Influence of Vibration Inclination on Surface Quality and Tool Wear by Ultra-Precision Vibration-Assisted Cutting

Abstract

Ultra-precision ultrasonic vibration-assisted cutting (UVC) with polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tool refers to the cutting with certain amplitude and high frequency tool vibration, which can definitely reduce the cutting forces and tool wear when compared with the conventional cutting. However, in the actual cutting process, the tool vibration direction is not strictly in accordance with the designed cutting direction based on the manufacturing dimension and installation accuracy error of the vibration device. It will result in an inclined cutting angled with the linear direction. The inclination angle leads to periodical grooves on the machined surface, therefore affecting the quality of machined surface. In addition, the inclined vibration cutting will also lead to an increase in cutting forces, thus exacerbating the PCD tool wear. This paper has analyzed the influence of inclined vibration on the roughness of machined surface. A finite element (FE) simulation model of inclined linear vibration cutting has also been set up to analyze the variations of cutting forces with different inclination angle, so as to explore the mechanism of tool wear. Moreover, ultra-precision ultrasonic vibration-assisted cutting (UVC) experiments with different inclination angle have been carried out. The machined surface and PCD tools have been investigated. Combining with the theoretical analysis, this work has concluded that inclined vibration will increase the roughness of machined surface as well as exacerbate the PCD tool wear. The effective techniques have been proposed to improve the surface quality and reduce the tool wear by reducing the inclination angle of vibration and with carbon atmosphere.