Mathematical model of micro turning process

In recent years, significant advances in turning process have been achieved greatly due to the emergent technologies for precision machining. Turning operations are common in the automotive and aerospace industries where large metal workpieces are reduced to a fraction of their original weight when creating complex thin structures. The analysis of forces plays an important role in characterizing the cutting process, as the tool wear and surface texture, depending on the forces. In this paper, the objective is to show how our understanding of the micro turning process can be utilized to predict turning behavior such as the real feed rate and the real cutting depth, as well as the cutting and feed forces. The machine cutting processes are studied with a different model compared to that recently introduced for grinding process by Malkin and Guo (2006). The developed two-degrees-of-freedom model includes the effects of the process kinematics and tool edge serration. In this model, the input feed is changing because of current forces during the turning process, and the feed rate will be reduced by elastic deflection of the work tool in the opposite direction to the feed. Besides this, using the forces and material removal during turning, we calculate the effective cross-sectional area of cut to model material removal. With this model, it is possible for a machine operator, using the aforementioned turning process parameters, to obtain a cutting model at very small depths of cut. Finally, the simulated and experimental results prove that the developed mathematical model predicts the real position of the tool tip and the cutting and feed forces of the micro turning process accurately enough for design and implementation of a cutting strategy for a real task. © 2009 Springer-Verlag London Limited.