Mechanism of Chip Formation

Importance of Chip study

• The form of the chips is an important
index of machining because it directly or
Mechanism of chip formation

indirectly indicates:
– Nature and behavior of the work material
under machining condition

– Specific energy requirement (amount of

energy required to remove unit volume of
work material) in machining work

– Nature and degree of interaction at the chip-

tool interfaces.
 Factors influencing chip formation
The form of machined chips depend
mainly upon:
Mechanism of chip formation

 Work material
 Material and geometry of the
cutting tool
 Process parameters
 Machining environment or
cutting fluid
Mechanism of chip formation
Orthogonal Vs Oblique Cutting

(a) Orthogonal Cutting (b) Oblique Cutting

 Orthogonal Vs Oblique Cutting
Orthogonal Cutting Oblique Cutting.
The
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Heat two curls
Generally
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cutting edge offof The
per Heat
Threechip flows
Frequently,
developed more
components than
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Mechanism of chip formation

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 Types of Chips

1) Discontinuous Chip
Mechanism of chip formation

2) Continuous Chip without

Built up Edge
3) Continuous Chip with
Built up Edge
4) Serrated (inhomogeneous) Chip
Mechanism of chip formation
Discontinuous chips

Fig.: Discontinuous chip

 Conditions for Discontinuous chips
 Brittle workpiece materials
 Low cutting speeds
Mechanism of chip formation

 Large uncut chip- High

thickness tool-chip
friction
 Low rake angles
 Lack of an effective cutting fluid
 Low machine tool stiffness
 Discontinuous Chip - Disadvantages
Cutting force continually varies during
cutting
Mechanism of chip formation

Surface finish and dimensional accuracy

of the machined part are affected
May cause premature wear or damage
to the cutting tool
Low stiffness of the tool holder or the
machine tool, thus allowing vibration and
chatter to occur
Mechanism of chip formation
Continuous chips

Fig.: Shiny surface on the tool

Fig. Continuous chip
side of a continuous chip
 Conditions favor Continuous Chip

Ductile materials
Mechanism of chip formation

High cutting speed

High rake angle Low
tool-chip
Small feeds friction
Small Uncut chip thickness
Sharp cutting edge.
 Continuous Chip – Merits & Demerits
 Cutting under these conditions is a steady state process.
 The surface finish obtained is good and the cutting is
Mechanism of chip formation

smooth.
 Helps in having higher tool life and lower power
consumption.
 Chip disposal is a problem.
 The chip flowing continuously over the rake face of the
tool doesn’t allow the tool to dissipate heat, as a
consequence the tool temperatures rise.
 Continuous Chip with BUE
 High
Plastic
Interface
deformation
Friction
causes
(Low adhesion
speed, High between
feed /
 Depth
BUE
chip becomes
and
of Cut
tool andunstable
face low asangle)
rake it grows larger, and
 Part
BUE of
is BUE
gradually
eventually material
breaks formed
is carried
apart, fromcycle
this deposited
away by the
repeats.
 chip;
Tool-chip friction causes portions of chip to
Mechanism of chip formation

workpiece
the
 Ductile rest
material
is
materials. deposited
on the randomly
tool tip on the
adhere
workpieceto rake face
surface.
 Conditions – Cont. Chip with BUE
 stronger adhesion between chips and tool
face
Mechanism of chip formation

 low rake angle

 large uncut chip thickness
 high friction at tool face (low speed and the
ineffective use of cutting fluids)
 Higher the strain hardening exponent,
higher chance of BUE.
Mechanism of chip formation
Cutting Speed Vs BUE

Fig. Cutting speed Vs Height of BUE

Mechanism of chip formation
BUE - Disadvantage

Fig. BUE on a single point tool

Mechanism of chip formation
BUE - Disadvantage

Fig. Cracks formed in carbide insert during cooling

 BUE - Disadvantages

 Causes fluctuations in Cutting Forces

Mechanism of chip formation

 Adversely affects the surface finish

 Changes the geometry of cutting

 BUE changes the configuration of the

cutting edge and dulls it
 Reducing BUE
To reduce the tendency for BUE formation
Increase the cutting speeds
Mechanism of chip formation

Decrease the depth of cut

Increase the rake angle
Use a sharp tool with reduced tool tip
radius
Use an effective cutting fluid
Use a cutting tool that has lower chemical
affinity for the workpiece material
Mechanism of chip formation
Types of Chips - Resulting Finishes
 Need for Chip Breaking
Essential to break continuous
chips
• safety of the working people
Chip Breakers

• prevention of damage of the

product
• easy collection and disposal of
chips.
 Methods of Chip Breaking
The principles and methods of chip
breaking:
 Self breaking
Chip Breakers

 Forced chip breaking by

• additional tool geometrical
features or
• additional devices.
Chip Breakers Self breaking of Chips

(a) natural (b) striking

on job

(c) Striking
at tool flank
Chip Breakers Principle of Forced Chip Breaking
Chip Breakers Types of Forced Chip Breakers

(a) parallel step (b) parallel and curved

Chip Breakers Types of Forced Chip Breakers

(c) positive angular (d) negative angular

Chip Breakers Types of Forced Chip Breakers

(a) circular groove (b) V-groove

 In-built chip breakers
The unique characteristics of in-built chip
breakers are :
• The outer end of the step or groove acts
as the heel that forcibly bend and fracture
Chip Breakers

the running chip

• Simple in configuration, easy manufacture
and inexpensive
• The geometry of the chip-breaking
features are fixed once made
• Effective only for fixed range of speed and
feed for any given tool-work combination.
Chip Breakers
Clamped Type Chip Breakers

(a) fixed geometry (b) variable width

 Serrated Chips
 Semi-continuous chips
with large zones of low
Mechanism of chip formation

shear strain and small

zones of high shear strain
Fig. serrated chip
also known as
 Chips have a sawtooth -
Non-homogenous chip. like appearance.

 Associated with difficult-to-machine metals

with low thermal conductivity, (eg. Titanium)
at high cutting speeds.
 References
 Machining & Machine Tools by AB Chattopadhyay, Wiley
 Metal Cutting Theory & Cutting Tool Design by Vasilii
Mechanism of chip formation

Andreevich Arshinov and G Alekseev, MIR Publishers

 Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing: Materials,
Processes and Systems by Mikell P Groover, John Wiley
 Manufacturing Technology by P.N.Rao, TMH
 The Machining of Metals by E.J.A. Armarego and R.H.
Brown, Prentice Hall