Arab Academy for Science, Technology,

and Maritime Transport

Material Removal Processes (IM 213)

Department of Industrial & Management Engineering

College of Engineering and Technology

Lecture 8 : Tool Wear – Tool Life

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Heat Generation

• During machining by cutting, the cutting energy is converted to heat, therefore, a

considerable amount of heat is generated at the following three distinct zones:
1. Shear zone (75 %).
2. Chip sliding on the tool face (20 %).
3. Tool sliding on the workpiece machined surface (5 %) which is neglected for
perfectly sharp cutting tools.

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Heat Generation

• The heat produced at the shear zone is the maximum due to the plastic
deformation of the metal at the shear zone.
• All of this heat is carried away by the chips.
• Rate of energy consumption during metal cutting (Nc) is converted into heat (rate
of heat generation) at the shear zone (Ns) and the tool-chip interface (Nf).
N F V N N N
c v c s f
N F V N F V
s s s f f c
• The total heat generated in the cutting zone (Q) is given by:
F V
Q v Cal/min
• Where, j
Fv : Main cutting force (Kg)
V : Cutting speed (m/min)
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j : Mechanical equivalent of heat (427 Kg.m / kCal)
Heat Dissipation

• The total heat generated during machining by cutting (Q) dissipates to chip
(Qchip), tool (Qtool) and workpiece (Qwp).
• The relative amounts of heat dissipated into the chip, the tool and the workpiece
change as the cutting speed V changes.

Qchip (80%)

Qtool (10%)

Qwp (10%)

Q = Qchip + Qtool + Qwp

• Qtool affects the tool hardness, wear resistance, and hence its life.
• Qwp affects the dimensional accuracy as well as the machine tool performance. 4
Tool Temperature

• Maximum tool temperature occurs along tool face some distance from cutting edge.
• Tool face heated by both the highly heated chip and the work done in overcoming
the friction of chip on its face.
• Thus, tool face is heated to higher temperature than its flank.
• Temperature on tool face is higher than the average temperature of the chip.
• The thicker the chip, the greater the difference will be.
• Factors affecting tool temperature:
- Workpiece material. - Coolant used.
- Cutting Speed. - Feed rate.
- Depth of cut. - Tool geometry.
- Thermal conductivity of the tool.
- Specific heat of the tool.
- Specific cutting resistance ( of WP).
• Higher cutting speeds result in greater amount of heat in the chips since there is
less time to conduct that heat to the tool or the workpiece. 5
Cutting Fluids

Functions of cutting fluids:

• Cool the cutting tool and workpiece (Cooling Effect).
• Lubricate the cutting tool, thus reduce friction between the tool and the
workpiece (Lubricating Effect).
• Remove the chips (Flushing Effect).
• Produce better surface finish.
• Reduce the tool wear, therefore, the power consumption during cutting (cutting
power).
• Prevent corrosion of workpiece and machine.
• Reduce thermal distortion of the workpiece which permits improved dimensional
control.
• Enable the maximum possible cutting speed to be used, thus reducing time and
cost of production (Economical Effect).
• Provide safe working environment (non-misting, non-toxic, non-flammable and
non-smoking). 6
Types and Supply of Cutting Fluids
Cutting Fluid Supply
• Air: Compressed air can be used for
cooling the machining zone using
pure air jet or mixed with other fluid.
• Water based cutting fluids: Water
mixed with soluble oil, chemical
Ample
solutions or synthetic fluids in order
Stream
to form the cutting fluid.
• Straight or neat oils based cutting
fluids: Such as mineral oils, fatty
oils, composed oils, extreme
pressure (EP) oils and multiple use
oils.
Under
• Liquid Nitrogen: Liquid nitrogen Pressure
having a temperature of –196 °C is
used as a cutting fluid for difficult-to-
machine materials.
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Selection of Cutting Fluids

Selection of a particular type of cutting fluid depends on:

• Cutting speed – Feed rate – Depth of cut.
• Cutting tool material – Workpiece material.
• Velocity of cutting fluid.
• Expected cutting tool life.
• Cost of cutting fluid.
• The life of cutting fluid and the loss of cutting fluid during operation.
• Must not have negative effects on the health of the machinist or on the
environment.
• Should not produce contaminants.
• Multifunction oils (for slide way lubrication and as a coolant and lubrication in
machining) have to be used.
• Minimize the volume of the fluid used.
• Continuous monitoring of the cutting fluids and machine tool environment with
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on-line sensors is desirable.
Problems and Properties of Cutting Fluids

Problems:
• Environmental pollution (harmful gases and fumes at high temperature).
• Biological problems to operators due to physical contact with cutting fluids.
• Water pollution and soil contamination during disposal.
• Requirement of extra floor space and additional systems for pumping, storage,
filtration, recycling, chilling, … etc.
• The high cost of disposal of used coolants under tougher environmental laws.
Properties:
• High specific heat – High heat conductivity.
• Good lubricating properties.
• Odorless.
• Non-corrosive – Non-toxic.
• Stable – Low Viscosity.
• Permit clear view of the workpiece.
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Mechanisms of Tool Wear

Hard particles on the

underside of the chip
Fusion of tool
pass over the tool face
Diffusion material to the chip
and the workpiece

Abrasion Adhesion

Electrochemical Due to friction

mechanism
between the
By oxidation of chip and the tool
the tool surface
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Mechanisms of Tool Wear

• The tool wears due to the interaction

between chip and tool occurring at high
thermal and mechanical stresses.
• Tool wear mechanism depends on:
- Tool material. - Workpiece material.
- Cutting variables (speed, chip cross sectional
area, type of coolant, tool geometry, and
machine tool condition and rigidity).
• Basic Mechanisms of tool wear:
- Diffusion.
- Adhesion.
- Abrasion.
- Electrochemical.
• The four basic mechanisms operate singly or in various combinations.
• Tool wear in metal cutting processes is mainly due to adhesion and abrasion.

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Mechanisms of Tool Wear
Diffusion Wear :
• Fusion of tool material to the chip and the
workpiece.
• Occurs when atoms in a metallic crystal
lattice move from an area of high atomic
concentration of that particular metallic group
to an area of low concentration.
• The rate of diffusion increases
exponentially with temperature.
• Caused by the high temperature generated at the tool-workpiece and the
chip-tool interfaces.
Adhesion Wear :
• Caused by the fracture of welds which are formed as part of the friction mechanism
between the chip and the tool.
• When these minute particles are fractured, small bits of the tool material are torn
out and carried away to the underside of the chip or by the machined workpiece
surface. 12
Mechanisms of Tool Wear

Abrasion Wear :
• When hard particles on the underside
of the chip pass over the tool face, they
remove the tool material by the mechanical
abrasion action.
• These particles could be:
• Abrasive inclusions in the workpiece.
• Fragments of the built-up-edges.
• Particles of tool material which have been removed by adhesion.
Electrochemical Wear :
• Occurs when ions are passed between the tool and the workpiece causing
oxidation of the tool surface.

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Forms of Tool Wear

• The progressive wear of the cutting tool takes many forms:

• Crater wear. Tool wears on the tool face.
• Flank wear which is in the form of wear land generated as the newly cut
surface of the workpiece rubs against the cutting tool.
• Notch wear occurs locally in the area of the main cutting edge where it
contacts the workpiece surface.
• Thermal cracks occurring in the
form of small running cracks
across the cutting edge that are
caused by thermal shock loads.

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Forms of Tool Wear

Crater Wear Flank Wear

Notch Wear Thermal Cracks

 Source: http://www.sandvik.coromant.com/en-
us/knowledge/milling/troubleshooting/tool_wear/Pages/default.aspx
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Forms of Tool Wear

Flank Wear Crater Wear

Source: Garcia, J. and Pitonak, R. 'The role of cemented carbide functionally graded outer-layers
on the wear performance of coated cutting tools', International Journal of Refractory Metals and
Hard Materials, 36, (0), pp. 52-59.
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Forms of Tool Wear

• When machining at high cutting speeds and feed rates, the tool wear occurs
mainly in the tool face.
• At medium cutting speeds, tool wear occurs simultaneously in its flank and its
face.
• At low cutting speeds, a substantial tool wear occurs, mainly, at the tool flank.
• Crater wear occurs when machining ductile materials.
• Flank wear occurs when machining
brittle materials such as cast iron
and bronze.

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Crater Wear
• Crater wear occurs in the tool face at a short distance
from the cutting edge while machining ductile materials
like steel and its alloys.
• Crater wear weakens the tool strength and increases the cutting
temperature and the friction between the tool face and the chip.
• Crater wear can increase rake angle and reduce cutting force.
K
q t
C  2( K B )
w m c K
m
Where:
Km is the distance between centre of crater and cutting edge,
Kt is the crater depth and Bc is the width of the land.
• The allowable values of the wear index (q) should not exceed 0.4 and 0.6 for
carbide and high speed steel tools respectively.
• The measurement of the crater wear is not as simple as that of the flank wear.
• For this reason the tool life is usually determined in terms of the flank wear. 18
Flank Wear

• Flank wear occurs mainly on the nose part, main the flank and the auxiliary flank.
• Maximum amount of heat is at tool nose due to the more severe heating at the
nose since heat also passes over it from the end (auxiliary) cutting edge.
• It is mainly caused by the abrasive action of the hard inclusions in the workpiece,
fragments of the built-up-edge or particles of tool material which have been
removed by adhesion.
• This type of wear depends, mainly, on the hardness of the cutting tool and
workpiece at the high working temperatures,
the amount and distribution of hard constituents
in the workpiece.

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Flank Wear

• If a sharp tool is used to cut at a given speed for a specific period of time and the
flank wear (VB) is measured, a curve is obtained which indicates the following
three main divisions:
Section I: The wear in-period (initial wear) where the sharp cutting edge is
quickly broken down by the heavy abrasion action, hence a finite land is formed.

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Flank Wear

Section II: The uniform wear period is characterized by the gradual increase of
the flank wear with time. The slope of the line in this period depends on the
cutting conditions (speed, feed rate and depth of cut), tool geometry, type of
coolant, workpiece material and tool material.
Section III: The rapid (destructive) wear occurs intensively due to the formation
of thermal cracks and plastic deformation of the tool material.

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Flank Wear

• Once the tool wear enters zone III, it is uneconomical to grind the tool and the
accuracy of the machined parts are drastically affected.
• In order to avoid the sudden breakdown of the cutting tools, they should be
reground when the average flank wear (VB) reaches a certain allowable value
(VBall).
• The value of VBall depends on: Workpiece material, tool material and the type of
the machining operation.

Allowable Average Flank Wear Land (VBall), mm

Operation
High-Speed Steels Carbides
Turning 1.50 0.40
Face Milling 1.50 0.40
End Milling 0.30 0.30
Drilling 0.40 0.40
Reaming 0.15 0.15
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 Tool Life

• The tool life (cutting edge durability) is the time a newly sharpened tool cuts
satisfactory before it becomes necessary to remove it to regrind it or replace it.
• The tool life can be expressed, quantitatively, using the length of work cut, the
volume of metal removed, the number of components produced and the cutting
speed for a given tool life (VT: Cutting speed for a tool life of T in minutes).
• The tool life is the most widely used criterion for the evaluation of the
machinability of the different materials because of its direct impact on the total
machining cost.
• Effect of Increasing the cutting
speed from V1 to V4 (using four
newly sharpened tools of
identical geometry operating
under identical cutting
conditions of feed and depth
of cut) is a decrease of the
tool life (T).
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 Tool Life

• Effect of Increasing the cutting speed from V1 to V4 (using four newly sharpened
tools of identical geometry operating under identical cutting conditions of feed and
depth of cut) is a decrease of the tool life (T).
• The corresponding cutting times T1, T2, T3 and T4 for reaching the allowable flank
wear (VBall) for each cutting speed are plotted.

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 Tool Life Equation

VT  C
• Plots of log T against log V. n
• Taylor produced the empirical tool life equation:
Where: V = Cutting Speed (m/min)
T = Tool Life – Durability (min)
n = Taylor Exponent
C = Taylor Constant

C = V when T = 1 minute

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Taylor Exponent and V-T Diagram
for Different Tool Materials
Tool Material n
High-speed steels 0.08 – 0.20
Cast alloys 0.10 – 0.15
Carbides 0.20 – 0.50
Ceramics 0.50 – 0.70

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End of Tool Life

• Tool Flank wear frequently used in terms of the allowable

value of the flank wear (Vball).
• Radial force component increases suddenly from its original
value by 10 %.
• Surface roughness during finishing operations exceeds a
certain predetermined level.
• Bright band appears on the machined surface of steels.
• Dark spots appear on the machined surface of cast iron.
• Noise occurs in drilling operations.

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