Broaching is the process of removing metal with a tool which has teeth arranged in a row.

Each tooth is successively higher than the previous tooth and removes more material. In broaching, one stroke or cycle of the machine produces a finished part. Broaching is used to produce both internal and external features. Production rates are high and tolerances of +/- .0005 are possible.

Chip Formation

Chip formation involves three basic requirements:

The cutting tool must be harder than the part

material

There must be interference between the tool and the There must be a relative motion or cutting velocity

part as designated by the feed rate and cut per tooth

between the tool and workpiece with sufficient force to overcome the resistance of the part material.

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Tool Feed Direction Gullet Depth of cut per tooth

Tool

Workpiece

How and Where Heat is Generated

The force or energy that is put into the tool creates movement in a group of metal atoms in the workpiece. This group is a finite number of atoms which are forced to change their positions in relationship to each other. As the atoms in the metal ahead of the tool are disturbed, the friction involved in their sliding over one another is thought to be responsible for 60% or more of the total heat generated. This internal friction, and the heat it generates, can be compared to the friction and heat caused by bending a paper clip back and forth until it breaks.
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How and Where Heat is Generated

As the tool continues to push through the work piece, a chip eventually slides up the cutting face of the tool. This sliding creates an external friction which again releases heat. This external friction accounts for about 30% of the total heat generated. The third area of heat generation is on the land or flank of the tool. This area accounts for about 10% of the heat generated. This is assuming that the tools are sharp and made correctly as far as clearance angles and face angles are concerned. As the tool wears, the above percentages will vary, especially when there is excess wear on the land, or if the clearance angle is insufficient for the material or the part configuration. This contact zone will actually increase as the part continues to close in after the cut resulting in extremely high pressures on the land area of the tool.

Advantages
Rough to finish in one pass
Production rates are high Cutting time is quick Rapid load and unload of parts External and internal features Any form that can be produced on a broaching tool can

be produced Production tolerances are excellent Surface finishes are equal to milling Operator skill is low

Disadvantages
Tooling cost can be high
In some cases--not suited for low production rates Parts to be broached must be strong enough to

withstand the forces of the process Surface to be broached must be accessible

Pull broaching - broach is pulled through or across stationary work Push broaching - broach is pushed through or across work Surface broaching - either the work or the broach moves across the other Continuous broaching - the work is moved continuously against stationary broaches. The path of the movement may be straight or circular.

Vertical single and double slide - Table moves part into position for broaching, part is broached and the table retracts for unloading.
Vertical push broaching - Used for internal features

such as holes, rounds, or slots. Vertical pull down

Tool is suspended above work Lowered into pull mechanism in the base of the machine Advantages Part positioning is easy Large parts are handled efficiently

Vertical single and double slide

Horizontal
Versatile machine capable of producing internal and

external features
key-ways gear teeth riffling

High cutting speeds in the range of 10-40ft/min with return speeds of 110 ft/min MRR of in per stroke is possible

Horizontal

Rotary
Parts are mounted to a rotating table and are moved to

different stations for different operations Primarily used on small parts Typical operations include:
Slotting Holes Key-ways

Considerations

Material to be broached Size and shape of cut Quality of surface finish Part tolerance Productions rates Type of machine Workholding method Strength of the workpiece