THEORY OF METAL CUTTING

MCE 162 Workshop Process and Practice II

By
Dr. Glenn K. Gyimah
Lecturer
Mechanical Engineering Department
Accra Technical University
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 Metal Cutting
Metal cutting or Machining operation is to produce a desired shape, size and
finish of a component by removing excess material in the form of chips.

Chips may constitute more than 50% of initial work piece.

Machining processes are performed on metal cutting machines, using various

types of cutting tools

Metal cutting process in general should be carried out at high speeds and feeds
with least cutting effort at minimum cost.

Factors affecting metal cutting

1. Properties of Work material

2. Properties & geometry of cutting tool
3. Interaction between tool and work

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 turning facing grooving forming threading

External

Internal

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 Mechanics of Metal Cutting
A cutting tool exerts compressive force on the workpiece which stresses the work
material beyond the yield point and therefore metal deform plastically and shears off.
Plastic flow takes place in a localized
region called the shear plane.

Sheared material begins to flow along

the cutting tool face in the form of chips.

Flowing chips cause tool wear.

Applied compressive force which leads

to formation of chips is called cutting
force.
Heat produced during shearing action raises the temperature of the workpeice,
cutting tool and chips.

Temperature rise in cutting tool softens and causes loss of keenness in cutting
edge.

Cutting force, heat and abrasive wear are important features in metal cutting.
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According to the number of major cutting edges
(points) involved as follows:

• Single point: e.g., turning tools, shaping, planning

and slotting tools and boring tools

• Double (two) point: e.g., drills

• Multipoint (more than two): e.g., milling cutters,

broaching tools, hobs, gear shaping cutters etc.
and other very hard tool materials

Three ways of holding and presenting the cutting edge for a single-point
tool:
(a) solid tool, typical of HSS;
(b) brazed insert, one way of holding a cemented carbide insert; and
(c) mechanically clamped insert, used for cemented carbides, ceramics,
•By far the most common cutting tools for hole-
making
•Usually made of high speed steel
 Types of Cutting Tools

Cutting tools performs the main machining operation.

It is a body having teeth or cutting edges on it.

They comprise of single point cutting tool or multipoint cutting tools.

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 Types of Metal Cutting Process

Orthogonal cutting is also known as two dimensional metal cutting in which the cutting
edge is normal to the work piece. (angle = 90deg)

Oblique cutting is also known as three dimensional cutting in which the cutting action
is inclined with the job by a certain angle called the inclination angle. (angle ≠ 90deg)

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Single point cutting tool : This type of tool has a effective cutting edge and
removes excess material from the work piece along the cutting edge.

These tools may be left-handed or right-handed.

Again single point cutting tools classified as
A. solid type
B. tipped tool.
C. Brazed tools
are generally known as tool bits and are used in tool holders.
The tipped type of tool is made from a good shank steel on which is mounted a tip
of cutting tool material.
Tip may be made of high speed steel or cemented carbide.
Different types of carbide tips are generally used on tipped tool.

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Geometry comprises mainly of nose, rake face of the tool, flank, heel and shank etc.

The nose is shaped as conical with different angles.

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 Types of Chips
Chips are separated from the workpiece to impart the required size and shape.

The chips that are formed during metal cutting operations can be classified into four
types:
1. Continuous chips
2. Continuous chips with built-up edge
3. Discontinuous or segmental chips.
4. Non homogenous chips

1. Continuous chips

Chip is produced when there is low friction between the chip and tool face

This chip has the shape of long string or curls into a tight roll

Chip is produced when ductile materials such as Al, Cu, M.S, and wrought Iron are
machined.

Formation of very lengthy chip is hazardous to the machining process and the
machine operators.
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It may wrap up on the cutting tool, work piece and interrupt in the cutting operation.

It becomes necessary to deform or break long continuous chips into small pieces.

It is done by using chip breakers and this can be an integral part of the tool design
or a separate device.

2. Continuous chips with built-up edge

When high friction exists between chip and tool, the chip material welds itself to the
tool face.

Welded material increases friction further which in turn leads to the building up a
layer upon layer of chip material.

Build up edge grows and breaks down when it becomes unstable.

Chips with build up edge result in higher power consumption, poor surface finish and
large tool wear 15
3. Discontinuous or segmental chips
Chip is produced in the form of small pieces.

These types of chips are obtained while

machining brittle material like cast iron, brass
and bronze at very low speeds and high feeds.

For brittle materials it is associated with fair

surface finish, lower power consumption and
reasonable tool life.
For ductile materials it is associated with poor surface finish excessive tool wear.
4. Non-homogeneous chips
It will be in the form of notches and formed due to non-uniform strain in materal
during chip formation.

Non homogenous chips are developed during machining highly hard alloys like
titanium.

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 Chip Control and Chip Breakers
During machining high tensile strength materials chips has to be properly
controlled.

Carbide tip tools will be used for high speeds which leads to high temperature and
produce continuous chips with blue color.

If the above mentioned chips are not broken means it will adversely effect the
machining in following ways,

•Spoiling cutting edge

•Raising temperature
•Poor surface finish
•Hazardous to machine operator

Two ways are employed to overcome all the above drawbacks.

First one is Proper selection of cutting conditions and second one is

chip breakers are used to break the chips.

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Proper selection of cutting conditions
Since the cutting speed influences to the great extend the productivity of
machining and surface finish, working at low speeds may not be desirable.

 If the cutting speed is to be kept high, changing the feed and depth of cut is a
reasonable solution for chip control.

Chip breaker
There are two types of chip breakers
1. ŒExternal type, an inclined obstruction clamped to the tool face
2. •Integral type, a groove ground into the tool face or bulges formed onto
the tool face

clamped

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NOMENCLATURE Of SINGLE POINT TOOL

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 Feed

Back rake angle (αb)

It is the angle between the face of the tool and a line parallel with base of the tool
measured in a perpendicular plane through the side cutting edge.

This angle helps in removing the chips away from the work piece. 22
Side rake angle (αs)
It is the angle by which the face of tool is inclined side ways.

This angle of tool determines the thickness of the tool behind the cutting edge.

It is provided on tool to provide clearance between work piece and tool so as to
prevent the rubbing of work- piece with end flank of tool.

End relief angle

It is defined as the angle between the portion of the end flank immediately below
the cutting edge and a line perpendicular to the base of the tool, measured at right
angles to the flank.

It is the angle that allows the tool to cut without rubbing on the work- piece.

Side relief angle

It is the angle that prevents the interference as the tool enters the material.

It is the angle between the portion of the side flank immediately below the side
edge and a line perpendicular to the base of the tool measured at right angles to
the side.

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End cutting edge angle
It is the angle between the end cutting edge and a line perpendicular to the shank
of the tool.

It provides clearance between tool cutting edge and work piece.

Side cutting edge angle

It is the angle between straight cutting edge on the side of tool and the side of
the shank.

It is also known as lead angle.

It is responsible for turning the chip away from the finished surface.

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 What is tool signature ? And what are
the different systems of specifying tool
geometry?
 In simple words The numerical code that
describes all the key angles of a given cutting
tool is called tool signature

 Convenient way to specify tool angles by use of

standardized abbreviated system is known as
tool signature or tool nomenclature. The tool
signature comprises of seven elements and is
specified in different systems .
 Tool Signature
Convenient way to specify tool angles by use of a standardized abbreviated
system is known as tool signature or tool nomenclature.

The seven elements that comprise the signature of a single point cutting tool can
be stated in the following order:

Tool signature 0-7-6-8-15-16-0.8

1. Back rake angle (0°)
2. Side rake angle (7°)
3. End relief angle (6°)
4. Side relief angle (8°)
5. End cutting edge angle (15°)
6. Side cutting edge angle (16°)
7. Nose radius (0.8 mm)

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 Properties of cutting tool materials

1. Red hardness or Hot Hardness: It is the ability of a material to retain its hardness
at high temperature

2. Wear resistance: It enables the cutting tool to retain its shape and cutting efficiency

3. Toughness: It relates to the ability of a material to resist shock or impact loads

associated with interrupted cuts
Classification tool materials
1. Carbon-Tool Steels:
 0.6-1.5% carbon + little amount of Mn, Si, Cr, V to increase hardness.
Low carbon varieties possess good toughness & shock resistance.
High carbon varieties possess good abrasion resistance

2. High Speed Steels (HSS):

 High carbon+ little amount Tungsten, Molybdenum, Cr, V & cobalt to increase
hardness, toughness and wear résistance.
 High operating temperatures upto 600oC. 27
  Two types of HSS i.e, is T-type and M-Type
 Vanadium increases abrasion resistance but higher percentage will decreases
grindability.
 Chromium increases hardenability
 Cobalt is added to HSS to increase red hardness.
3. Cast Cobalt Base Alloys:
 It is a combination of W, Cr, carbon and Cobalt which form an alloy with red
hardness, wear resistance and toughness. It is prepare by casting.
 Used for machining Cast iron, alloy steels, non-ferrous metals and super alloys

4. Cemented Carbides:
 These are carbides of W, Titanium and tantalum with small amount of cobalt
produced by means of powder metallurgy route.
 Two types i.e, Straight Tungsten Carbide Cobalt Grade and Alloyed Tungsten
Carbide Grade

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 Straight Tungsten Carbide Cobalt Grade : Cast iron, non ferrous alloys, plastics,
wood, glass etc.

Alloyed Tungsten Carbide Grade: All grades of steel at 3 to 4 times more speeds
than HSS
5. Ceramic Tools:
 Aluminium Oxide, Silicon Carbide, Boron Carbide, Titanium Carbide, Titanium
Boride

 High speed, longer tool life, superior surface finish, No coolant is required.

6. Diamond Tools:
 More abrasion resistance
 Used for turning grinding wheels
 Used to produce mirror surface finish.
 Diamond abrassive belts are used to produce TV screens
 Poly crystalline diamond inserts are brazed into cutting edges of circular saws for
cutting construction materials like concrete, refractories, stone etc.

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 Tool Life
Properly designed cutting tool is expected to perform the metal cutting operation
in an effective an smooth manner

If a tool is not giving satisfactory performance it is an indicative of tool failure.

Following are the adverse effects observed during operation;

Extremely poor surface finish on the workpiece

Higher consumption of power
Work dimensions are not produced as specified
Overheating of cutting tool
Appearance of burnishing band on the work surface
During operation cutting tool may fail due to following;
Thermal cracking and softening
Mechanical Chipping
Gradual wear
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 Tool life is defined as the time interval for which tool works satisfactorily
between two successive grinding or re-sharpening of the tool.

1.Thermal Cracking and Softening

During cutting operation lot of heat will be generated due to this cutting tool tip
and area closer to cutting edge will become hot.

Cutting tool material will be harder up to certain limit (temperature & pressure),
if it crosses the limit it starts deforming plastically at tip and adjacent to the cutting
edge under the action of cutting pressure and high temperature.

Tool looses its cutting ability and it is said to have failed due to softening.

Main factors responsible for this condition are;

High cutting speed
High feed rate
More depth of cut
Small nose radius
Choice of wrong tool material
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Working temperatures for common tool materials are;

Carbon tool steels 200oC - 250oC

High speed steel 560oC - 600oC
Cemented Carbides 800oC - 1000oC
Tool material is subjected to local expansion and contraction due to severe
temperature gradient.

Gives rise to thermal stresses further leads to thermal cracks.

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 2. Mechanical Chipping

Mechanical chipping of nose an cutting edge of the tool are commonly

observed causes for tool failure.

Reasons for failure are High cutting pressure, Mechanical impact, Excessive
wear, too high vibrations and weak tip an cutting edge, etc.

This type of failure is pronounced in carbide tipped and diamond tools due to
high brittleness of tool material.

Chipped Tip

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 3. Gradual wear
When a tool is in use for some time it is found to have lost some weight or
mass implying that it has lost some material from it due to wear.

Wear locations:
Crater wear location
Flank wear location

Crater wear
Due to pressure of the hot chip sliding
up the face of the tool, crater or a
depression is formed on the face of tool.
Crater wear
(Ductile materials)
By diffusion shape of crater formed
corresponds to the shape of underside
of the chip
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Flank wear
Occurs between tool and workpiece
interface

Due to abrasion between tool flank

and workpiece

The entire area subjected to flank

wear is known as WEAR LAND (VB),
occurs on tool nose, front and side
relief faces

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The major factor involved in metal cutting are,
 Forces and power absorbed
 Tool wear and tool life
 Surface finish
 Dimensional accuracy
 Machining cost

This factor depend upon a large variables, such as

 Property of work material
 Tool geometry
 Cutting condition
 Machine tool rigidity

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1. The easy with which it could be machined,
2. The life of tool before tool failure or re
sharpening
3. The quality of machined surface.
4. The power consumption per unit volume of
material removed.

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 Long tool life at a given cutting speed
 Low power consumption per unit volume of
material removed.
 Maximum metal removal per tool re
sharpening
 High quality of surface finish
 Good and uniform dimensional accuracy of
successive parts
 Easy disposable chips.

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 Cutting Fluids—Types and Applications
Cutting Fluids

Essential in metal-cutting operations to reduce heat and friction

Centuries ago, water used on grindstones
100 years ago, tallow used (did not cool)
Lard oils came later but turned rancid
Early 20th century saw soap added to water
Soluble oils came in 1936
Chemical cutting fluids introduced in 1944

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 What is Cutting Fluid ?

Cutting fluid is a type of coolant and lubricant designed specifically for

metalworking and machining processes.

There are various kinds of cutting fluids, which include oils, oil-water emulsions,
pastes, gels and other gases.

 They may be made from petroleum distillates, animal fats, plant oils, water and
other raw ingredients.

Depending on context, type of cutting fluid is being considered, it may be referred

to as cutting fluid, cutting oil, cutting compound, coolant, or lubricant.

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Economic Advantages to Using Cutting Fluids

Reduction of tool costs

Reduce tool wear, tools life longer
Increased speed of production
Reduce heat and friction so higher cutting speeds
Reduction of labor costs
Tools life longer and require less regrinding, less downtime, reducing
cost per part
Reduction of power costs
Friction reduced so less power required by machining

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 Characteristics of a Good Cutting Fluid

Good cooling capacity

Good lubricating qualities
Relatively low viscosity
Stability (long life)
Rust resistance
Nontoxic
Transparent
Nonflammable

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 Types of Cutting Fluids

 Most commonly used cutting fluids

 Either aqueous based solutions or
cutting oils
 Three categories
 Cutting oils
 Emulsifiable oils
 Chemical (synthetic) cutting fluids

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Common insert shapes: (a) round, (b) square, (c) rhombus with two 80 point angles,
(d) hexagon with three 80 point angles, (e) triangle (equilateral), (f) rhombus with
two 55 point angles, (g) rhombus with two 35 point angles. Also shown are typical
features of the geometry.
What is orthogonal cutting and oblique cutting ? List the
assumptions in calculating cutting force?

Orthogonal cutting
In orthogonal cutting the tool approaches the work piece
with its cutting edge parallel to the uncut surface and at
right angle to the direction of cutting. Thus tool approach
angle and cutting edge inclination are zero.
Here only two component forces are acting cutting force
Fc and thrust force Ft. So the metal cutting may be
considered as 2 Dimensional cutting.

wor
k

feed
Oblique cutting
The cutting edge is inclined at an angle i (known as
inclination angle ) with the normal to the direction of tool
travel . The cutting edge may are may not clear the width
of the work piece.
The chip flow on tool face making an angle with the
normal on the cutting edge. The chip flows side ways in a
long curl.
Three components of the forces (mutually perpendicular
act at the cutting edge).
Oblique cutting occur when the major edge of the
cutting tool is presented to the work piece at an angle
which is not perpendicular to the direction of feed.