Journal of

Materials
Processing
Technology
ELSEVIER Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398

Theoretical analysis of micro-cutting characteristics

in ultra-precision machining
Jeong-Du Kim*, D o n g Sik Kim
Department of Precision Engineering and Mechatronics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science
and Technology, 373-1, Kusong-dong, Yusong-gu, Taejon 30~701, South Korea

Received 18 October 1993; accepted in revised form 15 April 1994

Industrial Summary

The physics of the micro-cutting process at very small depths of cut (1 ~tm or less) is not well
understood despite the successful development of ultra-precision machining technology. Sliding
along the clearance face of the tool due to the elastic recovery of the workpiece and plowing due
to the tool edge radius may become important in the micro-cutting range. To obtain a clear
understanding of these two factors, an orthogonal cutting model, the so-called RECM (round-
edge cutting model), is suggested.

1. Introduction

The development of ultra-precision machining technology relies on the efforts of

machine tools such as single-crystal diamond tools and machine elements including
air bearings, air slides, granite beds mounted by air and precise position-control
technology. Recently, many ultra-precision machines have been used to generate
mirror surfaces by cutting. However, the physics of the micro-machining process at
very small depths of cut (1 p.m or less) is not well understood [1-4].
During the last few years, several experimental results have been reported on the
characteristics of cutting forces implying much information on the cutting process in
micro-machining. Moriwaki and Okuda [3] and Furukawa and Moronuki [2] have
observed that an increase in specific cutting force (the so-called size effect) dominates
the force system at sub-micron depths of cut.
The size effect is unaccountable for the Merchant conventional sharp-edge cutting
model (SECM) [5-7] assuming that the resultant force is affected only by shear along
one shear plane and friction at the rake face. In micro-machining, as the depth of cut

* Corresponding author.

0924-0136/95/$09.50 © 1995 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved

SSDI 0 9 2 4 - 0 1 3 6 ( 9 4 ) 0 1 3 4 5 - 2
388 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processin 9 Technolooy 49 (1995) 387-398

becomes of the same order as the tool edge-radius the assumption that the tool
edge is perfectly sharp is no longer valid and micro-machining may involve sig-
nificant sliding along the clearance face of the tool due to the elastic recovery
of the workpiece material, in other words sliding along the clearance face of
the tool due to the elastic recovery of the workpiece and plowing due to the large
effective negative rake angle resulting from the tool edge-radius become important in
micro-machining.
It is the purpose of this research to introduce an orthogonal cutting model
considering the cutting edge radius and the elastic recovery and then quantify these
two effects, i.e. plowing along the rounded edge and sliding on the clearance face. The
results of this model are compared with those of Merchant's model, of Lucca's
experiments [4] and of Moriwaki's experiments [3].

( a ) S E C M ( S h a r p . E d g e Cutting Model)

Chip
/~,, Tool
// /%
/ T.e

Shear Angle J \\ j/'// I

( b ) R E C M ( R o u n d e d - E d g e Cutting Model)

Fig. 1. Cutting modelsof orthogonal cutting.

 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398 389

2. Round-edge cutting model (RECM)

Shear occurs along the shear plane having maximum shear stress and friction
occurs along the rake face of the tool according to the Merchant cutting model [5-7]
supposing that the edge of the tool is sufficiently sharp to be considered a perfectly
sharp edge, as shown in Fig. l(a). Lucca et al. [4], however, measured the radius of the
single crystal diamond tool as 0.1-0.3 tam by SEM, whilst Moriwaki and Okuda [3]
gave a value of 0.02-0.05 I.tm and Asai and Taguchi [8] a value of 0.020-0.045 lam.
Ikawa [9] has estimated the limitation of the edge radius of the tool as 2 nm.
In this research, a micro-cutting model, the so-called rounded-edge cutting model
(RECM) is suggested in Fig. l(b). The depth of cut is of the same order as the edge
radius of the single crystal diamond tool from 0.01 to 10 ~tm.
It is assumed that: (i) the cutting is a two-dimensional plastic process; (ii) the normal
stress is constant and shear occurs continuously in the 2nd region in Fig. l(b) where
the tool is rounded; and (iii) the workpiece is elastically recovered in the 4th region, the
clearance face.
Fig. 2 magnified from Fig. l(b), shows the stresses of the differential slice in the 2nd
region. The force-equilibrium condition in the X-direction leads to the following
equation,

~x = p(1 - ~Lcot(0 - 4,)), (1)

where ax is the stress in the X-direction, # is the coefficient of friction, p is the normal
stress on the rounded edge of the tool and ~b is the shear angle.

/Y

~x

~ cr2 + d o 2

-C
X

to/sin~ /

Fig. 2. Stresses in the 2nd region.

390 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398

V12s

V2ei \ ~ .
\ "--

V
Fig. 3. Velocitydiagram on the boundary between the 1st and 2nd regions.

The velocity relationship between the 1st and the 2nd regions is illustrated in Fig. 3,
in which the Sine law gives

sin 0i
V~2~ - V, (2a)
sin(Oi - ~b)

sin ~b
Vzci - V, (2b)
sin (0i - q~)
where V12s is the shear velocity between the 1st and the 2nd regions, V2ci is the initial
chip velocity in the 2nd region, V is the cutting velocity and 0i is the initial angle of the
rounded edge.
The following expression applies for power E12s dissipated on the boundary
between the 1st and the 2nd regions,

E12s ~--" Wto V;@ dg, (3)

for which Ludwick's equation is used:

0 = Cg", (4)
where w is the width of cut, to is the depth of cut, 6 is the effective stress, g is the
effective strain, C is the specific stress of the workpiece and n is the strain-hardening
exponent.
After introducing Ludwick's equation, from shear on the boundary between the 1st
and the 2nd regions and dg = d~/x/~ for pure shear, integration of Eq. (3) gives

__ CwtoV_{ sin0i ~"+' (5)

E12s n + 1-\x/~sin ~bs i n ( 0 i - ~b)} "

The conventional sharp-edge cutting model assumes shear occurs at a shear plane.
However the round-edge cutting model in this research has the 2nd region in which
shear occurs continuously along the rounded edge.
 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398 391

-or- 4
1 ~x~~-~# El~fictReP.,overy
p4 ~

Fig. 4. Elastic recovery on the clearance face.

Because E12 s is E l 2 s × V12s, from Eqs. (5), (1), (2a) the normal stress is given by

P = (1 - #cot(0i - 40)(n + 1) sin 4~sin(0i- ~b) '

where p is the normal stress acting on the chip in the 2nd region and F12s is the shear
force.
In the 3rd region, the friction force per unit width is given by
f3f
w
- ~pal3, (7)
where Far is the friction force on the rake face, Pa is the normal pressure on the rake
face and la is the contact length on the rake face.
In the 4th region, the friction force per unit width, F4f as shown in Fig. 4, due to the
elastic recovery is
F4f
= I~p414, (8)
w
where F4f is the friction force on the clearance face, P4 is the normal pressure on the
clearance face and 14 is the contact length on the clearance face.
Using the Oxley and Hastings expression [10], the sliding length on the rake face,
14 is equal to 2to. If the interface pressure at the rake face is assumed to be equal to
three times the uniaxial yield strength of work-hardened copper, P3 is approximately
1 kN/m 2. The friction coefficient is 0.3.
The shear angle is determined geometrically by

tan f" cos 0~ ~

sin ~ ) (9)
c~ = \to~to --

where t¢ is the chip thickness.

392 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398

(Oi+Ot,?..~ ' ElasticR~very

F4i
Cutting Direction

Fig. 5. Force relationship in the round-edge cutting model.

Fig. 5 shows the force relationship of the RECM and gives the expression of cutting
force and thrust force.

F c = F3fsin ~ + F 3 n c o s ct + wpR(Of- 01)( sin 0 i +2

- Of /t c ° s z / +~ / 0r'~
0i

+ p4wl4(p cos fl + sin fl), F t = F3f cos ~ + F3n sin

0 i + Of . 0 i + 0r~
+ wpR(Of - Oi) c o s ~ +/~sm~) + p4wl4(#sinfl + cosfl), (10)

where Fc is the cutting force, F t is the thrust force, F 3 n is the normal force on the rake
face, R is the edge radius of the tool, Or is the final angle of the rounded edge and fl is
the clearance angle.
The flow-chart of the RECM to obtain the cutting force and the thrust force in
micro cutting is illustrated in Fig. 6. The cutting force and the thrust force of SECM
were calculated and compared with those of RECM [6,7].
CwtoVcos(2(a - ct) ( cos~ y, (11)
S3f = N//3 sinZ~b \ x//-3sin ~ ~os(q~ -- ~)

CwtoV_{ cos~ ).+1 sin

(12)
so - ,, + 1 \ , r i s i n g , cos(g, - ~i + S3f c o s ( O - ~)'

S3f
St = - Sc + - - , (13)
COS
 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398 393

[ START j
I
Initializing Material Property
& Cutting Condition
C,n,w,R, o~,~,13,e

I
! Calculation of Chip Thickness
& Shear Angle
r,~
I
Calculation of Normal Stress p
in the 2nd Region

I
Obtain Cutting Force
& Thrust Force

I
[ END ]
Fig. 6. Flowchart of the round-edge cutting model.

where S3f is the friction force on the rake face, S¢ is the cutting force and St is the thrust
force.

3. Results and discussion

From the derived equations, simulations were carried out using the material
properties of copper (CDA 110), specific stress C and work-hardened exponent n [1 l].
The cutting ratio of Lucca's [4] experiments was used. Table l lists the simulation
conditions, whilst Fig. 7 shows the cutting force per unit width of the cxperiments,
SECM and RECM. The result for the RECM explains very well that of the experi-
ments in contrast to the result for the SECM, especially for depths of cut of under
1 pm. It seems that the effect of micro-cutting occurs under 1 ~tm depth of cut since, as
mentioned above, two effects of micro-cutting take place in this range: one is the
effective negative rake angle of the rounded edge of the tool and the other is the
friction due to the elastic recovery of the workpiece at the clearance face. This is
evident in Fig. 8, which illustrates the thrust force per unit width, since the direction of
394 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processin# Technolooy 49 (1995) 387-398

Table 1
Simulation conditions

Specific stress C = 450 ( N / m m 2)

Work-hardening exponent n = 0.328
Rake angle ~ = 0 (deg.)
Clearance angle fl = 6 (deg.)
Tool edge radius R = 0.3, 0.03 (pm)
Initial tool edge angle 01 = 50 (deg.)
Final tool edge angle Of = 50 (deg.)
Depth of cut to = 0.01-10 (pm)
Width of cut w = 1.0 (mm)
Tool Single-crystal diamond tool

100 • Morlwakrs Exp.

Lucca's Exp.t
Round Edge Model
Lucca's Exp.2
Lucca's Exp.3
10
Round Edge Model

Cutting Force
per Unit Width '
(HI rnm)

Or ~ ~/ Sharp Edge Modal

0.0t
0.01 0,1 1 10
Depth of Cut ( pm )

Fig. 7. Cutting force per unit width between the experiments, round-edge model and sharp-edge model.

100 -~ Round Edge Model

10

Thrust Force per

Unit Wklth 1
(HI mmI
~ • ModwkrsExp.
[ ~ ix .,,.',Kxp.,
0.i .L ~.an"'nn"'lm, I x Lus.', exp..
"~ I ® . . , ' . Exp.3
L -. 2 ..... i "~ Round Edge Model
~. Mmrp E4OO Mo4el i--U---Sharp |dge Model
! , , , , , ,'l
0,01 , ' ....... ',
0.01 0.1 1 10
Depth of Cut ( p r o )

Fig. 8. Thrust force per unit width between the experiments, round-edge model and sharp-edge model.
 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387 398 395

1000000
Round Edge Model
~ ~X ~ /Mod~wa N kl's
Lucca's BExp.1
jExp.
~ • k•
100000 ~( Lucca'sExp.2 I
• Lucca'sExp.3 I
.~ Round Edge Model•
Speclfk: Cutting
Force 10000
(HEmm 2 I

1000
/
Sharp Edge Model
100
0.01 0.1 1 10
Depth of Cut ( p m )

Fig. 9. Specific cutting force between the experiments, round-edge model and sharp-edge model.

1000000

100000
~~
Round Edge Model

l
I
I X
I x
I •
I
•

•
Motlwaki's Exp.
cucce'sExp.1
Lu.e',sxp.=
Luc=.'sl,~.3
Round Edge .ode,i
k
•
•
•

Epe¢lfl¢ Thrust
Force t 0000
(NI mm 2)

1O00 /
Sharp Edge Model

100 -I--
0.01 0.1 1 10
Depth of Gut ( p m)

Fig. 10. Specific thrust force between the experiments, round-edge model and sharp-edge model.

the thrust force is mainly affected by the elastic recovery. Thus RECM is well fitted to
the experiments whereas SECM is not because of the absence of the modeling of the
effects of the elastic recovery and of the tool edge radius that appear in micro-cutting
at under 1 pm depth of cut.
Figs. 9 and 10 show the specific cutting force and the specific thrust force, respec-
tively, in which figures, the size effect, i.e. the increase of specific energy with decreased
depth of cut, is obvious. At 0.1 pm depth of cut, the specific cutting force of several
experiments was measured in the range from 8000 to 12000N/mm 2, the specific
cutting force of RECM is 9700 N/mm 2 and that of SECM 1850 N/mm 2. It is thus
396 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398

7oo
o
600 i - - s - u.o.31 .f-

Normal
Pressure
4 0 0 1
"1
A
|

m
•
|

m
•
|
A

m m m
i
A ~k..~---a&
--
J
m m ~
| iiiii

. .
i

. .
m n i
i

(Nt mm 2 )
300~- v v vvv v v ---"

2O0

100 , i ............... : ........ :

0.01 0.1 1 10
D e p t h oF Cut ( ~ m )

Fig. ! ]. Norma] pressure in the 2rid region with friction coefficient.

I A .k.,.. II

Q.t

0.01
X~ . . . . . ~ ..... X ....

0.001 ,, ....... : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ',

0.01 0.1 1 10 100

Depth oFCut ( p.m )

Fig. 12. C o m p o n e n t s of cutting force per unit width in round-edge cutting model with R = 0.3 ~tm.

established that the rounded edge of the tool and the friction along the clearance face
affect the size effect, since RECM is well fitted to the results of the experiments.
The normal pressure in the 2nd region is plotted with the friction coefficient in
Fig. 11. As the friction coefficient increases, the normal pressure and the cutting force
increase: it is important to decrease the friction coefficient.
Figs. 12 and 13 show the cutting force of the RECM, consisting of components of
the rake face, the clearance face and the rounded edge, for edge radii of the tool of
R = 0.3 (rtm) and 0.03 (lam), respectively. The component of rake face is equal to the
total cutting force of the SECM. The RECM is useful not only in the micro-machining
range but also in the conventional range. The components of the clearance face and of
 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398 397

100] I ~" t°tal ~I~

cl,,mnc° ,.co I
I A II

{g o.1

0.01

0.001
0.01 0.1 I 10
Depth oFCut ( I~ m )

Fig. 13. Components of cutting force per unit width in round-edge cutting model with R = 0.03 lam.

the rounded edge are constant, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. The rounded-edge
component is affected by the edge radius of the tool: the smaller the component
becomes, the smaller the edge radius becomes. The component of the clearance face
depends on the clearance angle and the contact length on the clearance face, deter-
mined by the material properties and by the geometry.

4. Conclusions

It is obvious that the size effect is unaccountable for the Merchant conventional
sharp-edge model. Lucca leaves a problem that a difference exists between the results
of experiment and those of Merchant's cutting model, especially below 1 lira depth of
cut, the reason being the effective negative rake angle and the friction along the flank
face. This research has quantified and analyzed those two effects. A cutting model, the
so-called RECM, is suggested. That the cutting force of the R E C M is better approx-
imated to that of experiment than the cutting force of the SECM has been shown in
micro-cutting. Analysis of the components of the cutting force establishes that the
effect of the clearance face and the rounded edge of the tool dominate the cutting-force
system under 1 pm depth of cut.

References

[1] T. Sugano, K. Takeuchi, T. Goto and Y. Yoshida, Diamond turning of an aluminum alloy for mirror,
Ann. CIRP, 36(1) (1987) 17-20.
[2] Y. Furukawa and N. Moronuki, Effectof material properties on ultra precise cutting processes, Ann.
CIRP, 37(1) (1988) 113 116.
398 J.-D. Kim, D.S. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 49 (1995) 387-398

I3] T. Moriwaki and E. Shamoto, Ultra precision diamond turning of stainless steel by applying
ultrasonic vibration, Ann. CIRP, 40(1) (1991) 559-562.
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copper, Ann. CIRP, 40(1) (1991) 69-72.
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