Lecture

on
Tool wear and Tool life

Faculty: Dr. B.Venkateshwarlu, Associate Professor,

School of Mechanical Engineering

VIT University, Vellore

 Tool Wear/Tool failure
Tool subjected to :
1. Forces
2. Temperature 3 Factors
3. Sliding action

After continuous use for some time, tool

gives unsatisfactory or inefficient
performance
Unsatisfactory or inefficient performance is due
to “Tool Wear or Tool failure”

Consequences:
1. Loss of dimensional accuracy
2. Increased surface roughness
3. Increased power requirement
4. Excessive vibration and abnormal
sound(Chatter)
5. Total breakage of the tool
Tool is replaced or reconditioned usually by
grinding
Tool Wear depending factors:
1. Type of tool material and its hardness
2. Type and condition of work piece material
3. Dimensions of cut (Feed and depth of cut)
4. Cutting speed
5. Tool geometry
6. Tool temperature (function of cutting speed,
feed and depth of cut)
7. Type of cutting fluid
 Classification of Tool Wear

1. Flank wear
2. Crater wear on tool face
3. Localized wear such as the rounding of
Cutting edge
4. Chipping of the cutting edge
Flank wear and Crater Wear

Worn out inserts

 Reasons for Flank Wear
1. Abrasion by hard particles and inclusions in the
work piece

Abrasion Process of scratching or rubbing away

2. Shearing of micro welds between tool and work

material

3. Abrasion by fragments of built-up edge blowing

against the clearance face of the tool
Crater Wear
 Reasons for Crater Wear
1. Severe abrasion between the chip and tool
face

2. High temperatures in the tool chip interface

resulting in “diffusion wear”

Diffusion: Movement of atoms between tool and chip

material resulting in loss material from the face of the
tool
Crater wear occurs:

(1) Ductile materials producing continuous chips

(2) HSS tools than Ceramic or Carbide tools

(harder than HSS)
 Chipping of Tool
1. Tool material is too brittle

2. As a result of crack that is already present in

the tool

3. Excessive static or shock loading of the tool

4. Weak design of the tool

 Types of Chips
3 Types of Chips:

1. Continuous Chips
2. Discontinuous Chips
3. Continuous Chips with Built-Up-Edge (BUE)
 Continuous Chips
Produced during machining of more ductile
materials

Reason: Large plastic deformations possible and

longer continuous chips

Features: Chips remain in contact with the tool

face for longer period, result in more frictional
heat
Advantages: Results in

1. Stable cutting
2. Good surface finish

Disadvantage:

Difficult to handle and dispose off because of

chip curl around the work piece
 Discontinuous Chips
Produced during machining of more brittle
materials like grey cast iron, bronze and brass

Reason: lack the ductility necessary for

appreciable plastic deformation of chips

Small fragments of discontinuous chips

• Advantages: Results in
1. Better surface finish because of less friction
between tool and chips
2. Chips are convenient to collect, handle and
dispose off

Disadvantage:
Low cutting speeds are desirable
 Continuous Chips with BUE
Produced during machining of more ductile
materials

Conditions:
• High local temperature and extreme pressure
• High friction in tool- chip interface

These conditions cause work material to adhere

or weld to cutting edge of tool forming the BUE
• Disadvantage: Results in

• Vibrations
• Poor surface finish

Use coolant to reduce or eliminate the BUE

 Machinability
Ability of a material to be cut or to be machined
with ease

Major factors involved in metal machining

1. Forces and power absorbed
2. Tool wear and tool life
3. Surface finish
4. Dimensional accuracy and
5. Machining cost
 Variables

1. Properties of work piece material

2. Tool geometry
3. Cutting conditions
4. Machine tool rigidity
 Machinability of Material
1. The ease with which it could be machined
2. The life of tool before failure or resharpening
3. The quality of machined surface and
4. The power consumed per unit volume of
material removed

Higher the tool life, better is the machinability of a

work material
According one investigator: Machinability is
1. Long tool life a given cutting speed
2. Lower power consumption per unit volume
of metal removed
3. Maximum metal removal per tool
resharpening
4. High quality surface finish
5. Good and dimensional accuracy of successive
parts
6. Easily disposable chips
 Machinability rating or index
Machinability rating or machinability index
shows the difficulty level or the ease of
machining of a specific material

For a given material, it is always measured

relative to the machinability index of a standard
material (Free cutting steel, 100%)
Free cutting steels are the steels which
gives very small chips during machining

Machinability index, (%) =

Cutting speed of a given material
for 20 min. of tool life
100
Cutting speed of free cutting steel
for 20 min. of tool life
 Machinability indexes (%)
(1) C-20 steel = 65
(2) C- 45 steel = 60
(3) Stainless steel = 25
(4) Copper = 70
(5) Brass = 180
(6) Aluminium Alloys = 300-1500
(7) Magnesium Alloys = 600-2000
 Methods of Machining
2 Types:

1. Orthogonal Cutting

2. Oblique Cutting
MACHINING FORCES
Chip thickness ratio:
• Cutting Force (Fc): Acts in the direction of cutting
speed and parallel to the work piece surface and
supplies energy required for cutting
Fc

Thrust Force or Tangential Force (Ft): Acts in a

direction normal to the cutting velocity, that is
perpendicular to the work piece surface

Fc

Ft
 Ft
Fc
 TOOL

Fc

Fc Cutting Force
Ft Tangential Force
R

These forces are measured with

Ft
the help of force sensors.
 TOOL

R
Ff Friction Force
N Normal Force
Ff

N
 TOOL

Fs

Fs Shear Force
R
Fn Normal Shear Force
Fn
Merchant Circle Diagram (MCD)
 What is MCD?
1. It’s a Graphical method Ff Friction Force
to calculate the forces in N Normal Force
machining Fs Shear Force
Fn Normal Shear Force

2. The above mentioned

forces can be calculated Fc Cutting Force
from the measured Ft Tangential Force

forces and MCD

TOOL
 TOOL

Fc
 TOOL

Fc

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ff
Ft
 TOOL

Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ff
Ft

N
 TOOL

to Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ff
Ft

N
 TOOL

to Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ff
Ft

N
 TOOL

to Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ff
Ft

N
 TOOL

Fs
to Fc

Merchant’s Circle

Ff
Ft

N
 TOOL

Φ Fs
to Fc

Merchant’s Circle

R
Fn
Ff
Ft
ζ
N
The resulting diagram is pictured below
 Procedure for construction of
Merchant circle diagram
• Merchant's Force Circle With Drafting (Optional)
• Merchant's Force Circle is a method for calculating the various forces involved in the cutting process. This will first be
explained with vector diagrams, these in turn will be followed by a few formulas.
• The procedure to construct a merchants force circle diagram (using drafting techniques/instruments) is,
• 1. Set up x-y axis labeled with forces, and the origin in the centre of the page. The scale should be enough to include
both the measured forces. The cutting force (Fc) is drawn horizontally, and the tangential force (Ft) is drawn vertically.
(These forces will all be in the lower left hand quadrant) (Note: square graph paper and equal x & y scales are
essential)
• 2. Draw in the resultant (R) of Fc and Ft.
• 3. Locate the centre of R, and draw a circle that encloses vector R. If done correctly, the heads and tails of all 3
vectors will lie on this circle.
• 4. Draw in the cutting tool in the upper right hand quadrant, taking care to draw the correct rake angle (a) from the
vertical axis.
• 5. Extend the line that is the cutting face of the tool (at the same rake angle) through the circle. This now gives the
friction vector (F).
• 6. A line can now be drawn from the head of the friction vector, to the head of the resultant vector (R). This gives the
normal vector (N). Also add a friction angle (t) between vectors R and N. As a side note recall that any vector can be
broken down into components. Therefore, mathematically, R = Fc + Ft = F + N.
• 7. We next use the chip thickness, compared to the cut depth to find the shear force. To do this, the chip is drawn on
before and after cut. Before drawing, select some magnification factor (e.g., 200 times) to multiply both values by.
Draw a feed thickness line (t1) parallel to the horizontal axis. Next draw a chip thickness line parallel to the tool
cutting face.
• 8. Draw a vector from the origin (tool point) towards the intersection of the two chip lines, stopping at the circle. The
result will be a shear force vector (Fs). Also measure the shear force angle between Fs and Fc.
• 9. Finally add the shear force normal (Fn) from the head of Fs to the head of R.
• 10. Use a scale and protractor to measure off all distances (forces) and angles.
Cutting Fluids
 Lathe Machines

Lathe is a machine, which removes the metal from a

piece of work to the required shape &size

• Lathe machines or Turning machines

1. Cylindrical Surfaces
2. Flat Surfaces
Lathe Operations:
(1) Facing
(2) Turning
(3) Taper turning
(4) Chamfering
(5) Knurling
(6) Grooving or Necking
(7) Threading
(8) Parting
Other Operations:

Drilling
Boring
Reaming
Milling
Grinding
Pictorial View of Lathe
Pictorial View of Lathe (with various parts
marked)
 BLOCK DIAGRAM OF LATHE

Center: A tapered metal part with a pointed end ant it supports the
work piece as it turns between the centres.
Parts of Lathe
Turning Parameters
 Turning Parameters

3 Turning Parameters

1. Cutting Speed
2. Feed
3. Depth of Cut
Turning Parameters
Lathe Specifications
• Facing: To produce a flat surface at the end of
the part (i.e. at the face)
• Turning: To produce cylindrical or conical
surfaces
• Knurling: To produce cylindrical surfaces with
some surface roughness
Face grooving: T o cut groove on face of the job
Grooving or Necking: To reduce the diameter at
desired portion
 Lathe Operations
• Turning: To produce cylindrical or conical surfaces

• Facing: To produce a flat surface at the end of the part (i.e. at the
face)

• Drilling: To produce a hole by fixing a drill bit and drill chuck

assembly in the tailstock

• Boring: To enlarge a hole made by a drilling process

• Threading: To produce external or internal threads

• Knurling: To produce cylindrical surfaces with some surface

roughness
Schematic Representation of
Various Lathe Operations