Effect of cutting parameters on tool life during end milling of AISI 4340 under MQL condition

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the cutting performance of high-speed regime end milling of AISI 4340 by investigating the tool life and wear mechanism of steel using the minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) technique to deliver the cutting fluid. Design/methodology/approach The experiments were designed using Taguchi L9 orthogonal array with the parameters chosen: cutting speed (between 300 and 400 m/min), feed rate (between 0.15 and 0.3 mm/tooth), axial depth of cut (between 0.5 and 0.7 mm) and radial depth of cut (between 0.3 and 0.7 mm). Toolmaker microscope, optical microscope and Hitachi SU3500 Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope used to measure tool wear progression and wear mechanism. Findings Cutting speed 65.36%, radial depth of cut 24.06% and feed rate 6.28% are the cutting parameters that contribute the most to the rate of tool life. The study of the tool wear mechanism revealed that the oxide layer was observed during lower and high cutting speeds. The former provides a cushion of the protective layer while later reduce the surface hardness of the coated tool Originality/value A high-speed regime is usually carried out in dry conditions which can shorten the tool life and accelerate the tool wear. Thus, this research is important as it investigates how the use of MQL and cutting parameters can prolong the usage of tool life and at the same time to achieve a sustainable manufacturing process.

On the Machinability Evolution in Asymmetric Milling of TC25 Ti Alloy Aiming at High Performance Machining

In this paper, the evolutions of cutting force, cutting temperature, and surface roughness, and the corresponding machinability in asymmetric up-milling of TC25 alloy are investigated. The results indicated that radial depth of cut generated opposite influence on the cutting force/cutting temperature versus surface roughness. The reason can be accounted as the intertwining of feed marks at low radial depth of cut, and the mechanism of hard cutting at a high radial depth of cut. Moreover, the asymmetry has a significant effect on the machinability in asymmetry up-milling TC25 alloy. Changing the asymmetry, i.e., the radial depth of cut, can alter the machinability while maintain the balanced development of various indexes. The machinability reaches the best when the radial depth of cut is ae = 8 mm. The axial depth of cut and feed per tooth should be selected as large as possible to avoid work hardening and to improve machining efficiency in asymmetric up-milling TC25 alloy. The cutting speed should be controlled within Vc = 100–120 m/min to obtain better machinability. On the basis of this research, it is expected to find optimized milling parameters to realize high efficiency milling of TC25 alloy.

Theoretically Investigation On The Roughness Profile of The Machined Surface After Flank Milling

In this study, the roughness profile of a machined surface obtained via a flank milling process is thoroughly investigated through theoretical modeling and experimental demonstrations. First, the roughness profile of a machined surface generated by a single-tooth end milling cutter along a straight path is considered (without helical angle). The trajectory of a point on the cutting edge is constructed according to the cutting kinematics, and the roughness profile of the flank surface is theoretically extracted from the trajectory. The surface topography is constructed by integrating the roughness profile along the axial direction of the cutter. Based on the constructed roughness profile model, the effects of cutting parameters on the roughness profile are discussed, including those of the cutting speed, radial depth of the cut, and feed rate. In addition, the effects of cutter geometries including the cutter tooth number, tooth spacing angle, and helical angle on the roughness profile and surface topography are discussed. Further, roughness profiles are constructed for cutter feeds along different tool paths, such as round and curved paths. Finally, experiments are conducted to verify the method developed in this study. The results show that the roughness profile obtained from testing matches well with the theoretically modeled profile. Moreover, the methodology for constructing the roughness profile is compared to an existing approach, which shows that the method in this study is significantly faster.

Evaluation of Subsurface Heat Capacity through Oscillatory Thermal Response Tests

Two methods are currently available to estimate in a relatively short time span the subsurface heat capacity: (1) laboratory analysis of rock/soil samples; (2) measure the heat diffusion with temperature sensors in an observation well. Since the first may not be representative of in-situ conditions, and the second imply economical and logistical issues, a third option might be possible by means of so-called oscillatory thermal response tests (OTRT). The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an OTRT as a tool to infer the subsurface heat capacity without the need of an observation well. To achieve this goal, an OTRT was carried out in a borehole heat exchanger (BHE). The total duration of injection was 6 days, with oscillation period of 12 h and amplitude of 10 W m−1. The results of the proposed methodology were compared 3-D numerical simulations and to a TRT with a constant heat injection rate with temperature response monitored from a nearby observation well. Results show that the OTRT succeeded to infer the expected subsurface heat capacity, but uncertainty is about 15% and the radial depth of penetration is only 12 cm. The parameters having most impact on the results are the subsurface thermal conductivity and the borehole thermal resistance. The OTRT performed and analyzed in this study also allowed to evaluate the thermal conductivity with similar accuracy compared to conventional TRTs (3%). On the other hand, it returned borehole thermal resistance with high uncertainty (15%), in particular due to the duration of the test. The final range of heat capacity is wide, highlighting challenges to currently use OTRT in the scope of ground-coupled heat pump system design. OTRT appears a promising tool to evaluate the heat capacity, but more field testing and mathematical interpretation of the sinusoidal response is needed to better isolate the subsurface from the BHE contribution and reduce the uncertainty.

Wear Behavior and Machining Performance of TiAlSiN-Coated Tools Obtained by dc MS and HiPIMS: A Comparative Study

Duplex stainless steels are being used on applications that require high corrosion resistance and excellent mechanical properties, such as the naval and oil-gas exploration industry. The components employed in these industries are usually obtained by machining; however, these alloys have low machinability when compared to conventional stainless steels, usually requiring the employment of tool coatings. In the present work, a comparative study of TiAlSiN coating performance obtained by these two techniques in the milling of duplex stainless-steel alloy LDX 2101 was carried out. These coatings were obtained by the conventional direct current magnetron sputtering (dc MS) and the novel high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS). The coatings were analyzed and characterized, determining mechanical properties for both coatings, registering slightly higher mechanical properties for the HiPIMS-obtained coating. Machining tests were performed with varying cutting length and feed-rate, while maintaining constant values for axial and radial depth of cut and cutting speed. The surface roughness of the material after machining was assessed, as well as the wear sustained by each of the tool types, identifying the wear mechanisms and behavior of these tools, as well as registering the flank wear values presented for each of the tested tools. The HiPIMS-obtained coating exhibited a very similar behavior when compared to the other, producing similar surface roughness quality. However, the HiPIMS coating exhibited less wear for higher cutting lengths, proving to be a better choice in this case, especially regarding tool life.

Green Ceramic Machining: Determination of the Recommended Feed Rate for Y-TZP Milling

Manufacturing of advanced ceramic parts exhibiting complex geometries is laborious and expensive. Traditionally, the machining is carried out on a so-called ‘green ceramic’: a compact composed of ceramic powder held with the help of a binder. This difficulty is due not only to the composition of the material, but also to the lack of methods that determine optimal machining parameters. The goal of this paper is to apply the method based on ductile material behavior to determine a feed rate working range to ensure a machining quality. Indeed, a previous study demonstrated the limits of this method in determining cutting speed. In this case, two material removal mechanisms are observed: a mechanism dominated by pulling of the material and a proper machining mechanism. This demonstrates that the specific cutting energy is a reliable indicator for machining quality assessment. In the studied case, the recommended machining parameters to ensure quality machining of Y-TZP green ceramic with a 3 mm diameter cylindrical tool are: a cutting speed of 250 m/min, a feed per tooth of 0.037 mm/tooth, an axial depth of cut of 0.7 mm, and a radial depth of cut of 3 mm.

Surface roughness and chip morphology of wood-plastic composites manufactured via high-speed milling

Wood-plastic composites have attracted extensive attention throughout the world because of their advantages. However, the manufacturing mechanism of the wood-plastic composites, i.e., high-speed milling technology, is not perfect and needs further study. The effects of the cutting parameters, i.e., the spindle speed, feed rate, axial milling depth, and radial milling depth, on the surface roughness and chip morphology were studied; the surface roughness values, Ra and Rz of high-speed milling wood-plastic composites samples were measured via high precision surface roughness measuring instrument, and their regression equations were calculated. The chips produced via a high-speed milling process were collected and studied. The results showed that the surface roughness of the wood-plastic composites increases with an increase in the axial depth, feed rate, or radial depth, but decreases with an increase in the spindle speed. In addition, the axial milling depth, feed rate, and spindle speed had a significant effect on the morphology of the chips. However, the effect of the radial milling depth on the morphology of the chips was not obvious. The results can provide a scientific basis for the optimization of high-speed milling processing of wood-plastic composites.

COMPARATIVE SIMULATION OF WATER-BASED MUD-FILTRATE INVASION IN HIGH-PERMEABILITY AND TIGHT SANDSTONE RESERVOIRS USING LARGE-SIZED FORMATION MODULES

Mud filtrate invasion is a complex and time-dependent process. During the process, a zone of finite size around the wellbore (invasion zone) in which a portion of the initial pore fluids have been displaced by the mud filtrate is gradually generated. As a result, the petrophysical and fluid properties of the formation in this zone will be inevitably altered, and sometimes tend to be quite different from their initial values. Petrophysicists and logging analysts have long considered mud filtrate invasion as a nuisance due to its troublesome effect on formation properties and logging measurements, especially on resistivity logging measurements. Note that even deep reading resistivity logging may not see deep enough (beyond the invasion zone), and need to be corrected. Therefore, simulation of mud filtrate invasion under near reservoir conditions is crucial for an in-depth understanding of its physics and effects on logging measurements, and hence for logging interpretation and formation evaluation. Otherwise, this will produce substantial errors in determining initial formation properties, and estimating hydrocarbon reserves and well productivity. To date, most researchers have done a number of works on mud filtrate invasion on the basis of physical simulation at core plug scale. However, conducting invasion experiment on core plug has intrinsic limitations. Firstly, the cylindrical shape of core plug determines that the seepage form of mud filtrate within it (horizontal linear flow) is completely different from that (plane radial flow) in the actual downhole environment, thereby causing a poor representation of the filtration law observed in the experiment. Secondly, due to the small size of core plug, it is almost impossible to monitor the radial resistivity variation for reflecting the dimension and geometry of the invasion zone. To overcome the limitations, a large-sized formation module (sectorial block structure, 55.9 cm in radial depth, and 10 cm in thickness) made by sandstone outcrop was introduced in this paper. Compared with core plug, as a novel type of experimental equivalent, the formation module is larger in size, greater in saturation capacity, and much more similar to the in-situ formation. Its structure can ensure the seepage form of mud filtrate within it is exactly the same as that in the actual downhole environment. Its large size is able to provide enough space and radial distance to follow the entire invasion process from beginning to dynamic equilibrium. The dynamic processes of long-term water-based mud filtrate (WBMF) invasions were duplicated realistically in laboratory. During the whole experimental period, the dynamic invasion data (including radial formation resistivity profile and filtration rate) can be uninterruptedly real-time acquired, thereby investigating and comparing the phenomenon of WBMF invasion in the formation modules with different physical properties. Finally, by combining physical and numerical simulation, the invasion characteristics of WBMF in high-permeability and tight sandstone reservoirs under in-situ formation conditions were quantified. The results obtained in this paper provide an experimental basis and theoretical support for enlightening novel simulation methodologies of mud filtrate invasion, revealing invasion mechanisms, and establishing invasion correction model for electric logging, etc.

Application of Mechanistic Force Models to Features of Arbitrary Geometry at Low Material Removal Rate

This paper presents a workpiece discretization method to apply existing cutting force models to predict the forces generated during low material removal rate robotic machining operations of features with arbitrary geometry. Two machining operations along a straight edge are modelled using this feature discretization method are shown, a chamfer pass on a sharp corner and the removal of a trapezoidal cross section. The workpiece features are measured using a high resolution laser profile scanner to obtain the volume of the features to be removed. The identified features are discretized into rectangular sections such that the cutting force models can be applied to predict the cutting forces. A linear and an exponential mechanistic model which relate tool immersion and feed rate to the cutting force are applied to the scanned workpiece features. The linear and nonlinear models show good agreement with the measured data, with the exception that the linear model occasionally over predicts the forces depending on the radial depth of cut.

Effect of Temperature on Tool Wear During Milling of Ti64

In recent years, the development of new, increasingly resistant materials limit machining productivity. This observation is especially true for titanium alloys. The state-of-the-art shows that one of the phenomena responsible for tool wear is temperature. The high temperature is explained by the low thermal conductivity of the alloy and its high mechanical properties. Consequently, high temperatures generated when cutting speeds are increasing lead to very rapid wear phenomena. However in milling, the period during which the insert is not in contact with the material may allow it to cool but its effect is not clearly established. In order to correlate tool wear and cutting temperatures in milling, an experimental bench has been developed. In turning and therefore with a fixed tool, the milling conditions are recreated and allow to measure the temperatures on the cutting face. Two parameters were tested: (i) radial depth, which influences the tooth stress time, and (ii) the cutting speed, which is the fundamental parameter of the cutting temperature. Experimentally, it appears that increasing radial engagement and cutting speed reduces tool life and increases temperatures. However, the phenomenological analysis is not immediate. The relationship between these phenomena is based on a heat balance of the cutting process. The use of an infrared (IR) camera in this problem and a specific analysis method allow observing the temperature gradients on the cutting face making the analysis more robust compared to the thermocouple technic. It thus appears that the increase in radial engagement leads to a higher tool temperature, but the analyses show above all a higher temperature within the insert and therefore more difficult to evacuate.