This article presents an approximately model that allows for the determination of the maximum temperature of the chip surface in dry orthogonal turning. The mathematical formula describing the maximum temperature of the chip surface was formulated based on experimental data. The experiments were carried out for orthogonal cutting of austenitic steel AISI 321 with flat rake face carbide inserts that were made of tungsten carbide H10F, both uncoated and coated, with coatings of varied arrangement. Thermographic images of the cutting zone were used to verify the correctness of the approximately model. The obtained results show good agreement between the modelling results and experimental studies. The discrepancy of the maximum temperature values of the top surface of the chip does not exceed 6.4%.