Tool wear of coated drills in drilling CFRP

This study aimed to investigate the wear of certain coated drills when drilling carbon fiber reinforced composites (CFRP). Three different drills were used in the drilling experiments: uncoated, diamond coated and AlTiN coated carbide (WC–Co) drills. The tool wear in CFRP machining was quite different from that in conventional metal machining. The primary wear type was a dulling or blunting of the cutting edge, which has been referred to as edge rounding wear or edge recession. In this paper, a hypothesis has been developed to explain the edge rounding wear in CFRP machining. Due to the fracture-based chip formation of CFRP, there is lack of the work material stagnation zone in front of the cutting edge, which normally prevents the edge wear in metal machining. Series of wear lead to rapid dulling of the cutting edge. The resistance to edge rounding wear on the coated as well as uncoated drills has been investigated. The diamond coating significantly reduces the edge rounding wear. However, AlTiN coated drills showed no visible improvement over the uncoated carbide drill, despite of their high hardness, thus not protecting the drill. The wear mechanisms of the uncoated carbide drill and coatings are discussed. It is believed that the 2-body and 3-body abrasive wear fail to explain the observed tool wear in CFRP drilling. However, the wear of the coatings and uncoated carbide substrate from tribo-meter tests correlated well with the tool wear in the CFRP drilling. Therefore, the tribo-meter test can be used to screen the prospective tool materials before carrying drilling experiment.     

Machining Performance and Health Effects of Cutting Fluid Application in Drilling of A390.0 Cast Aluminum Alloy

Environmental issues in machining have led to a push to curtail the use of cutting fluids. However, cutting fluid effects on part quality, process planning, and operator exposure to aerosols need to be first studied. The effects of cutting fluid application on hole accuracy and mist generation have been studied for blind-hole drilling of A390.0 aluminum alloy. Different cutting fluid types and application modes were tested under varying conditions of cutting speed, feed, and hole depth. The cooling and chip-transporting ability of cutting fluids was found to have the maximum effect on dimensional accuracy. Dry cutting yielded holes with the least accuracy, while mist lubrication was found to give superior dimensional accuracy to dry cutting but had the worst aerosol concentration. Flooding with synthetic cutting fluid gave the best overall results.     

Experimental investigation of turning AISI 1045 steel using cryogenic carbon dioxide as the cutting fluid

The intensive temperatures in high speed machining not only limit the tool life but also impair the machined surface by inducing tensile residual stresses, microcracks and thermal damage. This problem can be handled largely by reducing the cutting temperature. When the conventional coolant is applied to the cutting zone, it fails to remove the extent of the heat effectively. Hence, a cryogenic coolant is highly recommended for this purpose. In this paper, an attempt has been made to use cryogenic carbon dioxide (CO₂) as the cutting fluid. Experimental investigations are carried out by turning AISI 1045 steel in which the efficiency of cryogenic CO₂ is compared to that of dry and wet machining with respect to cutting temperature, cutting forces, chip disposal and surface roughness. The experimental results show that the application of cryogenic CO₂ as the cutting fluid is an efficient coolant for the turning operation as it reduced the cutting temperature by 5%–22% when compared with conventional machining.It is also observed that the surface finish is improved to an appreciable amount in the finished work piece on the application of cryogenic CO₂. The surface finish is improved by 5%–25% in the cryogenic condition compared with wet machining.     

A new approach to predicting the maximum temperature in dry drilling based on a finite element model

A new analysis approach is developed to predict the temperature in dry drilling. The working rake angle and the working relief angle which the effect of feed is considered at an arbitrary point in the leading cutting edge of a twist drill are developed for the equivalent model. Then finite element models are developed to predict the drilling temperature based on the equivalent model. Commercial finite element codes Abaqus, Deform 2D and Third Wave Systems AdvantEdge have been used. In simulations, different chip separation models and material models are applied in the three codes. And the effect of the laws of drilling velocities and feed rates on the temperature are investigated by the finite element method. Predicted results of the maximum temperatures by three codes are compared with experiments, respectively. Results indicate that the drilling temperature results of simulations have good agreement to the experimental ones, and the errors are all less than 15%.     

An Approach to Theoretical Modeling and Simulation of Face Milling Forces

A new approach to theoretical modeling and simulation of face milling forces is presented. The present approach is based on a predictive machining theory in which machining characteristic factors in continuous cutting with a single-point cutting tool can be predicted from the workpiece material properties, tool geometry, and cutting conditions. The action of a milling cutter is considered as the simultaneous work of a number of single-point cutting tools, and the milling forces are predicted from input data of workpiece material properties, cutter parameters and tooth geometry, cutting condition, cutter and workpiece vibration structure parameters, and types of milling. A predictive force model for face milling is developed using this approach. In the model, the workpiece material properties are considered as functions of strain, strain rate, and temperature. The ratio of cutter tooth engagement over milling is taken into account for the determination of temperature in the cutting region. Cutter runout is included in the modeling for the chip load. The relative displacement between the cutter and workpiece due to the cutter and workpiece vibration is also included in the modeling to consider the effect on the undeformed chip thickness. A milling force simulation system has been developed using the model, and face milling experimental tests have been conducted to verify the simulation system. It is shown that the simulation results agree well with experimental results.     

Effect of fluid concentration in titanium machining with an atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) spray system

The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of metal-working fluid (MWF) concentration on the machining responses including tool life and wear, cutting force, friction coefficient, chip morphology, and surface roughness during the machining of titanium with the use of the ACF spray system. Five different concentrations from 5 to 15% of a water-soluble metalworking fluid (MWF) were applied during turning of a titanium alloy, Ti–6Al–4V. The thermo-physical properties such as viscosity, surface tension and thermal conductivity of these concentrations were also measured. The test results demonstrate that the tool life first extends with the increase in MWF concentration and then drops with further increase. At low concentration (e.g., 5%), a lack of the lubrication effect causes to increase in a higher friction at the tool–chip interface resulting in severe chipping and tool nose/flank wear within a short machining time. On the other hand, at high concentration, the cooling effect is less. This increases cutting temperature and a faster thermal softening/chipping/notching of the tool material and higher friction at the tool–chip–workpiece interaction zones resulting in early tool failure. A good balance between the cooling and the lubrication effects seems to be found at the 10% MWF concentration as it offers the best machining performance. However, machining with flood coolant is observed to perform the best in the range of 5–7%.     

Application of FEM simulation of chip formation to stability analysis in orthogonal cutting process

Models for chatter prediction in machining often use a mechanistic force model that calculate the force as the product of a material dependent cutting constant and chip area. However, in reality, the forces are the result of complex interaction between the tool and the chip, and are affected by many factors. The effects of these complex, and often nonlinear, factors on the machining dynamics may only be included in chatter prediction if the chip formation process is simulated concurrently with simulation of the machining dynamics. In this paper, finite element simulation of the chip formation process is combined with simulation of chatter dynamics and the inter-relationship between the chip formation process and the chatter phenomenon is investigated. Mesh adaptation technique is used to simulate the chip formation within an FEM elastoplastic analysis with dynamic effects and frictional contact. The combined modeling predicts the occurrence of process damping at low cutting speeds, which other models are generally unable to predict.     

Innovative micro hole machining with minimum burr formation by the use of newly developed micro compound tool

The study focuses on the efforts for minimization of burr formation and improvement of hole surface roughness in micro through-hole machining. It deals with the development of micro compound tool which is consisting of a micro flat drill as the drilling part and a micro diamond-electroplated-grinding part for hole finishing. The finishing diameters of each drilling and grinding parts of the fabricated micro compound tool are 90 μm and 100 μm, respectively. The study focuses mainly on the effect of drill point angle and ultrasonic vibration applied during micro hole machining to the hole entrance and exit burrs formation. The used workpiece is made of stainless steel (SUS304) with a thickness of 100 μm. From the experiment, it was found that the tool having drill point angle of 118° resulted in a smaller burr formation although hole machining was conducted for 600 holes. Furthermore, the application of ultrasonic vibration during hole machining could improve the performance of the developed micro compound tool and decreased the burr size, especially the exit burr.     

Performance-Based Predictive Models and Optimization Methods for Turning Operations and Applications: Part 3—Optimum Cutting Conditions and Selection of Cutting Tools

This paper presents a summary of recent developments in developing performance-based machining optimization methodologies for turning operations. Four major machining performance measures (cutting force, tool wear/tool life, chip form/chip breakability, and surface roughness) are considered in the present work, which involves the development and integration of hybrid models for single and multi-pass turning operations with and without the effects of progressive tool wear. Nonlinear programming techniques were used for single-pass operations, while a genetic algorithms approach was adopted for multi-pass operations. This methodology offers the selection of optimum cutting conditions and cutting tools for turning with complex grooved tools.     

An Experimental Study of Dust Generation During Dry Drilling of Pre-Cooled and Pre-Heated Workpiece Materials

The generation of fine dust during dry machining is a serious problem both for the environment and for workers. During machining, the fine dust particles generated remain suspended in the air for long periods, during they can be inhaled by workers. The quantity of dust generated is influenced by factors such as material type and heat treatment condition, temperature, and the associated chip formation mode. The aim of this work is to discover how these parameters influence dust generation during dry machining, which could lead to the control of dust production in the future. The materials tested are the wrought 6061 and foundry A356 aluminum alloys and 70-30 brass. It is found that pre-cooling a workpiece material leads to changes in chip formation, in the reduction of cutting forces, and hence in a reduction in fine dust generation by at least 70%, depending on the materials and cutting conditions used. Also, pre-heating the workpiece increases chip ductility and dust production levels.     

Design and evaluation of an atomization-based cutting fluid spray system in turning of titanium alloy

Tool life has been a vital issue in machining titanium alloys. Recently, an atomization-based cutting fluid (ACF) application has been found to be an effective approach for cooling and lubrication in micromachining operations. In this study, an ACF spray system is developed for macro-scale turning of Ti–6Al–4V. The spray system is designed to minimize interaction between the fluid droplets, and the gas nozzle to control the divergence of the fluid droplets. Experiments are conducted to study the effect of five specific ACF spray parameters including fluid flow rate, spray distance, impingement angle, and type and pressure level of the droplet carrier gas on cutting forces, tool life, and chip characteristics. It has been observed that the combination of lower pressure (150 psi) air-mixed CO₂ with a higher flow rate (20 ml/min) and a larger spray distance (35 mm) produces a significantly longer tool life and broken chips. The results also reveal that the ACF spray system can extend tool life up to 40–50% over flood cooling.     

Machining assessment of nano-crystalline hydroxyapatite bio-ceramic

Hydroxyapatite (HAP) is a widely used bio-ceramic in the fields of orthopedics and dentistry. This study investigates the machinability of nano-crystalline HAP (nHAP) bio-ceramic in end milling operations, using uncoated carbide tool under dry cutting conditions. Efforts are focused on the effects of various machining conditions on surface integrity. A first order surface roughness model for the end milling of nHAP was developed using response surface methodology (RSM), relating surface roughness to the cutting parameters: cutting speed, feed, and depth of cut. Model analysis showed that all three cutting parameters have significant effect on surface roughness. However, the current model has limited statistical predictive power and a higher order model is desired. Furthermore, tool wear and chip morphology was studied. Machined surface analysis showed that the surface integrity was good, and material removal was caused by brittle fracture without plastic flow.     

Feasibility of lignin as additive in metalworking fluids for micro-milling

The conventional additives in metalworking fluids (MWFs) have effects in improving the machining conditions. However, many additives can lead to environmental contamination and health problems. In this paper, lignin obtained from wood is considered as a new “green” additive in MWFs. Lignin has been used as additives in other areas like pasted lead electrodes and polypropylene/coir composites but has never been applied in cutting fluids. In this paper, lignin is dissolved in 5% conventional MWF aqueous solutions in 8 different concentrations through injection and atomization methods. Then, experiments are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of lignin containing MWFs in micro-milling operations. The performance is compared with that of 5% conventional cutting fluid in terms of machining forces, tool wears, and burr formations. The results show that the concentration of 0.015% lignin leads to the least cutting forces, tool wear and burrs. The results also show that an appropriate concentration of lignin in MWFs can help to improve the cooling and lubrication performances during machining. The results of this paper thus indicate that lignin has a potential to be used as an additive in metalworking fluids.     

Intelligent monitoring and identification of cutting states of chips and chatter on CNC turning machine

To realize an intelligent machine tool, which can autonomously determine the cutting states and can change them automatically as required due to changes in the environmental conditions, a method has been developed to monitor and identify the states of cutting for CNC turning based on a pattern recognition technique. The method proposed introduces three parameters to classify the cutting states of continuous chip formation, broken chip formation, and chatter. Among the states of cutting, the broken chip formation is required for the stable and reliable machining process. The three parameters are calculated and obtained by taking the ratio of the average variances of the dynamic components of three cutting forces. The algorithm was developed to calculate the values of three parameters during the process to obtain the reference feature spaces and determine the proper threshold values for classification of the cutting states. A tool dynamometer is developed, and implemented to the CNC turning machine to monitor the turning process.It is proved by a series of cutting experiments that the states of cutting are well identified by the method developed and proposed regardless of the cutting conditions. The algorithm is proposed to obtain the broken chips by changing the cutting conditions during the process.     

Ball end milling mechanistic model based on a voxel-based geometric representation and a ray casting technique

Prediction of machining forces involved in complex geometry can be valuable information for machine shops. This paper presents a mechanistic cutting force simulation model for ball end milling processes, using ray casting and voxel representation methods used in 3D computer graphics field. Using this method, instantaneous uncut chip cross sectional areas can be extracted, which can be used in cutting pressure coefficient extraction and machining simulation including machining forces and geometry of the workpiece. The major advantage of the proposed scheme is that it can simulate milling processes with arbitrary cutting tool geometry on a workpiece with complex geometry, using an algorithm with constant time complexity. A series of cutting experiments were carried out to validate the model.     

Cryogenic Machining of Tantalum

A new approach for the machining of tantalum is presented. The new approach is a combination of traditional turning and cryogenically enhanced machining (CEM). In the tests, CEM was used to reduce the temperature at the cutting tool/workpiece interface, and thus reduce the temperature-dependent tool wear to prolong cutting tool life. The new method resulted in a reduction of surface roughness of the tantalum workpiece by 200% and a decrease of cutting forces by approximately 60% in experiments. Moreover, cutting tool life was extended up to 300% over that in the conventional machining.     

Analysis of machined surface quality in a single-pass of ball-end milling on Inconel 718

The ball-end milling process is widely used for generating three-dimensional sculptured surfaces with definite curvature. In such cases, variation of surface properties along the machined surface curvatures is not well understood. Therefore, this paper reports the effect of machining parameters on the quality of surface obtained in a single-pass of a ball-end milling cutter with varying chip cross-sectional area. This situation is analogous to generation of free form cavities, pockets, and round fillets on mould surfaces. The machined surfaces show formation of distinct bands as a function of instantaneous machining parameters along the periphery of cutting tool edge, chip compression and instantaneous shear angle. A distinct variation is also observed in the measured values of surface roughness and micro-hardness in these regions. The maximum surface roughness is observed near the tool tip region on the machined surface. The minimum surface roughness is obtained in the stable cutting zone and it increases towards the periphery of the cutter. Similar segmentation was observed on the deformed chips, which could be correlated with the width of bands on the machined surfaces. The sub-surface quality analysis in terms of micro-hardness helped define machining affected zone (MAZ). The parametric effects on the machining induced shear and residual stresses have also been evaluated.     

Burr Formation in Drilling Intersecting Holes with Machinable Austempered Ductile Iron (MADI™)

This paper presents an investigation of the burr formation for a new material, machinable austempered ductile iron (MADI™), while drilling intersecting holes in the presence of tool wear. A factorial design is used to evaluate the effects of drill point angle and helix angle as well as feed rate and cutting speed on the burr width and height at both curved and flat hole exit conditions. The result indicates the presence of a complex interrelationship among these four variables, particularly the interaction between helix and point angle and its influence on drill corner wear and, hence, burr geometry. Burrs are considerably larger at the flat exit condition. Further experiments were conducted in a central composite design scheme to develop second-order polynomial models of the burr width and height. The result suggests that burr width and height can be reduced by using larger helix and smaller point angles. The result further demonstrates that the somewhat unique work-hardening characteristic of MADI™ during machining can lead to smaller burrs when smaller chiploads are used, regardless of the drill helix and point angles.     

Application of Taguchi method to selection of optimal lubrication and cutting conditions in face milling of AlMg3

This paper outlines the Taguchi optimization methodology, which is applied to optimize the cutting parameters in face milling when machining AlMg₃ (EN AW 5754) with HSS (high speed steel) tool under semi-finishing conditions in order to get the best surface roughness and the minimum power consumption. Beside the conventional flood lubrication, the investigations include the minimal quantity lubrication and the dry milling. These environment-friendly cutting techniques are considered two practical ways to the cleaner manufacturing in the context of the sustainable production. The parameters evaluated are the cutting speed, the depth of cut, the feed rate and the cooling lubrication techniques (cutting fluid flow). The appropriate orthogonal array, signal to noise (S/N) ratio and Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA) are employed to analyze the effect of the mentioned parameters on the good surface finish (surface roughness). This paper illustrates the application of the techniques for single performance characteristics optimization, which employs the weighting factors to each of the S/N ration of the responses to obtain a multi-response S/N ratio for each trial of the orthogonal array and, finally, a single optimal process parameters setting. Using Taguchi method for the design of experiments (DOE), it is investigated the significant influence and the parameters interaction effect with minimum number of trials as compared with a full factorial design.     

Evaluation of vegetable based cutting fluids with extreme pressure and cutting parameters in turning of AISI 304L by Taguchi method

Many problems such as health and environment issues are identified with the use of cutting fluids (CFs). There has been a high demand for developing new environmentally friendly CFs such as vegetable based cutting fluids (VBCFs) to reduce these harmful effects. In this study, performances of six CFs, four different VBCFs from sunflower and canola oils with different ratios of extreme pressure (EP) additives, and two commercial types of CFs (semi-synthetic and mineral) are evaluated for reducing of surface roughness, and cutting and feed forces during turning of AISI 304L austenitic stainless steel with carbide insert tool. Taguchi’s mixed level parameter design (L₁₈) is used for the experimental design. Cutting fluid, spindle speed, feed rate and depth of cut are considered as machining parameters. Regression analyses are applied to predict surface roughness, and cutting and feed forces. ANOVA is used to determine effects of the machining parameters and CFs on surface roughness, cutting and feed forces. In turning of AISI 304L, effects of feed rate and depth of cut are found to be more effective than CFs and spindle speed on reducing forces and improving the surface finish. Performances of VBCFs and commercial CFs are also compared and results generally show that sunflower and canola based CFs perform better than the others.