MACHINING OPERATIONS

AND MACHINE TOOLS

Included:
Machining overview

Cutting Tool Life

Turning and Related Operations

Milling Operations

Drilling and Related Operations

Machining Centers and Turning Centers

Other Machining Operations

High Speed Machining

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 General overview

Machining
A material removal process in which a sharp cutting tool mechanically
cuts away material to leave the desired part geometry.
 Most common application: To shape metal parts and achieve good finish and
accurate dimensions.

 Machining is the most versatile and accurate of all manufacturing processes in

its capability to produce a diversity of part geometries and geometric features

 Casting can also produce a variety of shapes, but it lacks the precision and
accuracy of machining.
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 Classification of Machined Parts
Rotational - cylindrical or disk-like shapes.
 Cutting tool removes material from rotating part.
 e.g. turning and boring.
 Drilling is related except that, part remains stationary, tool rotates and a cylindrical hole is created.
Non-rotational (also called prismatic) - block-like or plate-like.
 The geometry is achieved by linear motion of the work part, combined with rotating or linear tool
motions.
 e.g. milling, shaping, planing and sawing.

Figure - Machined parts are classified as: (a) rotational, or (b) non-rotational, shown here
by block and flat parts MEC3202
 Machining Operations and Part Geometry
Each machining operation produces a characteristic part geometry by either generating,
forming or a combination of the two;

1. Generating
 Relative motions between the tool and the work-part produce the final part.

 Part geometry is determined by the feed trajectory of the cutting tool.

 The path followed by tool during feed motion is imparted to the work surface to create shape.

 In each of these operations, material removal is achieved by speed motion but part shape is
determined by the feed motion.

 The feed trajectory may involve variations in depth or width of cut e.g. Contour turning and
profile milling ( the feed motion results in changes in depth and width as cutting proceeds.

 Examples may include; straight turning, taper turning, contour turning, peripheral/plain
milling and profile milling MEC3202
 Generated Parts

Figure - Generating shape: (a) straight turning, (b) taper turning,

(c) contour turning, (d) plain milling, (e) profile milling
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 Machining Operations and Part Geometry

2 Forming
 Part geometry is created by the shape of the cutting tool.
 Final shape of part is attributed to the shape of the cutting tool.
 The cutting edge has the reverse of the shape to be produced on the
part surface.
 The shape of the cutting tool is imparted to the work to create final
part geometry.
 The cutting condition usually include primary speed motion
combined with a feeding motion directed in to the work.
 Examples include; form turning, drilling and broaching
 Formed Parts

Figure - Forming to create shape: (a) form turning, (b) drilling, and (c) broaching
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 Machining Operations and Part Geometry

3 Combination of generating and forming

 Such as in thread cutting on a lathe and slot milling.
 In thread cutting, the pointed shape of cutting tool determines the form of
the threads, the large feed rate generates the threads.

 In slot milling, the width of the cutter determines the width of the slot, but
the feed motion creates the slot.
 Combination of generating and forming

Figure - Combination of forming and generating to create shape: (a) thread

cutting on a lathe, and (b) slot milling

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 Cutting tool life
Cutting tools are subjected to very high localized stresses, high temperatures, sliding of chip along the
rake face, and sliding of the tool flank along freshly created surface.

These conditions adversely affect tool life, quality of machined surface, its dimensional accuracy and
eventually the economics of cutting operations.

Therefore, the principle Modes of Tool Failure are;

 Fracture failure – when cutting force at the tool point becomes excessive and/or dynamic, leading to sudden

failure by brittle fracture

 Temperature failure – when cutting temperature becomes too high causing the tool material to soften, leading

to plastic deformation and loss of sharp edge

 Gradual wear – Is a continual wearing of the cutting tool. Results from sliding of chip along the rake face, and
sliding of the tool flank along freshly created surface. Tool wear is generally a gradual process.

 Chipping – similar to fracture. Breaking away of tiny pieces from cutting edge of the tool ,some times hard to
notice. Has a major detrimental effect on surface finish, surface integrity and dimensional integrity of the work-piece.
Caused by; high rake angle, mechanical shock (impact by interrupted cutting) and thermal fatigue.
 Tool life
Tool life depends on; tool and work-piece materials, tool shape, cutting fluids, process

parameters (speed, feed and depth), and machine tool characteristics.

Chipping and fracture can be reduced by selecting tool with high impact and thermal shock

resistance.

Generally, tool life can be prolonged by;

 Careful selection of cutting conditions (optimum cutting speed, feed and depth of cut)

 Selecting an appropriate tool for a particular work-piece material

 Use of cutting fluids

 Reduced tool overhung

 Always using tool with high toughness, hot hardness, and high wear resistance

 Reduced vibration
 Preferred Mode of Tool Failure:
Gradual Wear
 Fracture, chipping and temperature failures are premature failures
 Gradual wear is preferred because it leads to the longest possible use of the tool
 Gradual wear occurs at two locations on a tool:
- Flank wear – occurs on flank or relief face (side of tool)
- Crater wear – occurs on top rake face

Crater wear – consists of a concave section

on the tool rake face formed by action of
sliding chip against tool surface.

Flank wear – results from rubbing of tool

flank face against the newly formed surface

Figure - Diagram of worn cutting tool, showing the

principal locations and types of wear that occur
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 Single-point Cutting Tool wear

(a) Crater wear (b) flank wear on a cemented carbide tool, as

seen through a toolmaker's microscope

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 Tool Life and Taylor Tool Life Equation

- Break-in period: sharp cutting edge wears

rapidly within the first few minutes of
cutting.
- Steady-state wear: fairly uniform wearing
of tool over a relatively longer time during
the machining time.
- Failure region: level at which wear rate
begin to accelerate. Cutting temp. are high,
efficiency of machining is reduced. If
allowed to continue, tool fail by temp.
failure.
- Increased speed, feed, depth of cut and non-
use of cutting fluid can amplify the tool wear
rate and reduce tool life
Figure - Tool wear as a function of cutting time. Flank wear
(FW) is used here as the measure of tool wear, Crater
wear follows a similar growth curve

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 Tool life: Defined as the length of cutting time that the tool can be used. Operating the tool
until final catastrophic failure is one way of defining tool life.
 In production, the machinist should not use the tool until failure occurs due to difficulties in
resharpening and problems with work part quality.
 A certain levelof tool wear should be selected as a criterion of tool life and the tool must be
replaced when wear reaches that level ( e.g. flank wear value of 0.5mm)
 If tool wear curve is plotted for several cutting speeds, the graph appears as shown.

Figure - Effect of cutting speed on tool flank wear (FW) for three
cutting speeds, using a tool life criterion of 0.50 mm flank wear
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 Taylor Tool Life Equation
 This relationship is credited to F. W. Taylor (~1900)
n
vT  C
where v = cutting speed; T = tool life; and n and C are parameters that depend on feed, depth of cut, work material,
tooling material, and the tool life criterion used.

 The value of n is constant for a given tool material, while value of C depends on tool material, work material and
cutting conditions.
 vT  C n
This equation states that, higher cutting speeds results in shorter tool life
 If the tool life values for the three wear curves in the previous figure are plotted on a natural log-log graph of
cutting speed vs tool life, the resulting relationship is a straight line as shown below

Relating n and C in the Taylor Tool life

equation with this plot;
 n is the slope of the plot

 C is the intercept on the speed axis

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Figure - Natural log-log plot of cutting speed vs tool life

 Modification of Taylor Tool Life Equation
The problem with the above equation is that the units on the right side is not consistent with that on the
left side. To rectify this, the equation should be expressed as;

vT n  C Trefn  
Where Tref is the reference value for C and its value is always taken as 1 min when v is expressed in m/min, ft/min or
in/min. However, when v is in say m/sec, ft/sec or in/sec, the value of Tref =60 sec, unit of C should also be converted
to m/sec. n remains constant.
An extended version of this equation has been formulated to reflect the effects of feed, depth of cut and work material
hardness.
vT n f m d p H q  KTref
n m
f ref p
d ref q
H ref
Exponents m, p, and q can be determined experimentally. This requires a large amount of machining data. K is
analogous to C in the above equation.
The above expression was simplified to;

vT n f m  KTrefn f refm
All the terms have the same meaning except K with a slightly different interpretation and accommodate the effects of
depth of cut d and work material hardness H.
 Tool Life Criteria in Production
1. Complete failure of cutting edge
2. Visual inspection of flank wear (or crater wear) by the machine operator
3. Fingernail test across cutting edge
4. Changes in sound emitted from operation
5. Chips become ribbony, stringy, and difficult to dispose of
6. Degradation of surface finish
7. Increased power consumption measured by wattmeter on machine tool
8. Workpiece count – change tool after producing certain number of parts.
9. Cumulative cutting time - tool changed after cutting for certain length of time.
10. Chip color.
 TURNING AND RELATED OPERATIONS
Turning:
 A machining process in which a single point cutting tool removes material from a
rotating work-piece to generate a cylindrical shape.

 The tool is fed linearly in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the part.
 Its traditionally performed on a machine tool called a lathe
 Various operations that can be performed on a lathe include:
- Facing
- Contour turning
- Chamfering
- Cutoff
- Threading
Analysis of Turning operation

Figure - Turning operation

 Cutting conditions in Turning
The rotational speed in turning is related to the desired cutting speed at the surface
of the cylindrical work piece:
v
N so that v  NDavg
Davg
Where N = rotational speed, rev/min; v = cutting speed, m/min (ft/min), Davg is the
average diameter
Do  D f
Davg 
2
Where Do = Original diameter of work piece and Df = final diameter

The volumetric rate of material removal,

MRR = vfd - mm3/min (in.3/min)

Where v = cutting speed, f = feed (mm/rev or in/rev) and d = depth of cut

Do  D f
d
2
The feed in turning is usually given in mm/rev (in/rev). Converting this to a
linear travel gives the feed rate fr
fr = Nf
fr= feed rate, mm/min (in/min) while f =feed, mm/rev (in/rev)
The time taken to machine a cylindrical work piece from one end to the next is
given by; L
Tm 
fr
Where Tm = time of actual machining, minutes (seconds), L = length of the
cylindrical work piece, mm (ft or inch)
The number of cutting tools required for a given operation is then given by;
Tm
nt 
T
Where nt = number of cutting tools needed, T = tool life, Tm =time of machining.
 Operations related to turning

Facing
Tool is fed radially inward at on end to create around face on the end

Figure (a) facing MEC3202

 Taper turning
• Instead of feeding the tool parallel to the axis of rotation of the
work, the tool is fed at angle, thus creating a tapered cylinder of
conical shape.
 Contour Turning
• Instead of feeding the tool parallel to the axis of rotation, tool
follows a contour that is other than straight, thus creating a
contoured form

Figure (c) contour turning MEC3202

 Chamfering
• Cutting edge of the tool cuts an angle on the corner of the
cylinder, forming a "chamfer"

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Figure (e) chamfering
 Form Turning
• Some times called forming, the tool has a shape that is imparted
to the work by plunging the tool radially into the work.
 Threading
• Pointed form tool is fed linearly across surface of rotating work
part parallel to axis of rotation at a large feed rate, thus creating
threads

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Figure (g) threading
 Cutoff
• Tool is fed radially into rotating work at some location to cut off
end of part

Figure (f) cutoff MEC3202

 Boring
• A single point cutting tool is fed linearly, parallel to the axis of
rotation, on the inside diameter of an existing hole in the part.

Figure Horizontal boring mill – Figure - A vertical boring mill –for large,
done on a lathe heavy work parts

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 Boring
 Difference between boring and turning:
- Boring: performed on the inside diameter of an existing hole
- Turning: performed on the outside diameter of an existing cylinder
 In effect, boring is an internal turning operation
 Horizontal or vertical - refers to the orientation of the axis of rotation of
machine spindle.
 The other operation related to turning is “knurling”.
This is not a machining operation because it does not involve cutting of
the material.
It is a metal forming operation used to produce a regular cross-hatched
pattern on the work surface.

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 A lathe machine

Figure - Diagram of an engine lathe, showing its principal components MEC3202

Methods of Holding the Work in a Lathe

Holding the work between centers

Chuck
Collet
Face plate

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 Holding the Work Between Centers

Figure - mounting the work between centers using a "dog”

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 Chuck

Figure- three-jaw chuck

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Collet

Figure - collet

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 Face Plate

Figure - face plate for non-cylindrical work parts

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 Other lathes and turning machines
Many other turning machines have been developed to satisfy
particular functions or to automate the turning operations.

These include;
 Toolroom lathe
 Speed lathe
 Turret lathe
 Chucking lathe
 Bar machine (single spindle and multiple spindle)
 Automatic screw machine
 CNC lathe

Please read more about these!

 Milling
Defined as: Machining operation in which work is fed past a rotating tool with multiple
cutting edges. In rare cases, a tool with single cutting edge called a ‘fly cutter’ is used.

 The axis of tool rotation is perpendicular to feed direction.

 Creates a planar surface; other geometries possible either by cutter path or shape
 Other factors and terms:
- Milling is an interrupted cutting operation (intermittent) -

The teeth of a cutter enters and exit the work during each revolution.

This subjects the teeth to a cycle of impact forces and thermal shock in every revolution.

- Cutting tool called a milling cutter, cutting edges called "teeth"

- Machine tool called a milling machine

- Most flat surfaces are achieved by this operation.

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 There are two types of milling;

Peripheral/plane milling and Face milling

Figure - Two forms of milling:

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(a) peripheral milling, and (b) face milling
 Peripheral Milling vs. Face Milling

Peripheral milling:

- Also called plane milling,

- The axis of rotation of cutter is parallel to the surface being machined.

- The cutting operation is performed by cutting edges on the outside periphery

of the cutter.

Face milling:
- Cutter axis is perpendicular to surface being milled
- Machining is performed by cutting edges on both the end and outside
periphery of the cutter.
 Two forms of peripheral milling
Up milling:

- Also known as conventional milling.

- The direction of rotation of the cutter teeth is opposite the direction of feed.
- Its milling “against the feed”.
- Chip formed by each cutter teeth starts out thin and increases in thickness during the
sweep of the cutter.

- Chips formed are longer than on down milling.

- Tool is engaged in the work for more time, therefore the tool has shorter life.
- The forces tangential to the periphery of the cutter teeth tend to lift the work as the
cutter teeth exit the material.
Down milling:

- Also called climb milling.

- The direction of cutter rotation is the same as that of feed.
- Its milling “with the feed”.
- Chip starts out thick and reduces in thickness through out the cut.
- Chips are shorter than in up milling.
- The tool is engaged in the work for less time, therefore, the tool life is longer.
- The cutter force direction is down word, tending to hold the work against the
milling machine table.
 Various forms of peripheral milling do exist
Slab Milling
 The basic form of peripheral milling in which the cutter width
extends beyond the work piece on both sides

Figure (a) slab milling

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 Side Milling
The cutter machines only one side of the work piece.
 Straddle Milling
Similar to side milling, but cutting takes place both sides of the work
piece.
 Slotting
 Width of cutter is less than work piece width, creating a slot in the work.
 When the cutter is very small, this operation can be used to mill narrow
slots/cut on the work piece

Figure - slotting MEC3202

 Various forms of Face milling do exist

Conventional Face Milling

 Cutter overhangs work on both sides.
 End Milling
 Cutter diameter is less than work width, so a slot is cut into part

Figure - end milling

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 Profile Milling
 Form of end milling in which the outside periphery of a flat part is cut.

Figure - profile milling

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 Pocket Milling
 Another form of end milling used to mill shallow pockets into flat parts

Figure - pocket milling

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 Surface Contouring
 Ball-nose cutter is fed back and forth across the work along a curvilinear path
at close intervals to create a three dimensional surface form

Figure - surface contouring

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 Analysis of milling operations
 The cutting speed in milling is determined at the outside diameter of a milling cutter which can be
converted to the spindle rotation speed as; v
N
D
D = diameter of the cutter, mm; v = cutting speed, m/min, N = spindle rotation, rpm
 The feed f in milling is usually given as a feed per cutter tooth, called „chip load‟ which represents the
chip formed by every cutter tooth.
 This can be converted to feed rate by taking in to account the spindle speed and number of teeth on the
f r  Nnt f
cutter.

Where, fr = feed rate, mm/min (in/min); nt = number of teeth on the cutter; f = chip load, mm/tooth (in/tooth) and N =
spindle rotation, rpm.
 Materials removal rate in milling is determined from the product of the cross-sectional area of the cut and the feed
rate.
 Considering a slab milling operation cutting a work piece of width w at a depth of cut d
Then;
MRR  wdfr
 This neglects the entry of cutter before complete engagement,
 Can be applied to; end milling, side milling, face milling and other milling operations with adjustments on the cross-
sectional area.
 The time required to mill a work piece of length L must account for the approach distance
required to fully engage the cutter.

For peripheral/slab milling operation;

 The approach distance A to reach full cutter depth is given by;

A  d D  d 
Where, d=depth of cut, mm (in), and D=diameter of the milling cutter, mm (in)
 The time to mill the work piece by slab milling Tm is given by;
L A
Tm 
fr
 Analysis of Face milling
 Its customary to allow for the approach distance, A plus the over travel distance, O.
 There are two cases;
1. when the cutter is centered over the work piece
2. when cutter is offset to one side over the work.
 In both cases, A = O
 For case (1), When cutter is centered over the work piece, A and O are both equal to the cutter
diameter, D
AO
2

(1) When cutter is centered over the work piece (2) when cutter is offset to one side over the work
 In case 2 when the cutter is offset to one side of the work piece, the
approach and over travel distances are given by;

A  O  wD  w
Where, w = width of the cut, mm (in)
 Machining time in both cases (1) and (2) is therefore given by;
L  2A
Tm 
fr
The number of cutting tools required for a given operation is then given by;
Tm
nt 
T
Where nt = number of cutting tools needed, T = tool life, Tm =time of machining.
This expression for number of cutting tools nt is valid in all cases of milling.
 Assignment II
You are the shift supervisor in a competent manufacturing firm and have just been informed that a shaft
has just broken from one of the machines. The draft man has availed you with the technical details of the
broken shaft as below;
ф120mm

120mm

1.2m

After a call to the store keeper, you have noticed that the only round steel bar now available in stock is of
diameter 150mm. On reaching the machine shop, you were informed that the lathe machine operator has
had an accident and is not able to come for duty. The production manager has bitterly instructed you to
handle the job yourself. The foreman had recommended that, for this particular job, roughing should be
done at; cutting speed of 90m/min, feed of 0.5m/rev and depth of cut ≤ 4.5mm and finishing at cutting
speed of 200m/min, feed 0.2m/rev and depth of cut ≤ 0.75mm. From the chart available for the best lathe
machine which you prefer, these conditions correspond to cutting forces of 1550 N and 1380N
respectively for roughing and finishing operations. About a week ago, a similar shaft was machined in
your presence and you can only remember that, when the cutting speed was set at 150m/min, the tool
lasted for only 5mins and when the speed was reduced to 80m/min the tool lasted 35mins. How many
cutting tools will you requisition for to complete this job? Estimate the specific energy for this operation.