Insert makers are consolidating and standardizing their once

bewildering array of chipgroove designs for carbide turning

inserts.
The chipgroove, once a simple feature on the side of a
carbide turning insert, has evolved into a highly specialized
bit of tool geometry. Nearly every niche application, it seems,
has its own design. Users hoping to find the right geometry
for their jobs have to pick through a confusing assortment of
patterns with varying angles, widths, peaks, and valleys.
Recently, toolmakers have begun to reverse this trend toward
Figure 1: Craters like this, which are
increasing diversity and specialization. They are turning to a
the result of wear on flat-top inserts,
new standardized system that offers users a choice of just
three grooves and three carbide grades.
were the inspiration for the original

chipgroove.
In the Beginning
This brings the development of the chipgroove nearly full
circle. At first, insert manufacturers offered just one basic
chipgroove configuration. This design was patterned after the
crater that became worn into a flat-top insert during use
(Figure 1). Insert designers had seen how this depression in
the side of the insert could break the long, stringy chips that
turning produced into a number of small chips shaped like the
letter "C" or the number "9."
Machinists found that chips were safer and easier to handle
broken into small pieces. Long chips get snarled together. The
tangled ball of metal these intertwined strands form is known
as a bird nest. A nest caught in a chuck can be pulled, spun,
or twisted uncontrollably, marring the workpiece or injuring
the operator in the process. A nest that finds its way into the
Figure 2: The basic chipgroove for
gaging equipment can shut down an entire operation. Long
chips that do make it into the chip conveyor take up so much breaking chips is simply a channel
space that they can jam the machines automatic chiprunning parallel to the cutting edge.
handling equipment.
A simple depression in the face of the insert was all that was needed to break these long strands into
manageable bits. It was easy to add this shape to the basic carbide-insert design. Manufacturers simply
pressed the groove into the insert while they were compacting the carbide and cobalt powders together.
This basic chipgroove configuration was the universal choice of users and manufacturers for many years
(Figure 2). But when manufacturers discovered that some negative-rake inserts with chipgrooves would
cut as if they had a positive rake, they began to see uses for the chipgroove that went beyond its
original chip-breaking function.
Before chipgrooves were introduced, manufacturers created positive-rake tools by tilting the tool
backward 10 and grinding a clearance on the inserts flank. But with this clearance ground into the
flank, only the inserts top cutting edge could be used. For applications where the added support of a
solid bottom wasnt needed, this was a waste of the inserts geometry. Manufacturers found they could
achieve the same positive cutting action without slanting the tool or grinding flank relief if they
eliminated the land between the chipgroove and the cutting edge or created a land that slanted back.
The chipgrooves geometry might create a 20 slope tilting back away from the cutting edge on the
inserts face. When this insert is installed in a holder with a 5 negative tilt, it creates an effective
positive rake of 15.
This solution gave users the benefits of both positive- and negative-rake cutting. With a positive
geometry at the cutting edge, the insert requires less energy to separate the chip from the workpiece
and direct the chip over the insert face. A negative-rake insert pushes and compresses material ahead of
it until the chip it forms breaks free of the workpiece. This plowing action generates more heat and
subjects the insert to greater forces.

A positive-rake insert is more likely to break than a negative-rake insert, however. The acute angle
formed between the face and flank of a positive-rake insert leaves much of the tip unsupported directly
beneath the area where cutting forces are concentrated. In a negative-rake tool, the cutting edge is
supported by the toolholder as well as the body of the insert (Figure 3).

Figure 3: A positive-rake insert has much less support than a

negative-rake insert beneath the area where stress is the
greatest.
A negative-rake insert with a chipgroove retains this support. But at the cutting edge, it has enough of a
positive rake to promote freer cutting. The dual advantages of this type of insert have made it the
preferred choice of users who want a positive-cutting tool.
Groove Proliferation
Chipgrooves werent just for breaking chips anymore. Having expanded the chipgrooves role, insert
manufacturers began to experiment with different geometries, each designed for a narrow range of
applications. They enlisted the aid of CAD/CAM systems to tweak their designs. With the computers
help, they created a proliferation of chipgrooves. They experimented with grooves that produced positive
angles ranging from 5 to 30 at the cutting edge. They devised varying patterns of curves and ridges to
direct chips away from the workpiece. They tried different land widths and different degrees of support
under the cutting edge. And they offered chipgrooves designed for specific workpiece materials.
Some companies catalogs listed as many as 40 different grooves. The trend left users confused. Unless
a chipgroove had been designed for their specific purpose, they had to determine which objectives were
their highest priority and then search through a selection of grooves for the design that would achieve
that particular combination of objectives.
A Simpler Solution
In the late 1980s, insert manufacturers began to consolidate their chipgroove designs to simplify the
selection process. With modifications, their chipgrooves application ranges were broadened, and lines of
highly specialized inserts were dropped in favor of designs with more general applicability.
This reduction in the number of chipgrooves has
benefited users and manufacturers alike. With fewer
designs to choose from, users can find the right design
for their applications more easily. Shops that do not
have the staff to evaluate a large variety of chipgroove
geometries find this especially beneficial. Generalized
inserts also cost less than specialized inserts.
Manufacturers can mass produce the generalized
inserts because each is designed for a broad segment
of the market. Users who switch to generalized inserts
will not need to inventory as many, because one type of
insert will suffice for a number of applications.
At the same time manufacturers have been reducing
the number of chipgrooves they offer, theyve been
expanding the application ranges of their coated-

Figure 4: The three-groove/three-grade

system simplifies carbide turning insert
selection.

carbide grades. The result has been the development of a three-groove/three-grade system that covers
nearly all applications. Figure 4 shows how the three grooves and three grades typically offered by an
insert manufacturer can be combined to create inserts with specific characteristics. Chipgrooves with a
15 positive effective rake can be found in Column 1 of the chart. Because of their higher rake angle,
these inserts cut with the most efficiency. They also are the most prone to breakage. Column 2 features
general-purpose inserts with a 5 effective positive rake. Column 3 inserts, with their negative rake, are
for tougher cuts. Rows A to C progress through increasingly tougher carbide grades.
To use the three-groove/three-grade system, a machinist would start with the insert his supplier
recommends for the workpiece material, machining parameters, and tolerances with which he will be
working. If this insert produces a satisfactory cut and the tool does not fail prematurely, the machinist
can continue using the recommended insert.
But if edge chipping causes the insert to fail,
the machinist can consult the chart to
determine what chipgroove/grade combination
might offer better performance.
If the insert is breaking in the chipgroove, the
machinist might try an insert with a tougher
groove. If, for example, he began with insert
B1, which is a P-30 grade carbide with a 15
positive groove, he might move to insert B2,
with a 5 positive groove. If the insert failed
because its corner broke off, the machinist
might try insert C2. The P-40-grade carbide
with a 5 positive rake insert offers a tougher
grade as well as a tougher groove. If backpressure on the inserts plateau seems to be
the problem, changing to a C1 insert, which is
made with a tougher P-40-grade carbide and a
15 positive rake, might be the solution.
A proposal developed by ANSI for adoption by
Figure 5: ANSIs proposed classification system
ISO would give users additional guidance. The
divides inserts into six categories based on the
proposal outlines an identification system that
DOC and feed with which they are to be used.
groups chipgrooves into six categories
according to the DOC and feed with which they
are to be used. The classifications, designated A
through F, can be used by the insert manufacturers to indicate their products primary uses (Figure 5).
Even though manufacturers are consolidating and standardizing their inserts, there still will be those
applications that call for specialized designs. An application run on an old or poorly maintained machine,
for instance, will require an insert that can handle heavy vibration. Even a C3 insert from the threegroove/three-grade scale will lack the toughness for such a job. A single-sided insert should work,
however. The designs flat bottom offers the support the cutting edge needs. In the same way, a doublesided insert with lands ground to the same height as the inserts plateau will work. Because the cutting
edge on the back side of the insert rests against the toolholders pocket, it offers the same support as
the back of a single-sided insert. This is a special design, however, that wont be found on the standard
three-groove/three-grade scale.
Manufacturers also are consolidating their chipgroove designs for milling inserts. Although milling
chipgrooves do not have to break chips, they are used to reduce cutting forces and direct chips in much
the same way as chipgrooves on turning inserts are used. Consequently, the three-groove/three-grade
system applies to milling as well as to turning inserts.
It seems certain that manufacturers will continue their trend toward chipgroove consolidation. Future
chipgroove designs will offer even broader application ranges, simplifying the selection process and user
inventories even more.
About the Author
Roy Leverenz is director of engineering for Teledyne Advanced MaterialsCutting Tools, La Vergne, TN.