values of the vibration amplitude. It gives positive values
that can be used for vibration analysis. Traditional FFT was
performed in the frequency domain analysis. The wavelet
analysis [23, 27–29] that covers both time and frequency
domains was performed and is described in detail in a
subsequent section of this paper.
3 Dynamic tool edge wear
As stated, the tool edge profile was measured at five points
along the tool cutting edge (see Fig. 2). The undeformed chip
thickness increases from point 1 to point 5 due to the effect of
tool nose radius. During cutting, the tool edge profile
dynamically changes across each point on the tool cutting edge.
Figure 3 shows the representative profiles of tool cutting
edge before and after cutting at points 2 and 5 for each of
70 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77

Point 2 Point 2 Point 5 Point 5

Fresh Worn Fresh Worn
Round edge
tool #1
Round edge
tool #2
Round edge
tool #3
Sharp tool
Fig. 3 Representative profiles of the tool cutting edge before and after
cutting
the four tools. The tool edge profile shown in the figure
includes the tool rake face on the left side and the tool flank
face on the right side of the profile.
As seen from Fig. 3, as a result of cutting, the initially
round cutting edges of tools were all worn out to various
extents. Some observations of tool edge wear in 3D
machining in the present study are similar to what were
observed in 2D orthogonal cutting of Inconel 718. For
example, it was reported that, in 2D orthogonal cutting of
Inconel 718 with a round-edge tool, the initially round tool
edge was gradually worn away and eventually became a
“chamfered” tool edge under certain cutting conditions
cutting force data are presented for only 2 s for clarity
reasons. As seen clearly from Fig. 4, all the three
components of the cutting forces (i.e., cutting force Fc,
feed force Ff, and passive force Fp) increase as tool wear
develops during cutting. The increase is more visible for
the sharp tool.
Figure 5 further shows the relationship between the
average cutting forces and the initial tool edge radius for
all the four tools. As seen from Fig. 5, all the three
components of the cutting forces increase as the initial
tool edge radius increases. Compared to the other two
force components, the feed force Ff has the largest
gradient of increase.
In a previous theoretical study on 2D cutting with a
round-edge tool [20], it was concluded that the tool edge
radius affects the thrust force more than the cutting force. In
2D cutting experiments [21], a similar observation was also
reported wherein the effect of tool edge radius was visibly
larger on the thrust force than on the cutting force. The
a
200
Fc- cutting force
150
Cutting forces, N

[14]. This reported phenomenon [14] was similar to what

happened at point 5 for round-edge tool #2. However, as 100
clearly shown in Fig. 3, the tool edge wear in 3D machining Ff- feed force
is more complex than that in 2D orthogonal cutting. Tool
edge wear at each point along the tool cutting edge follows 50 Fp- passive force
different patterns of variation because the cutting conditions
and the initial tool edge profile are different at each point.
At point 5, the tool cutting edge became “sharp” for round- 0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
edge tools #1 and 3 but became “chamfered” for round- Time, sec
edge tool #2.
Tool edge wear increases along the tool cutting edge b 200
from the tool tip (point 1) to point 5. For example, as
Fc-cutting force
shown in Fig. 3, tool edge wear at point 5 is more than that
at point 2 due to the larger undeformed chip thickness at 150
point 5. More plastic deformation of work material occurs
Cutting forces, N

in the shear zone adjacent to point 5.

100

Ff- feed force

4 Effect on the cutting forces
50
Fp- passive force
A direct consequence of the dynamic variation of tool edge
wear is the dynamic variations of the cutting forces and 0
vibrations in machining. Figure 4 shows two representative 0.5 1 1.5 2
examples of the dynamic variation of the cutting forces Time, sec
with dynamic tool wear for round-edge tool #1 (rn =38 μm)
Fig. 4 Representative examples of the dynamic variation of the
and the sharp tool (rn =2 μm). The cutting forces were cutting forces with dynamic tool wear: a round-edge tool #1, rn =
measured throughout the entire cutting period. In Fig. 4, the 38 μm and b the sharp tool
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
240
Cutting force Fc
200 Feed force Ff
Average cutting forces (N)
Passive force Fp
160
120
80
40
0 The above results confirm that the traditional FFT
0 15 30
Initial tool edge radius (µm)
Fig. 5 Average cutting forces vs. initial tool edge radius
experimental evidence in 3D cutting presented in this paper
supports the previous theoretical conclusion.
5 Effect on the cutting vibrations
As shown in Fig. 3, the initial tool edge radius affects
dynamic tool edge wear, the latter of which is one of the most
significant contributors to the cutting vibrations and the
quality of machined parts. Figure 6 further shows that all the
three components of the cutting vibrations (vx, vy, and vz)
increase as the initial tool edge radius increases. The
increasing trend is particularly obvious for round-edge tool
#3, which has the largest initial tool edge radius (62 μm)
among the three round-edge tools tested. In addition,
compared to the cutting vibration in the radial (z or the depth
of cut) direction, the cutting vibrations in the tangential (x or
the cutting speed) and axial (y or the feed rate) directions
increase more rapidly.
6 FFT and wavelet analysis of the cutting vibration
signals
A detailed comparison of all the cutting force and vibration
signals measured in the present study shows that the cutting
vibrations are more sensitive than the cutting forces in
detecting tool edge wear. The fluctuations of the cutting
force components in machining are reflected in the vibration
spectra of the cutting tools and machine components. A
sensitive accelerometer is able to easily sense the cutting
vibration signals, which are in a frequency range, to offer
excellent possibilities for in-process diagnosis of many
important machining phenomena including tool edge wear.
71
6.1 Fast Fourier transform analysis
The FFT of the cutting vibration signals collected from all
the four tool inserts was performed using Matlab [24].
Figure 7 shows two representative examples of FFT
analysis for the round-edge tool #1 (rn =38 μm) and the
sharp tool (rn =2 μm). Note that the vibration magnitude
shown in Fig. 7 is in the very small order of 10−4, which is
not easy to be detected from the vibration spectrum for
practical use in tool condition monitoring. In addition, the
variation of vibration signals in low (<1,000 Hz) and high
(>4,000 Hz) frequency ranges are nearly all missing in the
FFT results, as clearly shown in Fig. 7.
45 60 75
technique is not suitable for the analysis of non-linear,
transient, and non-stationary cutting vibration signals
whose frequency characteristics are time varying. The
signal patterns cannot be isolated and represented by just
a number of natural frequencies that are not time-localized.
Therefore, the FFT technique cannot reveal the variation of
vibration signals in a wide range of frequencies as tool edge
wear develops.
6.2 Advantages of discrete wavelet transform over FFT
Depending on the properties of the signal and the objective
of signal analysis, an optimal decomposition of a signal
requires desirable resolutions in both time and frequency
domains. In the present study, the frequency bands of
interest for evaluation are 156.25–312.5 and 312.5–625 Hz.
These bands could not be identified using FFT but could be
identified using DWT. DWT provides good resolution in
both time and frequency domains and makes use of multi-
resolution analysis that recursively decomposes a signal
1.0
Vibration Vx
Vibration Vy
0.8
RMS vibration amplitude (g)
Vibration Vz
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0 15 30 45 60 75
Initial tool edge radius (µm)
Fig. 6 RMS vibration amplitude vs. initial tool edge radius
72 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77

a x 10-4
vibration signals in these bands as tool edge wear develops
during cutting.
8 Figure 8 shows two representative examples of multi-
resolution decomposition for round-edge tool #1 (rn =
38 μm) and the sharp tool. Figures 9 and 10 show the
6 approximation and details at different levels resulting from
Magnitude, g

multi-resolution decomposition for round-edge tool #1 (rn =

38 μm) and the sharp tool, respectively. In sub-panels a, d, e,
4
and f in Figs. 9 and 10, the numerical scales of the vertical
axes at different levels were determined based on the largest
2 numerical value of vibration signals of all the four tool
inserts for comparison purposes. No intention was made to
make the numerical scales of the vertical axes the same and
0 uniform. The following observations and analysis are made
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Frequency, Hz from the experimental results:
b x 10-4
1. Compared to the FFT analysis shown in Fig. 7, the
discrete wavelet transform (based on multi-resolution
decomposition of the vibration signals) shown in Fig. 8
is more effective and advantageous in revealing the
variation of the cutting vibrations across a wide range
4 of frequency bands.
Magnitude, g

2. The wavelet decomposition of the vibration signals

shows high activity at levels 2 and 3 for all the signals,
as clearly shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The frequency bands
2 of interest for analyzing tool edge wear from this
evaluation are 156.25–312.5 and 312.5–625 Hz. The
dynamic process of tool edge wear causes the cutting
forces to increase, thereby exciting different frequen-
0 cies of vibrations of the tool holder and the machine
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
Frequency, Hz

Fig. 7 Representative examples of FFT analysis for the cutting a

vibrations: a round-edge tool #1, rn =38 μm and b the sharp tool 0.04
Magnitude, g

0.02
into low- and high-frequency components. This decompo- 0
sition helps to better understand the behavior of the
vibration signals in both high and low frequency domains. -0.02
Therefore, the present study chose the DWT technique to -0.04
evaluate vibration signals. The choice was based on 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

inherent differences between DWT and FFT techniques, Frequency, Hz

not based on the tool edge wear process. b 0.04

6.3 Results and discussions 0.02

Magnitude, g

Daubechies wavelet of order eight was employed to 0

construct the high- and low-pass filters. The multi-

-0.02
resolution that included the “db8” wavelet base was
employed in the discrete wavelet transform. The five-level -0.04
0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
decomposition of the original signal results in the following
frequency bands: 0–156.25 Hz, 156.25–312.5 Hz, 312.5– Frequency, Hz
625 Hz, 625–1250 Hz, 1.25–2.5 kHz, and 2.5–5 kHz. This Fig. 8 Representative examples of multi-resolution decomposition: a
decomposition helps one understand the variation of round-edge tool #1, rn =38 μm and b the sharp tool
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77 73

a b
4 0.04

2 0.02
Level 1

Level 2
0 0

-2 -0.02

-4 -0.04
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, sec Time, sec

c d
0.1 5

0.05
Level 3

Level 4

0
0

-0.05

-0.1
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
-5
Time, sec 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, sec
e
5 f
10

5
Level 5

Level 6

0 0

-5

-5 -10
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, sec Time, sec
Fig. 9 Wavelet coefficients for round-edge tool #1, rn =38 μm
74 Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77

a b
4 0.04

2 0.02
Level 1

Level 2
0 0

-2 -0.02

-4
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 -0.04
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, sec
Time, sec
c d
0.1 5

0.05
Level 4
Level 3

0 0

-0.05

-0.1 -5
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, sec Time, sec

e 5
f 10

5
Level 5

Level 6

0 0

-5

-5 -10
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Time, sec Time, sec

Fig. 10 Wavelet coefficients for the sharp tool

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
tool. It is evident that the low-frequency components
were excited for the entire duration of the cut, and the
higher frequency components were active for only a
small duration of the entire cut.
3. The discrete wavelet transform also reveals that the
vibration amplitude increases as the tool edge radius
increases. It is effective to use wavelet analysis to identify
tool edge wear based on the cutting vibration signals.
To further evaluate the use of wavelets for tool edge
wear detection, the average energy of the wavelet coef-
ficients are extracted from the vibration signal. A series of
coefficient vectors, characteristic of the time-varying signal,
was generated. Let the coefficient vectors be denoted as
dj(k), where j (=1,2,3,...) is the number of levels or the scale
of decomposition of the signal and k represents the
individual coefficient values. The average energy of
wavelet coefficients are calculated as
1 XTj 2
Ej ¼ d ðkÞ
k¼ j
ð7Þ
Tj
where Tj is the number of coefficients in each scale. The
value of Tj is different for different scales because the
time spacing of wavelet coefficients varies with the resolution
j [13].
Figure 11 shows the variation of average energy of
wavelet coefficients for all the four tools at different scales
or levels. From Fig. 11, it is clear that for round-edge tool
#3, which had the maximum tool edge radius, the amplitude
is the highest, and the increase of the amplitude is clearly
visible at all levels with the maximum being at the first
level. The results shown in Fig. 11 demonstrate the
effectiveness of using the energy of the wavelet coefficients
7 undeformed chip thickness at point 5 and more plastic
Round-edge tool #1
6 zone adjacent to point 5.
Round-edge tool #2
5 Round-edge tool #3
Sharp tool
4
Amplitude
3 components of the cutting forces increase. Compared to
2 increases more rapidly.
1 variation of vibration signals at a wide range of
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Level
Fig. 11 Average energy of wavelet coefficients for all the four tools
75
to study tool edge wear in machining with tool inserts that
have different tool edge radii. These energy-related features
can be employed as the inputs for pattern recognition
techniques, such as artificial neural networks, in a tool
condition monitoring system. A detailed discussion on the
application of these energy-related features is beyond the
scope of this paper.
7 Conclusions
In the present study, a carefully designed set of experiments
in high-speed finish turning of Inconel 718 has been carried
out using four tool inserts with different tool edge radii
ranging from 2 to 62 μm. The effect of tool edge radius on
tool edge wear as well as the corresponding effects of tool
edge wear on the cutting forces and the cutting vibrations
have been investigated using both the traditional fast
Fourier transform technique and the modern discrete
wavelet transform technique. The following paragraphs
summarize the major scientific contributions and new
research findings made from the present study:
1. In high-speed turning, the tool edge profile dynamically
changes across each point on the tool cutting edge. Due
to different cutting conditions and different initial tool
edge profile at each point, tool edge wear at each point
follows different patterns of variation. Tool edge wear
in 3D machining is more complex than in simple 2D
orthogonal cutting.
2. Tool edge wear increases as the tool edge radius
increases. For the same tool insert, tool edge wear
increases along the tool cutting edge from point 1 (at
the tool tip) to point 5 (at the position close to the
outside diameter of the workpiece) due to the larger
deformation of work material that occurs in the shear
3. As tool edge wear develops during the cutting process, all
the three components of the cutting forces (i.e., cutting
force Fc, feed force Ff, and passive force Fp) increase.
4. As the initial tool edge radius increases, all the three
the other two force components, the feed force Ff
5. The traditional FFT technique fails to reveal the
frequencies as tool edge wear develops. Therefore, it
is not best suited to analyze the cutting vibrations that
accompany with dynamics of tool edge wear.
6. Compared to the FFT, the discrete wavelet transform is
more effective and advantageous in revealing the
variation of the cutting vibrations across a wide range
76
of frequency bands. The wavelet decomposition of the
vibration signals shows high activity at levels 2 and 3 for
all the collected signals. The frequency bands of interest
for analyzing tool edge wear from this evaluation are
156.25–312.5 and 312.5–625 Hz. The low-frequency
components were excited for the entire duration of the
cut, and the higher-frequency components were active
for only a small duration of the entire cut.
7. The discrete wavelet transform also reveals that the
vibration amplitude increases as the tool edge radius
increases. The average energy of wavelet coefficients
calculated from the cutting vibration signals can be
employed to evaluate tool edge wear in turning with
tool inserts that have different tool edge radii.
References
1. Davim JP, Maranhao C, Jackson MJ, Cabral G, Gracio J (2008)
FEM analysis in high speed machining of aluminum alloy (AI7075-
0) using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cemented carbide
(K10) cutting tools. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 39:1093–1100
2. Calatoru VD, Balazinski M, Mayer JRR, Paris H, L’Esperance G
(2008) Diffusion wear mechanism during high-speed machining
of 7475-T351 aluminum alloy with carbide end mills. Wear
265:1793–1800
3. Zhang S, Li JF, Deng JX, Li YS (2009) Investigation on diffusion
wear during high-speed machining Ti–6Al–4V alloy with straight
tungsten carbide tools. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 44:17–25
4. Molinari A, Musquar C, Sutter G (2002) Adiabatic shear banding
in high speed machining of Ti–6Al–4V: experiments and
modeling. Int J Plast 18:443–459
5. Barry J, Byrne G, Lennon D (2001) Observations on chip
formation and acoustic emission in machining Ti–6Al–4V alloy.
Int J Mach Tools Manuf 41:1055–1070
6. Fang N, Wu Q (2009) A comparative study of the cutting forces in
high speed machining of Ti–6Al–4V and Inconel 718 with a round
edge tool. J Mater Process Technol 209:4385–4438
7. Pawade RS, Joshi SS, Brahmankar PK (2008) Effect of
machining parameters and cutting edge geometry on surface
integrity of high-speed turned Inconel 718. Int J Mach Tools
Manuf 48:15–28
8. Nalbant M, Altm A, Gokkaya H (2007) The effect of cutting
speed and cutting tool geometry on machinability properties of
nickel-base Inconel 718 super alloys. Mate Des 28:1334–1338
9. Ezugwu EO, Fadare DA, Bonney J, Da Silva RB, Sales WF
(2005) Modelling the correlation between cutting and process
parameters in high-speed machining of Inconel 718 alloy using
an artificial neural network. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 45:1375–
1385
10. Coelho RT, Silva LR, Braghini A, Bezerra AA (2004) Some
effects of cutting edge preparation and geometric modifications
when turning INCONEL 718 (TM) at high cutting speeds. J Mater
Process Technol 148:147–153
11. Dudzinski D, Devillez A (2004) A review of developments
towards dry and high speed machining of Inconel 718 alloy. Int J
Mach Tools Manuf 44:439–456
12. Elwardany TI, Mohammed E, Elbestawi MA (1996) Cutting
temperature of ceramic tools in high speed machining of difficult-
to-cut materials. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 36:611–634
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
13. Narutaki N, Yamane Y (1993) High speed machining of Inconel
718 with ceramic tools. CIRP Annals 42:103–106
14. Wu Q, Fang N (2006) Effect of tool-edge wear in high-speed
machining of superalloy Inconel 718. Trans NAMRI/SME
34:397–402
15. Al-Zkeri I, Rech J, Altan T, Hamdi H, Valiorgue F (2009)
Optimization of the cutting edge geometry of coated carbide tools
in dry turning of steels using a finite element analysis. Mach Sci
Technol 13:36–51
16. Nasr MNA, Ng E-G, Elbestawi MA (2007) Modeling the effects
of tool-edge radius on residual stresses when orthogonal cutting
AISI 316L. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 47:401–411
17. Fang N, Wu Q (2005) The effects of chamfered and honed tool
edge geometry in machining of three aluminum alloys. Int J Mach
Tools Manuf 45:1178–1187
18. Klocke F, Kratz H (2005) Advanced tool edge geometry for high
precision hard turning. CIRP Annals 54:47–50
19. Yen YC, Jain A, Altan T (2004) A finite element analysis of
orthogonal machining using different tool edge geometries. J
Mater Process Technol 146:72–81
20. Fang N (2003) Slip-line modeling of machining with a rounded-
edge tool. Part I: new model and theory. J Mech Phys Solids
51:715–742
21. Schimmel RJ, Endres WJ, Stevenson R (2002) Application of an
internally consistent material model to determine the effect of tool
edge geometry in orthogonal machining. Trans ASME J Manuf
Sci Engng 124:536–543
22. Chen BH, Wang XZ, Yang SH, McGreavy C (1999) Application
of wavelets and neural networks to diagnostic system develop-
ment, 1, feature extraction. Comp Chem Engng 23:899–906
23. Mallat S (1989) A theory of multiresolution signal decomposition:
the wavelet representation. IEEE Trans Patt Analy Mach Intelli
11:674–693
24. The MathWorks (2008) MATLAB Toolbox version 7.5 users’
guide. The MathWorks, Natick, MA
25. Haber RE, Jimenez JE, Peres CR, Alique JR (2004) An
investigation of tool-wear monitoring in a high-speed machining
process. Sens Actua A - Phys 116:539–545
26. Dolinsek S, Sustarsic B, Kopac J (2001) Wear mechanisms of
cutting tools in high-speed cutting processes. Wear 250:349–
356
27. Tang YY, Yang LH, Liu J, Ma H (2000) Wavelet theory and
its application to pattern recognition, series in machine
perception and artificial intelligence, vol 36. World Scientific,
Singapore
28. Li T, Li Q, Zhu S, Ogihara M (2002) A survey on wavelet
applications in data mining. ACM SIGKDD Explor Newslet
4:49–68
29. Daubechies I (1990) The wavelet ransform, time-frequency
localization and signal analysis. IEEE Trans Inform Theo
36:961–1005
30. Kwak JS (2006) Application of wavelet transform technique to
detect tool failure in turning operations. Int J Adv Manuf Technol
28:1078–1083
31. Dimla DE (2002) The correlation of vibration signal features to
cutting tool wear in a metal turning operation. Int J Adv Manuf
Technol 19:705–713
32. Choi Y, Arayanaswami R, Chandra A (2004) Tool wear
monitoring in ramp cuts in end milling using the wavelet
transform. Int J Adv Manuf Technol 23:419–428
33. Kunpeng Z, San WY, Soon HG (2009) Wavelet analysis of sensor
signals for tool condition monitoring: a review and some new
results. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 49:537–553
34. Movahhedy MR, Mosaddegh P (2006) Prediction of chatter in
high speed milling including gyroscopic effects. Int J Mach Tools
Manuf 46:996–1001
Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2011) 52:65–77
35. Solis E, Peres CR, Jimenez JE, Alique JR, Monje JC (2004) A new
analytical–experimental method for the identification of stability
lobes in high-speed milling. Int J Mach Tools Manuf 44:1591–1597
36. Schmitz T, Davies M, Medicus K, Snyder J (2001) Improving
high-speed machining material removal rates by rapid dynamic
analysis. CIRP Annals 50:263–268
77
37. Altintas Y (2000) Manufacturing automation: metal cutting
mechanics, machine tool vibrations, and CNC design. Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge
38. Lee M, Thomas CE, Wildes DG (1987) Prospects for in-process
diagnosis of metal cutting by monitoring vibration signals. J
Mater Sci 22:3821–3830