Microturning R. Balasubramaniam and Vinod Kumar Suri Biablta Atomic Research Centre CONTENTS 3A Introduction sco 32 Macto-, Meso-, and Microturning. ee 33. Applications of Microturning. . 7 34 Machines for Microturning.. 38 34.1 Design Requirements of Microturning Machines ... 6 34.2 Sources of Errors in Microturning. i ol 35 Mechanism of Material Removal in Microturniny 36 Forces in Microturning 3.6.1 Deflection and Bending Stress chiens . 3.62. Cutting Force Ratio. 3.0.3 Effect of Speed and Feed on Cutting Force 3.64 Effect of Grain Size on Force. : 3.6.5 Increasing Length of the Workpiece. 3.6.6 Methods to Reduce Deflection in Microturning . 37. Surface Finish in Microturning . 38° Materials for Microturning se. 39 Microturning versus Microcutting 3.10 Concluding Kemarks... . . References... 7 SRBBBRE 3.1 Introduction Turning is a basic material removal process that is practiced quite extensively in manufacturing. Turning involves removing material from a workpiece that rotates about a spindleaxis by way ofa single-pointtool mounted ona tool post. The tool ismoved relativeto the workpiece in order to generate axisymmetric shapes sich as cylinder, cone, and sphere. Manually operated lathes were most prevalent for largeand medium-sized components,and With the industrial revolution, cam-operated automations became more poplar for mass manufacturing of smaller components. With the development of computerized numerical control (CNO), processing of both larger and smaller components became much faster with improved flexibility, precision, and accuracy. Furthermore, researchers and companies are continuously motivated to manufacture smaller components for newer applications with56 ‘Micromanufacturing Processes higher quality and improved performance at lower cost. Micromanufacturing process such as micromachining, microforming, microjoining, and microassembly play a vital role in the miniaturization of components and systems. Of the many micromachining, processes, microturning is one of the most basic technologies for the production of min- inturized parts and components. Working in the area of miniaturization in general and microturning in particular needs a thorough understanding of the microturning process, g the basic differences between microturning and macroturning processe Thischapier provides an overview of microturning to researchers, teachers, and students. 3.2 Macro-, Meso-, and Microturning Turning of small parts is not new, but challenges arise when the size of features reduce to tens or hundreds of microns, and the precision requirements of the miniaturized parts become less than a few microns, Even though microturning is a miniaturized version of macro/mesoturning, there exist a few fundamental differences between them. Some of them are as follows: + Themain feature that distinguishes macro/mesoturning from microturning is the Macro/ mesoturning is applicable to compore! nereas microturn- ing is applicabie when th: Although there ‘cern ATURE ena accepted by mary. © The second feature that distinguishes microturing from macro/mesoturnins ‘utting in macro/mesoturning is thé generally, less than the average grain size. Under this condition, the material is not removed by shear along the grain boundaries bul he size effect becomes a dominant phenomenon, and it tremendous! © The third factor that distinguishes them is th the component in microturning. While machining, the workpic ind causes a large variation in shape and size. The magnitude of the cutting force in microturning lence, control of the reaction forces in fcroturning is + The fourth factor is thy the component. With microturn= ing, a ratio of similar to that achieved in macro/mesoturn :, when the tolerance onroturning 57 ase iste pan te A any ta cts nN, We ta a a applied for Omit diameter pin, the applicable tolerance becomes ODOOM mn 0.14 nm), which is not realistic. Hence, the tolerance applicable to microturned Gcmnponcnts bosomes ery vagacs however the mictomachine neds be ule oleate ender the xprevod tolerance wi irtelinescon: The ath cir isd compare tenets in re boprnrof the machine much sinallerowing to he smallersize of varocs subsysems, Smalir and short distance moving element ae important achieve beter machine foo acuracy cl vale acting paraneer values, One of ga. meas os cras ora merotuming mackine is that needs to be 7 ‘Mechanical iertuming Nonconventional microturaing | 2 £ + Rotting tol Rotating workpiece WEDS DM Mutiplevods Sigleool Horizontal spindle Vesti spindle FIGURE 32 Varlous configuretions of micoterning machinesMicroturning 39 Wire tensioning unit / a) Chip @ Bar ockingunt Fixed tot head {ee =. Lad) d Toot 1 ial YAH Tr wore on tp Traveling wire iJ J enseote Sx Schematic diagram of microturning machines: (a) rotsting-tolty pe microtuming mac niicroturning machine, (@| horizontal spindle lathe, (2) vertical spindle lathe, (e) wite EDG microturning. and (@ reverse polarity EDM for microtuening, (fixed toobtype such machines. These machines are fitted with multiple tools in the same plane and posi- tioned in such a way that they cancel the resultant thrust force acting on the workpiece. Another division of microlathes, which are most popular, is the miniaturized version of macro/mesclathes with either horizontal or vertical spindle configuration as shown in Figure 3.2c and d. Yet another family of machines used for microturning is electrical discharge grinding with traveling wire electrodes or electrical discharge machines block electrode and reverse polarity. Figure 3.2e and f shows the schematic diagram of these machines. Generally, these machines are used for manufacturing components from hard materials such as tungsten or for preparing very small diameter electrodes60 ‘Micromanufacturing Processes for the micro EDM process. More emphasis is given on mechanical micromachines in the subsequent sections, and the relevant deiails are discussed. 3.4.1 Design Requirements of Microturning Machines The accuracy of microturned components primarily depends on the following: * Accuracy of the machine tool © Control ofthe reaction forces on the component Accuracy of the machine tool depends on the integration of many subsystoms stich as the mechanical structure, spindle and drive system, control system, and measurementand feedback system. However, product accuracy also depends on the integration of these sub- systems with the tooling system, processing sequence, and the method of controlling the reaction forces on the component. Some of the design requirements are discussed in this section, and the influence of other factors on the accuracy of the component is discussed in subsequent sections. Some of the critical design features that affect the accuracy ofthe microturning machine are as follows: ‘© Structural loop stiffnes + Damping property + Thermal stability * High natural frequency and low vibration ‘+ Machine base stiffness and stability + Smooth and accurate spindle motion * Smooth, precise, and repeatable slide motion * Tool quality and accuracy In order to avoid deformation at the tooLworkpiece interface, the loop stiffness of the structural path that comprises the workpiece, fixture, spindle, bearing, housing, machine frame, drive system, slide ways, and the cutting tool should be very high. Unlike other micro- machining processes, microturning suffers from the lack of rigidity of the workpiece. Cutting, forces cause larger deflection of the workpiece, and the loop stiffness is greatly reduced (Lu and Yoneyama, 1999). Selection of a suitable material for the machine bed and slides meets the damping requirements; the use of hydrostatic bearings provides better damping to the moving tables. Minimizing the spatial thermal gradient in the machine system and making, the system quickly reich and maintain stable equilibrium are important criteria. Reduction of thermal deformation by a proper design rather than by providing correction techniques should be the design principle. The machine sliding systems are mounted on a granite base to provide high stiffness and stability and to isolate them from external vibrations. Spindle smoothness largely affects the surface finish value as well as the geometrical accuracy of the component. As the microturning machines are ultraprecision machines that generally employ a few micrometers of feed and depth of cut, any variation in the spindle run out affects the uncut chip thickness significantly. ‘As microturned products demand stringent surface finish and dimensional tolerances, the required smooth, precise, and repeatable motions are achieved through hydrostaticMicroturning a slides or linear motion guideways. In order to overcome resonanceat the operational speed range of the spindle, proper material selection and design of the machine components are necessary to have high natural frequency as well as less vibration during the operation of the machine. 3.4.2. Sources of Errors in Microturning In microturning, which is a high-precision machining process, the margin of error must be extremely small. As discussed in the previous section, not only inaccuracies of the machine tool but also other factors such as the properties of the work material and the reaction forces against it significantly affect component accuracy. In order to maintain a high level of precision in microturning, it is important to know the factors responsible for errors dur- ing the process of generating the shape. Identification of these errors and minimizing their influence are essential to reach the level of the defined precision. Figure 33 shows the major sources of errors in microturning. The geometrical inaccuracies of the machine tool are reflected proportionately, whereas positional and repeatability errors are reflected directiy on the component. They affect the size and shape of the component significantly. Similarly, any deformation caused by mechanical or thermal sources contributes to component error. Rigidity of the work material becomes a major source of error. Unlike in the miromilling process, where the cutters have high rigidity and are subjected to less deflection, the rotat- ing workpiece in microturning is less rigid and undergoes larger deflection during the material removal process. Components with higher rigidity in terms of material property, geometry, and L/D ratio are subjected to less deflection and fewer inaccuracies. Similarly, variation in the grain size and its orientation cause fluctuation in cutting forces and result in increased inaccuracy of the component. The magnitude of the reaction force acting on the component is significantly affected by tool attributes such as cutting edge sharpness (cutting edge radius), tool nose Machine tool ‘Work material ‘Mechanical and thermal deformation igiy(sutness Geometrical inaccurcies Variation in gain size ‘Cutting tool Reaction forces ates Resultant ihrut force on thecomponent Cutting edgeradius tool nose radios FIGURE 3.3 Error sources in microturning,Micromanufacturing Processes radius (TNR), tool material, and tool setting accuracy. The size effect and plowing effect become peedominan’ when the cutting edge sharpness isless, and this increases the thrust force and deflection of the component. Hence, itis important to control the reaction forces uring microturning for minimizing the inaccuracies of the component. 3.5 Mechanism of Material Removal in Microturning When the components are miniaturized, the sizes of the features to be machined become smaller and smaller. The entire volume of the material to generate the size and shape of the microfeature cannot be removed asa single unit but can only be removed as smaller units, The unit vohume should be such that it enables maintaining the tolerance on thesize. The smallest volume of material removable from the workpiece by any process is termed. ‘mininsum unit removal of the process, and the smaller this unit, the better is the control on. the process. Processes stich as EDM are capable of removing a cluster of atoms with a si gle spark (Masuzawa and Tonshofi, 1997). By controlling the energy and size of the spark. smaller units of material removal can be achieved. However, the smallest unit of material removable, that is, an atom, is not achievable by mechanical micromachining processes owing to various limitations. In microturning, the minimum unit removal of material corresponds to the volume of the material removed in one revolution, namely, the chip cross section multiplied by the length of the chip, and the unit material removal becomes smaller with decreasing dimen- sions for a given chip cross section. Further reduction in unit material removal is achiev- able by reducing the chip cross section. However, the limits are dictated by the minimum, feasible uncut chip thickness and feed. Among other factors that influence the uncut chip thickness, the most significant one is the cutting edze radius. The ratio between the uncut chip thickness and the tool cutting edge radius plays a dominant role in microturning. Figure 34 shows the effect of uncut chip thickness on the mode of material removal fora given TNR. Table 3.3 lists the resulting conditions for vari- ‘ous combinations of cutting edge radius and uncut chip thickness, In microturning, as the tool has a finite cutting edge radius, depending on the size of the uncut chip thickness, the tool either removes the material as chips or rubs or bumishes the work surface, as shown in Figure3.4, Thiscan be explained by the elastic-plastic behavior of the work material. When the uncut chip thickness (1) is greater than the critical chip thick- 1eSS (tic), shearing by plastic deformation becomes predominant and a chip is formed. When {is between fa.a) and the thickness that causes pure elastic deformation (.) elastic deformation becomes predominant and burnishing action takes place. When f, is less TABLE 3.3 Resulting Conditions for Various Combinations of Cutting Edge Radiusand Uncut Chip Thickness Py cating Burnating Rowing fied x, Cuting —Buribhing E623 x, Cutting — =Microturning 68 Cattng eg radius Tool [f Chip removal Bornshing Rebbing, ‘A= eating edge radius f= crcl uncut hip thickness th ta fs= uncut chip thickeess FIGURE S.4 ‘The eect ofuncut chip thickness on the mode of maleral removal during microturning. than fu there is rubbing of the surface. In the case of macroturning, the typical cutting edge radius is of the order of 5-10 um and the uncut chip thickness varies from a few tens of micrometers to a few thousands of micrometers. But in microturning, the tool cutting edge radius is of the order of a few hundreds of nanometers (as in the case of single-crystal dia- mond tools) to 1 or 2 um [as in the case of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools! and it is comparable in size to the uncut chip thickness (Woon et al. 2008}. When the ratio of the uncut chip thickness to the cutting edge radius becomes much ‘smaller, the effective rake angle becomes negative and the cutting edge radins creates adead metal zone or a built-up edge as shown in Figure 35, which significantly increases the cut- ting energy as well as the cutting force generated in the material removal process. In microturning, the size effect, which is predominant at lower uncut chip thicknesses, typically characterized by a nonlinear increase in the specific cutting energy or specific cutting force with decreasing uncut chip thickness. The specific cutting energy becomes very significant at lower uncut chip thicknesses and causes undesirable effects such as Effctive rake angle Rake angle ie hicl chip dhicknes Dead metal zone FIGURE 3.5 Negativerake angle and dead metal cap.64 Micromanufacturing Processes Uncut chip thickness (jm) FIGURE 1.6 Specie cutting energy inmkcroturning, increased tool wear and thrust force. Figure 3.6 shows the effect of uncut chip thickness on specific cutting energy when the uncut chip thickness is reduced from a few micrometers to submicrometers on a brass workpiece with a PCD tool of 100 jum TNR and 1.25 am cut- ting edge radius. In this case, the specific cutting energy increases tremendously when the uncut chip thickness becomes less than the cutting edge radius. During the duciile material processing of any tool-based macro/mesomachining, as the tool advances in the feed direction with an uncut chip thickness much larger than the cutting edge radius, the material ahead of the tool is pushed and sheared along the average slip plane that has the highest defect density. The slip is initiated and propagated along the grain boundaries, and the material is removed as a cluster of grains by plastic defor- mation. Figure 37a schematically showsa typical crack initiation and material separation path, In the case of brittle materials, the failure is initiated again at grain boundaries, but the failure mode isbrittle fracture (Shimada et al, 1995). In microturning, when the actual uncut chip thickness is more than the critical chip thickness, the material is sheared along the dislocations within the grain. The range of uncut chip thickness under this condition is 0.I-10 um. Figure 3.7b schematically shows a typical crack initiation point in the grain and the material separation pati across the grain. 3.6 Forces in Microturning, Components of the cutting force, namely, tangential, thrust, and feed forces, act on the workpiece in three orthogonal directions, es shown in Figure 3.8, and each one of them causes certain undesirable effects on the component. The magnitude of the cutting force depends on the chip cross section, uncut chip thickness, cutting edge radius, and work material properties. Cutting force is proportional to the chip cross section; with decreasing chip cross section, as in macroturning, the cutting force decreases. However, the ratio of the uncut chip thickness to the cutting edge radius dictates the specific cutting force, and hence ai lower uncut chip thickness, the magnitude of the cutting force increases toa very high value. The lack of rigidity and a lower strength of the workpiece, especially when the diameter becomes smaller, aggravate the undesirable effects of the cutting force. Properties of the workpiece material such as ductility and grain size also affect the magnitude of the cutting force.Microturning 65 L- Grain boundary Typical materia separation path Typieal crack ntation Tool tavclairetion co) Single grain Dislocations fect | Ts, Crack initiation at dislocation wo Typical material separation path within geain FIGURE 17 ‘Material removal in (a) macro- (uncut chip thickness > 10 um) and (b) microturning (uncut chip thicknessrange 01-10 am, ‘heat force, = tangential force pm food free Fy ‘Components ofthe cutting force66 Micromannfacturing Processes ‘Thrust component and friction at the tool-workpiece interface cause deflection of the workpiece, and feed and thrust force components increase the length of the workpiece. Deflection of the workpiece during microturning causes destructive effects such as the following: ‘© Permanent deformation of the workpiece ‘* Wobbling or bending of the workpiece leading to breakage while machining ‘+ Lengthening or stretching of the workpiece ‘The thrust component of the cutting force deflects the workpiece in the radial direction, thus causing variation in the uncut chip thickness, with larger variation at the free end and smaller variation at the fixed end of the workpiece. Figures 39 and 3.10 schomatically show the deflection of the workpiece under the eutting condition and the variation in chip. thickness, depicted as diameter, as a result of the deficction of a microturned shaft. It is Workpiece with detection FIGURES. Radial deflection of a microturned shatt. 016: Base deter 13 mm oss: - ‘Mateig race 01s oass | 013 002 OF 06 Ra + t Fined end Length (mm) Feveead FIGURE 3.10 Variation in the diameter of a microturned shaft (= 2000 rpm, 7 =4 ua /rev, doc 5 pan cutting edge radius = 1125 pm, material: bras).roturning 67 seen that the diameter increases with increasing length of the workpiece, indicating that the uncut chip thickness is decreasing more at the free end and less at the fixed end asa result of deflection, For a given uncut chip thickness, increasing value of the cutting edge radius leads to an increased frictional force and a tendency toward rubbing action at the tool-workpiece interface. This causes the resultant cutting force to shift towaré the direction of thrust force andl subsequently increases the magnitucle of the thrust force. Hence, a sharper cut ting edge is one of the prime requirements of the microturning process. The friction at the interface of the tool flank and the work surface also results in deflec tion of the workpiece. Figure 3.11a shows the condition of the workpiece and forces acting, on it when the workpiece is not deflected. Owing to the reaction forces, the center of the workpiece gets shifted away from the center of the spindle as well as from the rake face, which causes the following effects: + Owing to the friction at the interface of the tool-workpiece, thrust force compo- nents act as shown in Figure 3.11b. The F,, component deflects the workpiece by Bx and the F,,component deflects it by dy. The deflection ax significantly changes the uncut chip thickness, and dy causes the effective rake angle to become more posi- tive. 6y tends to increase the possibility of the workpiece riding over the rake face. As the value of 5 keeps changing because of the dynamics of the cutting process, the resulting plastic deformation at the fixed end of the component leads to the breakage of the workpiece. * Deflection of the workpiece results in reduction of the uncut chip thickness at the free end and gradually increases it to the programmed thickness at the fixed end of the workpiece. This reduces the process precision in terms of sizeand shape of the workpiece. Workplece axis Spindle ase Total defection(8) * 1 (iy) Deflection dus to Fy (60, Detten de Fa] J f, Sibeen ‘ @ » FIGURE 3311 Deflection ofthe workpiece ovring to-cuting forces68 Micromanufacturing Processes 3.6.1 Deflection and Bending Stress Deflection and the bending stress developed during microturning at any section of the workpiece can be represented as follows: FP _ oar Deflection, 8 = 5 = So (a) ar Bending stress, « S 1g ad @2) where F = thrust force, d= diameter of the shaft, 1 = length of the shaft, bendling stress in the workpiece 3 " By measuring the thrust force at a particular workpiece length, deflection and maximum stress can be estimated. Maximum deflection will be al the free end, and maximum bend- ing stress will be at the fixed end of the workpiece. The maximum stress that emerges should be restrained below the level that causes plastic deformation. 2.6.2 Cutting Force Ratio As the depth of cut decreases, the ratio of the thrust force to the tangential force increases, and the thrust force becomes larger than the main cutting force at small values of depth ‘of cut, indicating a transition of the material removal mechanism from cutting to plowing (Dornfeld and Takeuchi, 2006). Under this condition, the resultant force rotates toward the thrust direction. Hence, the cutting force ratio gives good indication of the effectiveness of the material removal in microturning, 3.6.3 Effect of Speed and Feed on Cutting Force In any machining process, as the cutting speed increases, the generated cutting force decreases. Hence, microturning is generally carried out with very high cutting speeds in order to reduce the magnitude of the generated cutting force, and subsequently, the deflection of the workpiece. As the cutting force generated is proportional to the chip cross section, minimizing the chip cross section will enable reduction of the magnitude of the generated curting force. Asthe cutting edge radius hasa direct relevance on the uncut chip thickness, the feed cannot be reduced below a certain threshold value. At lower feed rates, instability of feed Is observed and fs found to affect the material removal process. 3.6.4 Effect of Grain Size on Force ‘As explained in the previous section, the material is removed across the grain in micro turning, When the grain size of the work material changes, the dislocation density and its distribution within the grain also change; this being a significant factor in the materialMicroturning 0 Deflection im) Grain sie um) Grain size (am) @ ® The effec of work material grainsize in microturning: (a) thrust force (material brass, diameter = 0.2 mm) and (deflection (tool: PCD with 0.125 mm TNR). removal mechanisn, it affects the magnitude of the generated cutting force. Subsequently, the thrust force and deflection of the workpiece are affected. Figure 3:12a and b shows the effect of grain size on the thrust force and the workpiece deflection, respectively. Both of them are found to increase with increasing grain size. One reason for this might be that in. larger grain size machining, larger elastic recovery is encountered and rubbing of the tool with the surface results in a larger thrust force. 3.6.5 Increasing Length of the Workpiece In microturning, yet another phenomenon observed is the increasing length of the work- piece. When the material is removed from the workpiece, the diameter decreases, and at the same time, some amount of the material flows in the axial direction of the workpiece, causing an increase in length. Figure 3.13 shows the increase in the length of the work- piece at various diameters when machining brass work material for a length of 1 mm. It Is observed that wien the diameter of the workpiece decreases, lengthening /stretching of the shaft increases. _™ z . Marit ; Eee vo TNE100 Gm) i 50 i ° no SSS Diameter of safe) FIGURE 1.13 Increasing length in microtuming,7» Micromanufacturing Processes 3.6.5 Methods to Reduce Deflection in Microturning, By reducing the thrust force and cutting edge radius to a sufficient level, workpiece deflec- tion is minimized. Various methods are practiced to achieve this goal. Most important among them are the following ‘* Balancing the thrust forces with multiple tools + Step turning Avery effective way of microturning is the balancing of the reaction forcesacting on the workpiece. Reactive forces created by the tools should be such that the resultant reaction that causes deflection of the workpiece becomes zero. A schematic arrangement as shown in Figure 3.4 with three tools positioned at regular spacing balances the thrust force and overcomes the deflection. According to the deflection equation, for a given diameter, the deflection is proportional to the cube of the length. Henee, instead of tuming the entire length in one go, fit is turned in shorter step lengths, the deflection can be reduced, The step size (), for which the shaft will not deflect plastically, can be determined by applying material strength equations. However certain amount of error because of mismatch betiveen the two steps fs inevitable, and its magnitude increases with an increase in the step Iength (Azuxidin etal, 2009; Azicur Rahman et al, 2005). When the steps are machined with a uniformly dvewasing diameter, from stock to finished diameter, a sudden change is effected in the section modulus, and thereby the magnitude of the stressat the fixed end of the workpiece can be minimized. 3.7 Surface Finish in Microturning, As the tolerance values of the microturned components are very small, in order to main tain the required ratio of the surface finish to the tolerance value, a high level of surface finish needs to be maintained. Being an ultraprecision machining process, microturning, Tava Faro FIGURE 11 Balarcing of thrust forces on the workpiece with multiple toolsMicroturning n ———— Niners Tackne condition Pastic~dlastc propertics. Rigaty Grain sae es Hardness ‘Tool wearand bilhap alge cen Materia Cutting edge rive “Fool nove ris sgwateae CREE So) Michang prance FIGURE 35, Factors that affect surface finish in microturning is capable of generating high levels of surface finish on the components. However, the surface finish value is affected by many factors, including machine tool condition, work material properties, tool geometry, and cutting parameters. Some of the important factors that affect the surface finish value in microturning are shown in Figure 3.15. When very fine feeds are employed in microtarning, significant variation is observed in the surface finish value produced and the theoretical surface finish value estimated using tool geometry and feed. Itis well known by the equation Ra=f*/8R) that the factors that influence the most are TNR and the feed rate. However, in the case of microturning, the equation gets modified because of various other factors (Feng and Wang, 2002; Dai and Chiang, 1992), When errors on the cutting edge are reproduced on the surface being machined, it alters the surface finish value. Similariy, the plastic flow of the material and the machine condition affect the surface finish value. Hence, the modified surface finish can be represented by the equation Ra scat = Rarhorteat + Aviston + RArootere + RAMainecontioe 83) Figure 316 shows the 3D topography of microturned brass surfaces with TNR values of 50 xm and 100 jum, respectively. It can be scen that the surface finish value produced at larger radius, in this case 62 nm Ra with TNR of 100 um, is better than that produced at a smaller TNR, that is, 115 nm Ra with 50 jum TNR. Many investigators (Dai and Chiang, 1992; Liu and Malkote, 2006) have reported that the surface finish decreases with an increase in the feed, reaches a minimum, and then increases with further reduction inn ‘Micromanufacturing Processes Fed direction Feed directon, ” o FicuRe a6 The efect of tol nose radius on surface ah: (3) Ra rose radius = 100 jm (f= 2 wm/rev, doe= 3m, 15 am, tool nose racine £0 pm and (b) Ba = 62 nm, too 1000 rpm, ratera brass. Feed direction - Ploste side flow due to A secondary ting ge FIGURE 3.17 ‘Schematic of plastic side flow in microturning. the feed. At lower feed values, the plastic side flow, as shown in Figure 3.17, at the second~ ary cutting edge of the tool becomes noticeable, and it is found to be partly responsible for the increased surface finish value after reaching a minimum for feeds less than a cer- tain threshold value. Another significant factor that affects the surface finish value is the cutting edge radius. As the radius of the cutting edge increases, the rake angle becomes increasingly negative and the piowing effect becomes more predominant, resulting in a deteriorated finish. The machine tool rigidity, accuracy, and loop stiffness also affect the surface finish. OF all the components in the system, the one that is least rigid is the workpiece. Hence, the work material and its properties play a dominant role in achieving the required level of surface finish, With a lack of rigidity, chatter becomes predominant, especially at the free end of the workpiece. 3.8 Materials for Microturning Most of the engineering materials that can be machined by tool-based macromachining can be machined by microturning, However, brittle materials pose larger problems and are more prone to breakage during machining, Materials with larger modulus of elasticity values are less prone to deflect and are more suitable for microturning. Hard materials such as tungsten can be microturned by wire electrical discharge grinding (WEDG) orMicroturning B by EDM. When very small diameter components with larger L/D ratios are to be micro turned, nonagnventional microturning fg the most suitable method. 3.9 Microturning versus Microcutting, Microturning differs from microcutting in many ways. Microcutting aims at generating, optical finish on metals, nonmetals, ceramics, semiconductors, and gems irrespective of the size of the workpiece, whereas ing smaller without optical grade finishing. In microcutting, the material is removed from the work= piece by a very sharp tool with smaller uncut chip thicknesses, without any traces of rub- bing of the tool and without any microcracks on the finished surface; diamond turning, lapping, chemomechanical finishing, and magnetic rheological finishing are some of the microcutting processes (Balasubramaniam and Suri, 2010). Ductile regime machining of brittle materials, vibration-assisted microcutting, and molecular dynamic simulation are some of the research areas of microcuiting that are in the forefront. turning aims at mach 3.10 Concluding Remarks Microturning is an ultraprecision machining process that generates features of smaller diameterswith subgrain levels of uncut chip thickness. Some of the essential requirements of the microturning process are homogeneous work material, sharp cutting tools, and an ultraprecision machine tool. The major concern in microturning is the balancing of the reaction forces that otherwise cause deflection of the workpiece. Deflection is a major con- cern in microturning, and steps such as the use of multiple tools for balancing the reaction forces and the use of tool path compensation to overcome the effects of the deflection are extensively used to overcome this problem. As most of the microcomponents incorporate features that need to be manufactured by different processes, microturning is integrated with other processes in a single machine to eliminate setting errors. — References Azizur Rahman, M., Rahman, M,, Sennthil Kumar, A.,and Lim, H.S. 2005. CNC microturning: An. application to miniaturization. International journal of Machine Tools anal Marafacture 45: 631-638, Azuddin, M., AG, M,, and Rosli, M. 2009. Development and analysis of taper tool path for micro taming operation. Modern Applied Seience 3(1): 176-186. Balasubramaniam, Rand Susi, VK. 2010, Diamond tum machining, Chapter 3. [ntroduction to Mier Machining. ed. VK. Jain. New Delhi: Narosa Publication. Dai, ¥Z. and Chiang, FP. 1992 On the mechanism of plastic deformation induced surface roughness. 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