METAL CUTTING –

UNDERSTANDING THE ROLES

PLAYED BY VARIOUS CUTTING
PARAMETERS
Article by C.V.Rajan
Edited & published by Lamar Stonecypher on Sep 16, 2009
Some parameters involved in the metal cutting process are in fact closely
related with other parameters. Changing one will have an influencing effect on
another. This article covers the basic of metal cutting, from learning the
language and terminology of the parts and process.

Learn the Basics About Metal Cutting Parameters

Metal cutting is the outwardly simple process of removing metal on a work piece
in order to get a desired shape by using a tool, either by rotating the workpiece
(as in a lathe) or by rotating the tool (as in a drilling machine). But behind this
simple process lie numerous parameters that play their roles, from a small to a
big way, in deciding many things in the act of metal cutting, including the speed
of doing the job, the quality and accuracy of the finish, the life of the tool, the
cost of production, and so on.

Some parameters involved in the metal cutting process are in fact closely
related with some other parameters in the metal cutting process; playing with
one will have an influencing effect on another. Thus, even after several years of
experience, process planning engineers may find difficulty in confidently
declaring themselves as experts in metal cutting!

In this series of article, we shall first list out the major metal cutting parameters
and learn a few basic things about them. In subsequent articles, we shall delve
deeper into how they contribute their roles in relation with others in the metal
removal process.

1) Material machinability:

The machinability of a material decides how easy or difficult it is to cut it. The
material’s hardness is one factor that has a strong influence on the
machinabilty. Though a general statement like a soft material is easier to cut
than a harder material is true to a large extent, it is not as simple as that. The
ductility of a material also plays a huge role.

2) Cutting Tool Material:

In metal cutting, High Speed steel and Carbide are two major tool materials
widely used. Ceramic tools and CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) are the other tool
materials used for machining very tough and hard materials. A tool’s hardness,
strength, wear resistance, and thermal stability are the characteristics that
decide how fast the tool can cut efficiently on a job.

3) Cutting speed and spindle speed:

Cutting speed is the relative speed at which the tool passes through the work
material and removes metal. It is normally expressed in meters per minute (or
feet per inch in British units). It has to do with the speed of rotation of the
workpiece or the tool, as the case may be. The higher the cutting speed, the
better the productivity. For every work material and tool material combo, there is
always an ideal cutting speed available, and the tool manufacturers generally
give the guidelines for it.

Spindle speed: Spindle speed is expressed in RPM (revolutions per minute). It

is derived based on the cutting speed and the work diameter cut (in case of
turning/ boring) or tool diameter (in case of drilling/ milling etc). If V is the cutting
speed and D is the diameter of cutting, then Spindle speed N = V /(Pi x D)

4) Depth of cut:

It indicates how much the tool digs into the component (in mm) to remove
material in the current pass.

5) Feed rate:

The relative speed at which the tool is linearly traversed over the workpiece to
remove the material. In case of rotating tools with multiple cutting teeth (like a
milling cutter), the feed rate is first reckoned in terms of “feed per tooth,”
expressed in millimeter (mm/tooth). At the next stage, it is “feed per revolution”
(mm/rev).

In case of lathe operations, it is feed per revolution that states how much a tool
advances in one revolution of workpiece. In case of milling, feed per revolution
is nothing but feed per tooth multiplied by the number of teeth in the cutter.

To actually calculate the time taken for cutting a job, it is “feed per minute” (in
mm/min) that is useful. Feed per minute is nothing but feed per revolution
multiplied by RPM of the spindle.

6) Tool geometry:

For the tool to effectively dig into the component to remove material most
efficiently without rubbing, the cutting tool tip is normally ground to different
angles (known as rake angle, clearance angles, relief angle, approach angle,
etc). The role played by these angles in a tool geometry is a vast subject in
itself.
7) Coolant:

To take away the heat produced in cutting and also to act as a lubricant in
cutting to reduce tool wear, coolants are used in metal cutting. Coolants can
range from cutting oils, water soluble oils, oil-water spray, and so on.

8) Machine/ Spindle Power:

In the metal cutting machine, adequate power should be available to provide the
drives to the spindles and also to provide feed movement to the tool to remove
the material. The power required for cutting is based on the Metal removal rate
– the rate of metal removed in a given time, generally expressed in cubic
centimeters per minute, which depends on work material, tool material, the
cutting speed, depth of cut, and feed rate.

9) Rigidity of machine:

The rigidity of the machine is based on the design and construction of the
machine, the age and extent of usage of the machine, the types of bearings
used, the type of construction of slide ways, and the type of drive provided to
the slides all play a role in the machining of components and getting the desired
accuracies, finish, and speed of production.

Thus, in getting a component finished out of a metal cutting machine at the best
possible time within the desired levels of accuracy, tolerances, and surface
finish, some or all the above parameters play their roles. As already mentioned
in the beginning, each of the parameters can create a positive or negative
impact on other parameters, and adjustments and compromises are to be made
to arrive at the best metal cutting solution for a given job.

We shall try to learn more of these details in the subsequent articles.

(A) MACHINABILITY
The Role of Machinability in metal cutting parameters

The machinability of a material can be defined as the ease with which it can be
cut (machined) by a tool to the required quality of finish.

Practically, no two materials subject to machining can behave alike when

cutting them with the same tool, at the same cutting speed and feed rates, using
the same machine, and working under similar conditions. Some may produce
long curly chips (like mild steel), some may produce short chips (like cast iron),
some may get a smooth finish, some may end up with a rough surface, some
may produce chatter, and some may produce lots of heat and quickly blunt the
tool.
Physical characteristics that affect machinability

The material’s hardness, ductility, tensile strength, alloying elements present in

the material, and the heat-treatment that the material has undergone before
machining – all these can influence its machinability.

If you take steel, the percentage of carbon present in the steel, which
determines generally the classification and strength of the steel (like low carbon
steel, medium carbon steel and high carbon steel) has a direct influence on the
machinability – the higher the carbon content, the more difficult it is to machine.
In alloy steels, the presence of elements like Chromium, Nickel, molybdenum,
and Vanadium, etc. can cause decreased machinability.

Alloying elements that help improve machinability:

In iron and steel, the presence of Sulphur (up to 0.35%) helps in the breaking of
chips and helps in improving machinability. Lead acts as lubricant at the tool tip
and facilitates ease of machining. The presence of nitrogen is also desirable.
Phosphorus is yet another element whose presence improves machinability.

The idea of Free Cutting Steel

In applications of steel, where any specific material property (like surface

hardness) or strength is not of prime importance (in typical products like
handles, levers, spacers, hydraulic fittings, low tensile screws etc), it is best to
use a steel material whose machinability is extremely good. A typical Low
carbon free cutting steel is AISI C1118 (equivalent to Indian Standard
14Mn1S14, DIN 15S20, and British En202) and another popular free cutting
medium carbon steel is AISI C1139 (equivalent to Indian Standard 40Mn2S12,
DIN 45S20, and British En15AM).

The need for relative information about machinability – the

Machinability Rating

When a machine shop has to undertake the machining of a new material, it has
to arrive at the right cutting parameters like tool material, cutting speed, feed
rate, the right machine to use, etc. Knowing how difficult or easy it is to machine
when compared to a familiar material (like a free cutting steel) would be of
immense help. This comparative information is what “Machinability Rating” data
provides.
Taking a typical free cutting steel (AISI B1112, a steel with a chemical
composition having Carbon 0.08-0.13 %, manganese 0.60-0.90%, Phosphorous
0.09-0.13%, and Sulphur 0.16-0.23% and having a hardness of 160 BHN) as a
reference material and allocating a Machinability Rating (also referred as
Machinability Index) of 1.0 to it, AISI conducted machining trials on a variety of
materials under controlled and commonly set parameters. Based on such trials,
Machinability Ratings (MR) were allocated to other materials.

Accordingly, a material having MR less than 1 is more difficult to machine in

comparison with B1112 material. If the index is more than 1, it is comparatively
easier to machine that material.

For example, medium carbon steel AISI 1045 (IS: C45, DIN Ck45, British En8D)
has a Machinability rating of 0.5. It means it is twice as difficult to machine in
comparison with B1112.

The material Inconel 718 (an extremely tough and heat resistant Iron alloy with
Ni plus Co up to 55%, Cr up to 21% and Mo up to 3% which is used in Rocket
parts, gas turbines and nuclear reactor parts) has a machinability rating of
around 0.1, which means it is 10 times more difficult to machine than the free
cutting steel.

Standard malleable Iron, for example, has a machinability rating of 1.1 and it
means that it is 10% more easily machined in comparison with the free cutting
steel B1112.

Influence of other cutting parameters on machinability

As we saw in part one of the series, every cutting parameter involved in metal
cutting has a bearing and an influence on other parameters.

Depending on the machinability of a material, one has to choose other cutting

parameters to get the best results in machining a component to the required
finish, rate of output and economy of machining.

Tool Material: The lower the machinability rating of a material, the harder and
tougher must be the tool material. Choice of appropriate Carbide grade and/or
the type of “coated Carbide” to use, or need for going in for tool materials like
CBN, Ceramic etc will be warranted as the material to be cut turns out to be
more and more tougher.

Tool Geometry: The choice of tools based on the right amount of rake angle,
and the design of chip breaker in the tool are also to be considered, based on
machinability.

Speeds: The cutting speed must be properly balanced with the tool material
and the work material’s machinability rating, to get the best possible tool life.
While a higher cutting speed may solve a poor surface finish problem for a work
material, it may result in rapid tool wear resulting in loss of control in maintaining
dimensions.
Rigidity of machine: The use of old machine tools with limited power may act
as a hindrance in machining materials with very low machinability rating. Need
for switching over to CNC machine tools equipped with LM guides and ball
screw drives with large spindle power may be warranted in case of machining
very tough materials to very close tolerances and surface finish requirements.

Thus the machinability of a material plays a huge role in deciding the cutting
parameters. Design Engineers should ideally take into account the machinability
rating of a material before selecting one for a given application.

References:

1) Machine Tool Design Handbook - CMTI, Tata Mcgraw Hill

2) Machinability Rating charts -www.quakerchem.com

3)Ferroalloys and other additives to liquid iron and steel: a symposium

By J. R. Lampman, A. T. Peters, ASTM Committee

(B) TOOL MATERIAL - HSS

HSS - High Speed Steels - Still Playing a Very Significant Role in
Metal Cutting

High Speed Steel is a high carbon tool steel, containing a large dose of
tungsten. A typical HSS composition is: 18% tungsten, 4% Chromium, 1%
Vanadium, 0.7% carbon and the rest, Iron. HSS tools have a harness of 62-64
Rc. The addition of 5 to 8% cobalt to HSS imparts higher strength and wear
resistance. Typically, drills made with the addition of cobalt (popular grade types
M-15 and M-42) are called “cobalt drills” and are used in high end drilling
applications.

In Metal cutting, Carbide tools have gradually taken over HSS tools in many of
the tool applications; but still HSS is widely in use in some specific segments of
tools like drills, reamers, taps, form turning tools, gear hobbing and gear
shaping cutters, side and face mills, end mills, slab milling and straddle milling
cutters, slitting saws, form milling cutters and broaches.

The advantage of HSS over carbide is its strength to withstand cutting forces
and the low cost of the tools. From the tool life point of view, HSS performs very
well at intermittent cutting applications. But the greatest limitation of HSS is that
its usable cutting speed range is far lower when compared to Carbide.

In the vast majority of cutting applications, namely turning, boring, and face
milling, Carbide tools and inserts have near-totally taken over HSS tools, and
HSS has become virtually extinct in these applications. But that's not the case
with drilling.

[ Fig.1 HSS Drills - Fig:2 A HSS Form Tool for Turning]

HSS in Drilling

In applications like drilling, very gradually solid carbide drills are taking over
HSS drills, particularly in CNC machine tools; but from cutting economy in
drilling, particularly when drilling small diameters and larger depths, HSS cannot
be dispensed with easily. Drill breakage while cutting is a very costly affair with
solid carbides and every breakage will prove to be costly on productivity too, as
production stops till the tool is replaced. Another great advantage of using HSS
drills is that the HSS drill can thrive and perform even in old and infirm machine
tools with limited power.

As power requirement for cutting is directly proportional to cutting speed (with

other cutting parameters like feed rate remaining same), use of HSS becomes
unavoidable in machines with limited power.

HSS drills can withstand the vagaries of poor run-out in spindles, weak slide
ways, etc, in older machines and still do their job adequately, whereas their
carbide counterparts cannot.

HSS in Form Tools and Cutters

HSS continues to be the best and cheapest when it comes to multi-toothed form
cutters like gear hobbing cutters, form mills and broaches. Replacing these
tools with carbide (in the form of brazed carbide tips) is not only a costly and
cumbersome affair in tool manufacture, but also very detrimental to production
in the event of tip breakage. Re-sharpening of tools is also breezy when it
comes to usage of HSS form tools.

[Fig:3 HSS Gear Hobbing Cutters] [Fig:4 A TiN coated HSS Gear
hobbing cutter]
Cutting Speeds with HSS

As already mentioned, HSS can in no way compete with Carbide tools when it
comes to cutting speeds. Under equally suitable applications, a carbide tool can
cut 4 to 12 times faster than HSS (depending on work material and type of
operation) and naturally, the productivity is proportionally high.

Here are some generic data on the range of cutting speed in which HSS tools
can work:

..............................................Cutting speed in m/min

Work Material ................Drilling ...........Tapping ............Milling/Hobbing

Free cutting steels ...........20-30 ..............9-12 ....................30-40

Mild steel ........................20-23 .............11-12 ....................25-40

Medium carbon steels ......14-20 ...............8-11 ................... 20-30

Alloy steels ......................18-22 .............10-12 ...................10-20

Stainless steels ...............12-15 ...............8-9 .....................15-20

Cast Iron ..........................20-23 ..............9-12 ...................20-30

Aluminium alloys ..............35-55 .............14-18 ..................60-100

Titanium alloys ........ ........12-15 ................8-9 ....................10-30

[Note: to convert cutting speed given above to SFM (surface feet per minute),
multiply by 3.28]

Living with HSS, How to Improve Productivity?

a) Use of Cobalt drills and cutters:

Actually, “cobalt drills/ cutters” (which actually refer to HSS tool grades M-15
and M-42 that contain 5% and 8% cobalt) were developed to tackle drilling of
tough materials like Stainless steel, Inconel, tool steels, titanium alloys etc.
Where a switchover to carbide tool from HSS is impossible and totally
uneconomical, use of these cobalt tools is one option available to process
engineers to increase productivity for machining normal steels and other regular
materials. This option is also resorted to, when increased tool life for a given
cutting speed is the need of the hour.

With cobalt drills, increase in cutting speeds up to about 40% or more over
regular HSS drills can be possible, with other conditions remaining similar.
Depending on the drill size and minimum order quantity, Cobalt drills can cost
from 1.75 to 2.5 times more than normal HSS drills. A right compromise
between increased tool life and increased productivity has to be arrived at to
effectively balance the increased cost of the tools.

b) Coating of TiN on HSS tools

The next alternative in increasing productivity with HSS tools is to coat the drills
and cutters with materials like TiN (Titanium Nitride) by Physical Vapor
Deposition (PVD) or Chemical Vapor Deposition process. Advancement in
coating technology is bringing in other coatings like TiAN, TiCN, and CrN.

Such coatings considerably increase the wear resistance and lubricity at the
cutting point and facilitate use higher speeds and feeds and improve tool life.
TiN coated tools can easily be identified by the characteristic golden color
coating on HSS tools.

TiN coating can increase the cost of drills by 30 to 50% depending on size and
batch quantity and practically about 30-100% increase in drilling speeds can be
applied with coated drills. It should be noted that regrinding of drill point is going
to take away the coating at the cutting point. If the rake angle is retaining the
coating even after regrinding, to that extent, the coating remains useful, though
to a reduced extent.

It must be noted here that the quality of coating plays a very vital role in the
effectiveness of coating and it can vary considerably from supplier to supplier.
As a consequence, the benefits of coated HSS tools may also vary.

[Fig:5 Tin coated HSS drill]

So, we can conclude that HSS tools will continue to play their vital role in
manufacturing for more years to come. Total replacement of HSS by carbide
tools can only be a distant dream. It would be interesting to watch the future
scenario in technology as to how HSS tools are going to improve further to meet
the compelling demands on productivity.

References:

1) CMTI Machine tool Design Hand book – Mc Graw Hill publication

2) Cutting Tool materials of common use – Version 2 IIT Kharagpur