Fundamentals of Metal Cutting 1

Overview of Machining:
 Machining: term applied to all material-removal processes
 Metal cutting: the process in which a thin layer of excess metal (chip) is removed by a
wedge-shaped single-point or multipoint cutting tool with defined geometry from a
workpiece, through a process of extensive plastic deformation.
 Abrasive processes: material removal by the action of hard, abrasive particles that are
usually in the form of a bonded wheel. Each single particle acts like a single-point cutting
tool. Since the particular geometry of a particle is not known, abrasive processes are
referred to as machining with geometrically undefined tools.
 Non-traditional processes: machining with electrical, optical or chemical sources of
Energy

The place of machining operations:

Machining operations are capable of producing more precise dimensions and smooth surface
finishes than all other manufacturing processes. They are performed after other processes, which
create the general shape of the parts. Machining then provides the final geometry, dimensions
and finish.

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1.1 Chip Formation

Every Machining operation involves the formation of chips. The nature of which differs from
operation to operation, properties of work piece material and the cutting condition. Chips are
formed due to cutting tool, which is harder and more wearer-resistant than the work piece and
the force and power to overcome the resistance of work material. The chip is formed by the
deformation of the metal lying ahead of the cutting edge by a process of shear.

Four main categories of chips are:

1. Discontinuous Chips
2. Continuous or Ribbon Type Chips
3. Continuous Chip Built-up-Edge (BUE)
4. Serrated Chips

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1.2 Types of Chips

1.2.1 Discontinuous Chips: These chips are small segments, which

adhere loosely to each other. They are formed when the amount
of deformation to which chips undergo is limited by repeated
fracturing. Hard and brittle materials like bronze, brass and cast
iron will produce such chips.

1.2.2 Continuous or Ribbon Type Chips: In continuous chip

formation, the pressure of the work piece builds until the material
fails by slip along the plane. The inside on the chip displays steps
produced by the intermittent slip, but the outside is very smooth.
It has its elements bonded together in the form of long coils and is
formed by the continuous plastic deformation of material without
fracture ahead of the cutting edge of the tool and is followed by
the smooth flow of chip up the tool face.

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1.2.3 Continuous Chip Built Up Edge: This type of chip is very

similar to that of continuous type, with the difference that it is
not as smooth as the previous one. This type of chip is associated
with poor surface finish, but protects the cutting edge from wear
due to movement of chips and the action of heat causing the
increase in tool life.

1.2.4 Serrated Chips: These chips are semicontinuous in the sense that
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 most closely 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.

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Favorable conditions for continuous chip formation can be summarized as:

• Ductile work piece material.
• Small chip thickness.
• Fine feeds.
• Sharp cutting edge of the cutting tool.
• A large rake angle on the cutting tool.
• High cutting speeds.
• Using coolant.

Causes of discontinuous chips formation

Cutting conditions are the main causes for discontinuous chips such as,
• Very low or very high cutting speed
• Large depth of cut
• Low rake angle
• Lack of cutting fluid
• Vibration on the machine tool

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Actual chips form and classification

1.3 Need and purpose of chip-breaking

Continuous machining like turning of ductile metals produces continuous chips, which leads to
their handling and disposal problems. The problems become acute when ductile but strong
metals like steels are machined at high cutting velocity for high MRR (material removing rate)
by flat rake face type carbide or ceramic inserts. The sharp edged hot continuous chip, that
comes out at very high speed-
• becomes dangerous to the operator and the other people working in the vicinity
• may impair the finished surface by entangling with the rotating job
• creates difficulties in chip disposal.
Therefore it is essentially needed to break such continuous chips into small regular pieces for
• safety of the working people
• prevention of damage of the product
• easy collection and disposal of chips.
Chip breaking is done in proper way also for the additional purpose of improving machinability
by reducing the chip-tool contact area, cutting forces and crater wear of the cutting tool.

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1.3.1 Principles of chip-breaking

In respect of convenience and safety, closed coil type chips of short length and ‘coma’ shaped
broken-to-half turn chips are ideal in machining of ductile metals and alloys at high speed.
The principles and methods of chip breaking are generally classified as follows:
• Self breaking: This is accomplished without using a separate chip-breaker either as an
attachment or an additional geometrical modification of the tool.
• Forced chip breaking: by additional tool geometrical features or devices.

(a) Self breaking of chips

Ductile chips usually become curled or tend to curl (like clock spring) even in machining by
tools with flat rake surface due to unequal speed of flow of the chip at its free and generated
(rubbed) surfaces and unequal temperature and cooling rate at those two surfaces. With the
increase in cutting velocity and rake angle (positive) the radius of curvature increases, which is
more dangerous. In case of oblique cutting due to presence of inclination angle, restricted cutting
effect etc. the curled chips deviate laterally resulting helical coiling of the chips.

The curled chips may self break:

By natural fracturing of the strain hardened outgoing chip after sufficient cooling and spring
back as indicated in Fig.7.1 (a). This kind of chip breaking is generally observed under the
condition close to that which favors formation of jointed or segmented chips. Chips may break
by striking against the cutting surface of the job, as shown in Fig. 7.1 (b), mostly under pure
orthogonal cutting as well as by striking against the tool flank after each half to full turn as
indicated in Fig. 7.1 (c).

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Fig. 7.1 Principles of self breaking of chips.

The possibility and pattern of self chip-breaking depend upon the work material, tool material
and tool geometry, levels of the process parameters and the machining environment (cutting fluid
application) which are generally selected keeping in view the overall machinability.

(b) Forced chip-breaking

The hot continuous chip becomes hard and brittle at a distance from its origin
due to work hardening and cooling. If the running chip does not become enough
curled and work hardened, it may not break. In that case the running chip is forced to
bend or closely curl so that it breaks into pieces at regular intervals. Such broken
chips are of regular size and shape depending upon the configuration of the chip
breaker.

Chip breakers are basically of two types:

• In-built type
• Clamped or attachment type
In-built breakers are in the form of step or groove at the rake surface near the cutting edges of the
tools. Such chip breakers are provided either
• after their manufacture – in case of HSS tools like drills, milling cutters, broaches etc and
brazed type carbide inserts
• during their manufacture by powder metallurgical process – e.g., throw away type inserts
of carbides, ceramics and cermets.

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The basic principle of forced chip breaking is schematically shown in Fig. 7.2 when the strain
hardened and brittle running chip strikes the heel, the cantilever chip gets
forcibly bent and then breaks.

Fig. 7.2 Principle of forced chip breaking.

Figure 7.3 schematically shows some commonly used step type chip breakers:

• Parallel step
• Angular step; positive and negative type
• Parallel step with nose radius – for heavy cuts.
Groove type in-built chip breaker may be of
• Circular groove or
• Tilted Vee groove

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Fig. 7.3 Step type in-built chip breaker (a) parallel step (b) parallel and radiused (c) positive angular (d)
negative angular

Fig. 7.4Groove type in-built chip breaker

The unique characteristics of in-built chip breakers are:

• The outer end of the step or groove acts as the heels that forcibly bend and fracture the running
chip.
• Simple in configuration, easy manufacture and inexpensive
• The geometry of the chip-breaking features are fixed once made (i.e. cannot be controlled)
• Effective only for fixed range of speed and feed for any given tool-work combination.

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(c) Clamped type chip-breaker

Clamped type chip breakers work basically in the principle of stepped type chip- breaker but
have the provision of varying the width of the step and / or the angle of the heel. Figure 7.5
schematically shows three such chip breakers of common use :
• With fixed distance and angle of the additional strip – effective only for a limited domain
of parametric combination
• With variable width (W) only – little versatile
• With variable width (W), height (H) and angle (β) – quite versatile but less rugged and
more expensive.

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1.4 Cutting Forces

Cutting is a process of extensive stresses and plastic deformations. The high compressive and
frictional contact stresses on the tool face result in a substantial cutting force F. Knowledge of
the cutting forces is essential for the following reasons:
• Proper design of the cutting tools.
• Proper design of the fixtures used to hold the work-piece and cutting tool.
• Calculation of the machine tool power.
• Selection of the cutting conditions to avoid an excessive distortion of the work-piece.

1.4.1 Cutting force components

In orthogonal cutting, the total cutting force F is conveniently resolved into two components in
the horizontal and vertical direction, which can be directly measured using a force measuring
device called a dynamometer.

Total cutting force F is

conveniently resolved into
horizontal component FC
and vertical component FD

The two force components act against the tool:

Cutting force F C : this force is in the direction of primary motion. The cutting force constitutes
about 70~80 % of the total force F and is used to calculate the power P required to perform the
machining operation,
P = VFC
Thrust force F D : this force is in direction of feed motion in orthogonal cutting. The thrust force
is used to calculate the power of feed motion.

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In three-dimensional oblique cutting, one more force component appears along the third axis.
The thrust force F D is further resolved into two more components, one in the direction of feed
motion called feed force F f , and the other perpendicular to it and to the cutting force F C called
back force F p, which is in the direction of the cutting tool axis.

Fig: Force components in three-dimensional oblique cutting

1.4.2 Plastic deformation in cutting

The cutting itself is a process of extensive plastic deformation to form a chip that is removed
afterward. The basic mechanism of chip formation is essentially the same for all machining
operations. Assuming that the cutting action is continuous, we can develop so-called continuous
model of cutting process shown in the figure:

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Cutting is performed with a cutting tool moving at a cutting speed V in the direction of primary
motion. The cutting tool is inclined at the rake angle γ o . The rake angle can be positive, zero, or
negative, typically taking values from +15o to -6o. The rake angle influences significantly the
process of plastic deformation in cutting and therefore the chip thickness, cutting forces and
temperatures.
The tool is set to remove a cut with thickness h D and width b D . In the simplest model of
orthogonal cutting shown in the figure, the plastic deformation takes place by shearing in a single
shear plane inclined at the angle Φ (shear plane angle).

1.4.3 Types of cutting

Depending on whether the stress and deformation in cutting occur in a plane (two-dimensional
case) or in the space (three-dimensional case), we consider two principle types of cutting:
a. Orthogonal cutting the cutting edge is straight and is set in a position that is
perpendicular to the direction of primary motion. This allows us to deal with stresses and
strains that act in a plane.
b. Oblique Cutting the cutting edge is set at an angle (the tool cutting edge inclination λs).
This is the case of three-dimensional stress and strain conditions.

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According to the number of active cutting edges engaged in cutting, we distinguish again two
types of cutting:
a. Single-point cutting the cutting tool has only one major cutting edge. Examples: turning,
shaping, boring
b. Multipoint cutting the cutting tool has more than one major cutting edge Examples:
drilling, milling, broaching, reaming Abrasive machining is by definition a process of
multipoint cutting.

1.4.4 Cutting force control

The cutting force value is primarily affected by:

• Cutting conditions (cutting speed V, feed f, depth of cut d)
• Cutting tool geometry (tool orthogonal rake angle)
• Properties of work material
The simplest way to control cutting forces is to change the cutting conditions. The next diagrams
show the dependencies between F C and cutting conditions:

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Fig: Cutting force as a function of cutting conditions

 The cutting speed V does not change significantly the cutting force F C . Increasing the
cutting speed slightly reduces the cutting force. The dependence is more complex in the
low speed range for materials, which tend to form a built-up edge. When the built-up
edge disappears at high cutting speeds, the dependence is essentially the same as this for
materials, which do not form a built-up edge at all.
 Feed changes significantly the cutting force. Dependence is not linear.
 Depth of cut also changes significantly the cutting force but the dependence now is
linear.
From the above it can be concluded that the most effective method of force control is to change
the depth of cut and feed. If for some reasons change of the cutting conditions is not justified,
machining with positive tool orthogonal rake angles will decrease significantly the cutting force
but at the same time will increase the possibility of tool breakage.

1.5 Cutting Fluid & Lubricant

The aims in metal cutting are to retain accuracy, to get a good surface finish on the workpiece
and at the same time to have a longer tool life.
However during the metal cutting process heat is generated due to:
• the deformation of the material ahead of the tool
• friction at the tool point

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Heat generated due to friction can readily be reduced by using a lubricant. Cutting fluid
(coolant) is any liquid or gas that is applied to the chip and/or cutting tool to improve cutting
performance. A very few cutting operations are performed dry, i.e., without the application of
cutting fluids. Generally, it is essential that cutting fluids be applied to all machining operations.
Cutting fluids serve three principle functions:
a. to remove heat in cutting: the effective cooling action of the cutting fluid depends on the
method of application, type of the cutting fluid, the fluid flow rate and pressure. The most
effective cooling is provided by mist application combined with flooding. Application of
fluids to the tool flank, especially under pressure, ensures better cooling that typical
application to the chip but is less convenient.
b. to lubricate the chip-tool interface: cutting fluids penetrate the tool-chip interface
improving lubrication between the chip and tool and reducing the friction forces and
temperatures.
c. to wash away chips: this action is applicable to small, discontinuous chips only. Special
devices are subsequently needed to separate chips from cutting fluids.Heat caused by
deformation cannot be reduced and yet it can be carried away by a fluid. Thus the use of
a cutting fluid will serve to reduce the tool wear, give better surface finish and a tighter
dimensional control.

In order that the cutting fluid performs its functions properly it is necessary to ensure that the
cutting fluid be applied directly to the cutting zone so that it can form a film at the sliding
surfaces of the tool.

1.5.1 Common Cutting Fluids

Water: It has a high specific heat but is poor in lubrication and also encourages rusting. It is
used as a cooling agent during tool grinding.
Soluble Oils: Oil will not dissolve in water but can be made to form an intimate mixture or
emulsion by adding emulsifying agents. The oil is then suspended in the water in the form of tiny
droplets. These fluids have average lubricating abilities and good cooling properties. Soluble oils
are suitable for light cutting operations on general purpose machines where high rates of metal

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removal are often not of prime importance. There are many forms of soluble oil in the market
and the suppliers instruction should be followed regarding the proportions of mixing.
Mineral Oils: They are used for heavier cutting operations because of their good lubricating
properties and are commonly found in production machines where high rates of metal removal
are employed. Mineral oils are very suitable for steels but should not be used on copper or its
alloys since it has a corrosive effect.
Vegetable Oils: They are good lubricants but are of little used since they are liable to decompose
and smell badly.

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1.6 Tool Geometry

The back rake angle affects the ability of the tool to shear the work material and form the chip
which naturally curves into the work due to the difference in length from the outer and inner
parts of the cut. It can be positive or negative. Positive rake angles reduce the cutting forces
resulting in smaller deflections of the workpiece, tool holder, and machine. If the back rake angle
is too large, the strength of the tool is reduced as well as its capacity to conduct heat. In
machining hard work materials, the back rake angle must be small, even negative for carbide and
diamond tools. The higher the hardness, the smaller the back rake angle. For high-speed steels,
back rake angle is normally chosen in the positive range.

Side Rake along with back rake controls the chip flow and partly counteracts the resistance of the
work to the movement of the cutter and can be optimized to suit the particular material being cut.
Brass for example requires a back and side rake of 0 degrees while aluminum uses a back rake of
35 degrees and a side rake of 15 degrees.

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Nose Radius makes the finish of the cut smoother as it can overlap the previous cut and eliminate
the peaks and valleys that a pointed tool produces. Having a radius also strengthens the tip, a
sharp point being quite fragile.
All the other angles are for clearance in order that no part of the tool besides the actual cutting
edge can touch the work. The front clearance angle is usually 8 degrees while the side clearance
angle is 10-15 degrees and partly depends on the rate of feed expected.
Minimum angles which do the job required are advisable because the tool gets weaker as the
edge gets keener due to the lessening support behind the edge and the reduced ability to absorb
heat generated by cutting.
The Rake angles on the top of the tool need not be precise in order to cut but to cut efficiently
there will be an optimum angle for back and side rake.

1.6.1 Characteristics of Tool Material

For efficient cutting a tool must have the following properties:

Hot Hardness
This means the ability to retain its hardness at high temperatures. All cutting operations generate
heat, which will affect the tool¡¦s hardness and eventually its ability to cut.

Strength and Resistance to Shock

At the start of a cut the first bite of the tool into the work results in considerable shock loading on
the tool. It must obviously be strong enough to withstand it.

Low Coefficient of Friction

The tool rubbing against the workpiece and the chip rubbing on the top face of the tool produce
heat which must be kept to a minimum.

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1.6.2 Tool Materials in Common Use

High Carbon Steel

Contains 1 - 1.4% carbon with some addition of chromium and tungsten to improve wear
resistance. The steel begins to lose its hardness at about 250° C, and is not favoured for modern
machining operations where high speeds and heavy cuts are usually employed.

High Speed Steel (H.S.S.)

Steel, which has a hot hardness value of about 600° C, possesses good strength and shock
resistant properties. It is commonly used for single point lathe cutting tools and multi point
cutting tools such as drills, reamers and milling cutters.

Cemented Carbides
An extremely hard material made from tungsten powder. Carbide tools are usually used in the
form of brazed or clamped tips. High cutting speeds may be used and materials difficult to cut
with HSS may be readily machined using carbide tipped tool.

1.7 TOOL WEAR AND TOOL LIFE

The life of a cutting tool can be terminated by a number of means, although they fall broadly into
two main categories:
1. gradual wearing of certain regions of the face and flank of the cutting tool, and
2. abrupt tool failure.
When the tool wear reaches an initially accepted amount, there are two options,
1. to resharpen the tool on a tool grinder, or
2. to replace the tool with a new one. This second possibility applies in two cases,
a. when the resource for tool resharpening is exhausted. or
b. the tool does not allow for resharpening, e.g. in case of the indexable carbide
inserts.
1.7.1 Wear zones
Gradual wear occurs at three principal location on a cutting tool. Accordingly, three main types
of tool wear can be distinguished,

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a. crater wear
b. flank wear
c. corner wear
These three wear types are illustrated in the figure:

a. Crater wear: consists of a concave section on the tool face formed by the action of the
chip sliding on the surface. Crater wear affects the mechanics of the process increasing
the actual rake angle of the cutting tool and consequently, making cutting easier. At the
same time, the crater wear weakens the tool wedge and increases the possibility for tool
breakage. In general, crater wear is of a relatively small concern.
b. Flank wear: occurs on the tool flank as a result of friction between the machined surface
of the workpiece and the tool flank. Flank wear appears in the form of so-called wear
land and is measured by the width of this wear land, VB, Flank wear affects to the great
extend the mechanics of cutting. Cutting forces increase significantly with flank wear. If

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the amount of flank wear exceeds some critical value (VB > 0.5~0.6 mm), the excessive
cutting force may cause tool failure.
c. Corner wear: occurs on the tool corner. Can be considered as a part of the wear land and
respectively flank wear since there is no distinguished boundary between the corner wear
and flank wear land. We consider corner wear as a separate wear type because of its
importance for the precision of machining. Corner wear actually shortens the cutting tool
thus increasing gradually the dimension of machined surface and introducing a
significant dimensional error in machining, which can reach values of about 0.03~0.05
mm.

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1.7.2 Tool life

Tool wear is a time dependent process. As cutting proceeds, the amount of tool wear increases
gradually. But tool wear must not be allowed to go beyond a certain limit in order to avoid tool
failure. The most important wear type from the process point of view is the flank wear, therefore
the parameter which has to be controlled is the width of flank wear land, VB. This parameter
must not exceed an initially set safe limit, which is about 0.4 mm for carbide cutting tools. The
safe limit is referred to as allowable wear land (wear criterion), VBk. The cutting time required
for the cutting tool to develop a flank wear land of width VBk is called tool life, T, a
fundamental parameter in machining.
The general relationship of VB versus cutting time is shown in the figure (so-called wear curve).
Although the wear curve shown is for flank wear, a similar relationship occur for other wear
types. The figure shows also how to define the tool life T for a given wear criterion VBk.

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The slope of the wear curve (that is the intensity of tool wear) depends on the same parameters,
which affect the cutting temperature as the wear of cutting tool materials is a process extremely
temperature dependent. Parameters, which affect the rate of tool wear are
a. cutting conditions (cutting speed V, feed f, depth of cut d)
b. cutting tool geometry (tool orthogonal rake angle)
c. properties of work material
From these parameters, cutting speed is the most important one. As cutting speed is increased,
wear rate increases, so the same wear criterion is reached in less time, i.e., tool life decreases
with cutting speed:

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If the tool life values for the three wear curves are plotted on a natural log-log graph of cutting
speed versus tool life as shown in the right figure, the resulting relationship is a straight line
expressed in equation form called the Taylor tool life equation:
VTn = C
where n and C are constants, whose values depend on cutting conditions, work and tool material
properties, and tool geometry. These constants are well tabulated and easily available. An
expanded version of Taylor equation can be formulated to include the effect of feed, depth of cut
and even work material properties.

1.7.3 Wear control

As it was discussed earlier, the rate of tool wear strongly depends on the cutting temperature,
therefore, any measures which could be applied to reduce the cutting temperature would reduce
the tool wear as well. The figure shows the process parameters that influence the rate of tool
wear:

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