Combining experimental and FEM approaches to determine the influence of workpiece temperature on fundamental variables in the machining process

Abstract

In machining it is common practice to use lubricants to enhance machinability, resulting in improved part quality and reduced tool wear. However, emerging efforts are centered on mitigating the environmental impact of conventional lubricants by embracing cryogenic (e.g., LN2, CO2) and hot machining (e.g., plasma/laser-assisted machining, resistance/induction heating) among others. However, few studies analyse in depth how the initial temperature of the workpiece affects the fundamental variables of the cutting process and consequently the machinability. In this scenario, this research aimed to analyse the influence of the workpiece temperature from 20ºC to 500ºC, on fundamental process variables, such as forces, chip morphology, Primary Shear Zone length, shear angle, and temperatures, when orthogonal cutting steel AISI 1045 combining experimental and Finite Element Method (FEM) approaches.