Study on the effect of laser-assisted machining on tool wear based on molecular dynamics simulation

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During the nanometric cutting of single crystal silicon, the wear of the diamond tool is rapid. Despite laser-assisted machining (LAM) has been used to mitigate tool wear, the specific mechanism is not clear. In this paper, molecular dynamics simulations have been successfully used to explain the effect of LAM on tool wear. The long-range carbon bond order potential (LCBOP) is used to describe the interaction of atoms in the diamond tool. The simulation results show that it has the ability to accurately simulate the graphitization of diamond. LAM enhances ductile response of silicon and reduces the cutting force. But only at the appropriate laser power, LAM will inhibit the formation of silicon carbide and mitigate tool wear. The effect of laser power on the tool rake face and clearance face is different. When the laser power is about 50 eV/ps, the wear of tool clearance face is significantly suppressed, which is attributed to the reduction of frictional resistance. When the laser power is about 150 eV/ps, the reduction in cutting forces and silicon carbide results in smaller tool wear of the rake face. At other laser powers, a large increase in chip temperature may promote tool wear to some extent. Therefore, proper laser power is necessary during LAM.