Traditionally, cutting tools made of sintered carbides or high-speed steels are used to cut a variety of metal materials in the experimental study on chip control. One of the existing problems is that, in most cases, it is difficult to make, in a laboratory, cutting tools with a three-dimensionally shaped chip breaking groove for use in the follow-up experiments. Turning to tool manufacturers, who use the powder metallurgy techniques of tool making for help, usually leads to a long experimental period and high cost. An auxiliary approach to the experimental study on chip control, called a kinematically simulated test (KST), is proposed in this present work to overcome the above shortcoming of the traditional method employed in the experimental study on chip control. A plexiglass-made cutting tool is employed to cut a commercially available paraffin wax to simulate some kinematic phenomena (such as chip flow and chip curl) which take place during practical machining processes. After the applied range of KST has been illustrated, two examples of applying KST are given. One is the application of KST to chip flow research. The other is optimizing the geometry of the chip breaking groove of a tool insert by means of KST. Both examples involve the making of the chip breaking grooves with the three-dimensional shape and geometry.
Influence of tool wear on chip flow direction in face grooving process
