Research Article

Advances in Mechanical Engineering

2018, Vol. 10(1) 1–14
Ó The Author(s) 2018
The relationships between cutting DOI: 10.1177/1687814017750434
journals.sagepub.com/home/ade
parameters, tool wear, cutting force
and vibration

Xu Chuangwen, Dou Jianming, Chai Yuzhen, Li Huaiyuan,

Shi Zhicheng and Xu Jing

Abstract
To study the influences of processes factors on cutting force and vibration in cutting processes, milling tests were carried
out on 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel under different process conditions using a coated carbide end mill insert. The
cutting force and vibration acceleration signals were recorded, and the wear depth on the flank face of the tool was mea-
sured. This study observed tool wear morphology using a scanning electron microscope and investigated distributions of
surface elements on the damaged tools by energy spectrum analysis. Based on the revelations of tool wear mechanisms,
the influence of milling parameters and tool wear on cutting force and vibration were further investigated. The research
shows that oxidation, adhesion and diffusion wear mainly appear on the rake face, along with mechanical and thermal
cracking, while adhesive and diffusion wear occur on the flank face. Among process factors, tool wear and milling depth
significantly affect cutting force and vibration. Therefore, in actual machining processes, on the premise of meeting the
requirements for rigidity and surface roughness of a machine tool, properly increasing the cutting velocity and milling
depth can improve productivity and control cutting force and vibration.

Keywords
Coated carbide tool, wear mechanism, cutting parameter, cutting force, cutting vibration

Date received: 26 June 2017; accepted: 4 December 2017

Handling Editor: Davood Younesian

Introduction upon normal cutting processes, generate chatter marks

In a cutting process, many factors can lead to cutting
vibration. These factors include changes in the fric-
tional force between chips and tools and between tools
and workpieces, uneven hardness of metals within the
cutting layers, low installation rigidity of tools, poor
rigidity of workpieces, occasional appearance of built-up
edges and vibration due to selection of an inappropriate
cutting depth. When tools cut into workpieces, the
machined materials are deformed and become chips. This
process needs to overcome the resistance of machined
materials to elastic and plastic deformation and friction
forces of chips to the rake face and the flank face to tran-
sitional surfaces and machined surfaces, thereby forming
the cutting force. Cutting force and vibration can impinge
on machined surfaces and reduce the surface quality of
machined parts. Furthermore, they can also accelerate
tool wear and loosen connections between parts such as
machine tools and fixtures, thus influencing rigidity and
precision and shortening service life. In addition, noise
produced by vibration can pollute the environment,
Provincial Key Laboratory for Green Cutting Technology and Application
of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Technology, Lanzhou, China
Corresponding author:
Xu Chuangwen, Provincial Key Laboratory for Green Cutting Technology
and Application of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Technology,
Lanzhou 730050, Gansu, China.
Email: xuchuangwen@126.com

Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
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further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/
open-access-at-sage).
2 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
impair the health of operators and even influence cut-
ting processes. To decrease cutting forces and avoid
vibration or reduce its intensity, the cutting depth has
to be reduced sometimes, so that machine tools and
tools cannot reach their full performance, which limits
the cutting efficiency of some machine tools. Tool
wear, cutting force and vibration, as important factors
affecting machining quality and cutting efficiency of
machine tools, have been studied widely.1–5 In cutting
processes, there are many factors, such as the preci-
sion of machine tools, tool materials, geometric
angles, internal structures of workpieces, cutting para-
meters and environmental factors, influencing cutting
forces and vibration. Of them, machine tools, machin-
ing methods and workpiece and tool materials are
fixed factors, while cutting parameters and tool wear
are variable factors.6 After determining factors
including machine tools, workpieces and machining
methods, the main factors influencing cutting forces
and vibration are cutting factors and tool wear.
022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel is a material that is
typically difficult to machine. It exhibits a high tenacity
and thermal intensity, as well as a low thermal conduc-
tivity. Furthermore, it is liable to undergo significant
plastic deformation, severe work hardening and gener-
ates much heat during cutting, and the heat is hard to
be dissipated, so the tool tip operates at a high tem-
perature and chips are liable to adhere to the cutting
edges. As a result, built-up edges are easily produced.
In view of these situations, scholars across the world
have conducted tests on high-speed milling technologies
suitable for use on 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel and
the associated tool wear. Using the single-factor
method on the cutting velocity, Gao et al. explored the
influences of cutting velocity on the quality of
machined surfaces of austenitic stainless steel work-
pieces and cutting mechanisms of coated tools. They
also found that tool wear mainly occurs on the rake
face approaching the tip and adhesive wear is the domi-
nant wear mode.7 Zhou et al. conducted a high-speed
dry milling test using hard carbide tools. By employing
a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an energy
spectrum analyser, wear morphologies of tools and ele-
ment distributions on wear surface and wear edge were
observed and analysed, respectively. In addition, they
also revealed the main wear mechanisms of both the
rake and flank faces of the tool.8 Based on the analysis
of material characteristics, Zhang et al.9 investigated
the typical wear patterns and wear mechanisms of
blades in cutting processes and obtained relatively
superior tool materials, grades and cutting parameters
through the comparative testing of tool wear and dur-
ability. Using four coated carbide tools to cut austenitic
stainless steel 1Cr18Ni9Ti, Liu et al. studied the influ-
ences of cutting depth on cutting force and compared
the cutting forces of the four tools. They found that
when the cutting is performed with small feeds and
shallow back-cutting depths, the back force is larger
than the main cutting force.10 Using a kinetic equation,
Li et al. determined that four cutting parameters,
including spindle speed, axial cutting depth, feed rate
and radial cutting depth, are the main factors affecting
milling vibration according to each parameter in the
equation. Through orthogonal cutting tests, they sorted
the weights of each cutting parameter and their effect
upon milling vibration and concluded that cutting velo-
city is the principal factor affecting milling vibration.11
Altintas et al. analyse the factors affecting milling
vibration and determined that spindle speed and axial
cutting depth are major factors therein. Moreover, they
found the stability curve for milling controlled by these
two factors.12 Although scholars have carried out many
studies on wear mechanisms, cutting forces and vibra-
tion of efficient cutting tools for 022Cr17Ni12Mo2
stainless steel, they mainly focus on overall hard car-
bide tools while seldom studying the wear characteris-
tics and mechanisms governing the behaviour of coated
carbide inserts. Furthermore, the comprehensive influ-
encing characteristics of milling parameters and tool
wear on cutting force and vibration lack systemic
research. Using coated carbide end mill inserts to mill
022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel, this study further
investigates the influence of process factors on cutting
force and vibration on the basis of revealing tool wear
mechanisms. This provides theoretical and technical
support for those seeking to optimise process factors in
the machining of 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel.
Experimental conditions
Workpiece materials
Square blocks of 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel pro-
duced by Taigang Stainless Steel Co., Ltd, China, were
used in the experiment. The length, width and height
are 420, 320 and 100 mm, respectively. The chemical
composition of the cold-rolled steel is summarised in
Table 1. The main mechanical properties are as follows:
the tensile strength sb , yield strength s0:2 , section shrink-
age c, elastic modulus E and hardness are 607 MPa,
342 MPa, 68%, 200 GPa and 172 HB, respectively.
Tool materials and geometrical parameters
The coated carbide tool, with two teeth, was made in
Germany and was used to machine these 022Cr17
Ni12Mo2 stainless steel samples. The tool bar and
blade types are 90W25-3K13 and APMT 1135 PDER-
M B4025, separately. The geometrical parameters of
the blades are shown as follows: the rake angle,
Chuangwen et al.
Table 1. Composition of 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel.
C Si Mn Mo P S
0.024 0.53 1.23 2.17 0.03
Figure 1. The tool bar and blade.
clearance angle, edge inclination angle, front clearance
angle, auxiliary angle and tool nose radius were 14°40#,
11°, 4°39#, 16°, 5° and 0.5 mm, respectively. The dia-
meter of the tool used in the experiments is 16 mm.
Figure 1 illustrates the tool bar and blade used in the
experiment.
Cutting experiment
The cutting experiment was conducted on a computer
numerical control (CNC) milling machine (XKA714).
The milling velocity can be changed by changing
the spindle speed or tool diameter. In this experiment,
a different milling velocity is realised by changing the
spindle speed of CNC machine tool. In the experi-
ment, the Kistler 9255C three-directional dynamic
Figure 2. Milling and testing system.
3
Cr Ni Cu K
0.001 16.58 10.19 0.0344 0.03
piezoelectric dynamometer was used to measure
the milling forces in the x, y and z directions. Using
the DH5922N test system, vibration acceleration sig-
nals in the x, y and z directions were measured.
Furthermore, the wear morphology of the tool was
observed using the SEM (FEI Inspect F50) and the
ultra-depth microscope (Smartzoom 5). The distribu-
tion of surface elements on the damaged tool was stud-
ied using an energy spectrum analysis method. The test
systems for milling force and vibration acceleration are
shown in Figure 2. Side milling was carried out, with a
radial cutting width of 3 mm. The cutting force and
sampling frequency of acceleration signals were set to 1
and 10 kHz in these dry-cutting processes.
To reveal tool wear mechanisms and discuss the
effect of milling parameters and tool wear on the cut-
ting force and vibration, the experimental parameters
were set into two groups: the first group is summarised
in Table 2 and was mainly adopted for testing wear
mechanisms of the tool, tool wear patterns, the wear
itself, changes in cutting force with tool wear and
changes in cutting vibration with tool wear. The second
group is displayed in Table 3. Using an orthogonal
experimental method with four levels and three factors
(experimental variables cutting velocity v, feed per
4 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Table 2. Experimental parameters.

n (rev=min) v (m=min) f (mm=tooth) ap (mm) ae (mm)

1592 80 0.05 4 3

Table 3. Experimental parameters and data acquisition.

Group number VB (mm) v (m=min) f (mm=z) ap (mm) F (N) A (m=s2 ) (RMS)

1 0.09 50 0.05 4 656 1.8462

2 0.09 70 0.06 3 323 1.1219
3 0.09 90 0.07 2 210 0.9417
4 0.09 110 0.08 1 183 0.7709
5 0.15 50 0.06 2 149 1.3073
6 0.15 70 0.05 1 99 0.8453
7 0.15 90 0.08 4 135 1.8907
8 0.15 110 0.07 3 76 2.5796
9 0.25 50 0.07 1 127 1.0236
10 0.25 70 0.08 2 92 1.5192
11 0.25 90 0.05 3 137 2.8243
12 0.25 110 0.06 4 150 3.6365
13 0.35 50 0.08 3 184 2.9786
14 0.35 70 0.07 4 200 3.6381
15 0.35 90 0.06 1 95 1.6680
16 0.35 110 0.05 2 97 2.6368

RMS: root mean square.

tooth f ,cutting depth ap and tool wear VB), the para-
meters were set to investigate the influences of process
factors on cutting force and vibration.
The wear on the tools was measured using the fol-
lowing procedure:
1. The tool shank and positions of tool bits 1 and
2 were marked. A black spot was marked where
the generatrix of the shank was vertical to the
normal of the primary tool flank. An infrared
(IR) emitter was fixed onto the Smartzoom 5 so
that IR ray emitted was parallel to the normal
of the primary tool flank and coincided with the
black spot (Figure 3(a) and (b)).
2. To guarantee that different tools were in the
same position under the lens, a white rectangu-
lar block was pasted onto the display screen.
During each observation process, the end of the
tool bit was checked to ensure that it coincided
with the block (Figure 3(c)).
3. To ensure the same measuring position was
used, the coordinate system in the Smartzoom 5
was employed (the coordinate system was deter-
mined according to special points in the tool
image taken before wear was incurred). The tool
nose was taken as the origin. A distance equal
to two-thirds of the cutting depth used in the
experiment was measured along the blade line.
Then, the horizontal and vertical coordinates of
the point corresponding to this two-thirds depth
were ascertained. The straight line passing
through this horizontal coordinate was
employed as the line used to monitor the tool
wear. Clearly, the tool nose could not be
determined once the tool had started to wear.
Therefore, the tool root was used as the stan-
dard location to which the relative amount of
tool wear was recorded. Subsequently, all
the coordinates used were recorded and used to
calculate the degree of tool wear (Figure 3(d)
and (e)).
4. Pictures were taken of the tools after putting
them into the set reference position. Using the
coordinates determined before wear started, the
wear-monitoring line could be obtained from
the tool image. The initial wear point on the
line was manually moved to the bottom edge of
the tool wear area and the vertical coordinate
recorded. The extent of tool wear could then
be acquired by finding the difference between
the vertical coordinates before and after the
movement. Finally, the data were recorded
(Figure 3(f)).
5. The extent of tool wear grows with time (i.e. the
wear value measured each time is larger than
that previously measured). Thus, any decline in
Chuangwen et al.
Figure 3. The tool wear measurement: (a) place tool, (b) aim, (c) coincidence, (d) abscissa position, (e) ordinate position and (f)
record data.
the extent of wear suggests that errors are pres-
ent in the experimental results (this may be
caused by various uncertain factors, for exam-
ple, local non-uniformity in the tool texture
and inaccurate monitoring of the wear line).
Therefore, the whole of the wear area was ana-
lysed macroscopically during data acquisition
to help eliminate (as far as possible) the effects
of accidental factors on the experimental data.
In addition, measurements were conducted
three times in order to avoid errors during the
measurement process. These measurements
were then averaged and the mean is taken as the
extent of wear of the tool flank.
Experimental results and analysis
Tool wear mechanisms
SEM images of rake face of the tool after 82 min of the
milling are illustrated in Figure 4, while Figure 5 shows
the energy spectra of points B, C, D and E in Figure 4
and point E represents the original component of the
tool coating. As shown in Figure 4, wear morphologies,
such as adhesive wear (Figure 4(f)), oxidation wear
(Figure 4(a) and (d)), diffusion wear (Figure 4(a)
and (d)), mechanical cracking and thermal cracking
(Figure 4(c)), appear on the rake face. 022Cr17Ni
12Mo2 stainless steel is characterised by its good high-
temperature strength, a large friction coefficient, a low
thermal conductivity, a small tool–chip interface and
work hardening. Therefore, in any milling process, both
5
large cutting forces and high cutting temperature, are
found on the tool–workpiece interface. The mechanical
stresses are generated due to mutual friction between
surfaces of the tool and workpiece cause coatings on
tool surfaces to generate cracks and cause a loss of
cohesion between coating and matrix materials, thus
leading to coating stripping. Furthermore, as milling is
a discontinuous cutting process, mechanical and ther-
mal cracks are produced owing to cutting edges being
affected by cutting forces and temperature changes, as
demonstrated by data from point A in Figure 4. By
analysing Figure 5(a) and (b) and comparing the energy
spectra and elemental compositions at points B and C
with the original composition of the tool coatings at
point E, oxygen is found in wear area of the rake face
of the tool and in the marginal wear area. The reason is
that milling is a discontinuous cutting process and air
readily permeates the interface between any chips and
the rake face of the tool to oxidise tool materials at the
high temperatures typically found in such milling pro-
cesses. For example, tool matrices with W and Co are
oxidised to generate oxides, such as WO3 and CoO.
Furthermore, owing to oxides of hard carbide tool
materials being soft and loose, the materials easily fall
off and are damaged by friction between chips and
workpiece materials under mechanical impact during
cutting. Afterwards, the materials are reoxidised and
then rubbed constantly. The repetition of the process
results in oxidation wear on the rake face of the tool.8
In milling process, with the constant relative movement
between workpiece materials and tools, the flow of
chips on the rake face maintains a high concentration
6 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 4. SEM images of rake face: (a) oxidation and diffusion wear, (b) distribution graph, (c) mechanical and thermal cracking, (d)
oxidation and diffusion wear, (e) original component of the tool coating and (f) adhesive wear.

Figure 5. EDS plots of points in Figure 3: (a) location of point B, (b) location of point C, (c) location of point D and (d) location of
point E.
Chuangwen et al.
gradient of tool elements in the interface between tool
and chips. Moreover, the chemical elements on fric-
tional surfaces of tools and workpieces can diffuse into
each other and thereby change their relative chemical
compositions. As a result, it weakens the material prop-
erties of the tool, accelerates tool wear and produces
diffusion wear.13 As shown in Figure 5(a) and (b),
under the effects of high temperature and the concen-
tration gradient in the area of the cutting edge at points
B and C, the elements between the tool materials and
the chip materials diffuse mutually. This leads to the
diffusion of elements including Ti, Al, Fe, Co and W in
the tool materials to the bottom of the chips. This
causes diffusion wear on the rake face of the tool, which
not only reduces the hardness and tenacity of tool mate-
rials but also accelerates the wear of the rake face of the
tool.14 In addition, chemical reactions occur between
some elements in tool materials and some surrounding
media to generate different oxidation films and adhe-
sion films at certain temperatures during cutting. Some
films play a protective role in preventing further oxida-
tion, while others form soft compounds, making hard
phase particles in tool materials more easily removed,
thus weakening the material properties of the tool and
aggravating tool wear. As shown in Figure 5(c), a large
amount of Cr, Fe and Ni was found at point D, and the
components are basically consistent with workpiece
materials. This is because, at high temperature and
pressures, chips undergo plastic deformation and
Figure 6. SEM images of flank face: (a) adhesive wear, (b) distribution graph, (c) mechanical and thermal cracking, (d) diffusion wear,
(e) original component of the tool coating and (f) diffusion wear.
7
adhere to the rake face in the vicinity of the cutting
edge. They form bonding layers and further develop
into built-up edges which serve as cutting edges. After
adhesive materials gradually accumulate to a certain
degree, the bonding layers fall off and remove some
tool materials under the large alternating stresses gener-
ated due to discontinuous cutting. With the constant
relative movement of chips, workpiece materials and
the tool, elements in tool materials diffuse into, and are
taken away by, chips and workpiece materials, resulting
in adhesive wear on the rake face of the tool.15,16
Figure 6 illustrates SEM images of the flank face of
the tool, while Figure 7 shows the energy spectra of
points B, C, D and E. It can be seen from Figure 6 that
wear morphologies, such as adhesive wear (Figure 6(a))
and diffusion wear (Figure 6(d) and (f)), are present on
the flank face and the shedding in patches of bonding
layers accelerates tool wear. The ablation phenomenon
appears on coatings near such wear positions. The
flank face mainly exerts its effect on the workpiece
through extrusion and friction, which do less work
compared with shear action. Therefore, the tempera-
ture of the interface of the flank face and workpieces is
lower than that at the rake face and thus does not show
obvious thermal cracking. As shown in Figure 7(a), a
significant amount of Cr, Fe and Ni was found at point
B where the elemental components are basically consis-
tent with those of 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel.
Moreover, owing to Co in the tool materials belonging
8 Advances in Mechanical Engineering
Figure 7. EDS plots of points in Figure 5: (a) location of point B, (b) location of point C, (c) location of point D and (d) location of
point E.
to the iron family, just as the Fe and Ni in workpiece
materials, these elements show high chemical affinity
and are easily bonded. In addition, cutting heat and
compressive stresses caused by the temperature gradi-
ent are generated when the tool cuts into the workpiece
during milling, bind the tool and workpiece at high
temperatures and pressures, thus causing adhesive
wear.14 Co and W are the main elements found at point
C in Figure 7(b), indicating that coatings fall off thus
exposing the matrix materials of the tool. In the milling
process, a concentration gradient develops across tool–
workpiece interface, as seen at point D in Figure 7(c),
which also results in the diffusion of elements in tool
metals to the workpiece materials, thus causing diffu-
sion wear on the flank face of the tool. The results of
energy spectrum analysis at point D indicate that the
contents of Cr and Fe are only 5.79% and 18.59%,
while elements such as Ti, Al and Co account for even
smaller proportions. The loss of Co is mainly caused
by the combined effects of diffusion and bonding.16
On one hand, Co, in this form, has a strong mobi-
lity, so it easily diffuses during the milling process under
the effects of temperature and concentration gradient.
On the other hand, owing to Co, just like Fe and Ni,
belonging to the same family, they have high chemical
affinity and Co is easily bonded and removed; however,
in the milling process, the flank face shows significantly
lower milling temperatures than the rake face and a far
smaller diffusion coefficient on its tool–workpiece inter-
face than on its tool–chip interface.15 Therefore, the
amount of wear of the flank face of the tool is smaller
than that suffered by the rake face.
Tool wear patterns
The wear patterns of the tool are mainly shown as
wear on the rake face and flank face as well as at
its boundary. Owing to complex cutting process, mul-
tiple wear patterns can appear at the same time.
022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel is a material that is dif-
ficult to machine. In a cutting process, significant fric-
tion occurs between the rake face of the tool and chips,
as well as between the major flank face and machined
surfaces, producing very high contact pressures and
temperatures as well as wear on the major rake face
and major flank face on the boundaries of the tool.
The change in wear depth VB with cutting time T is
shown in Figure 8. It can be seen from the changes that
tool wear in milling process can be divided into an ini-
tial wear stage, a normal wear stage and a severe wear
Chuangwen et al.
Figure 8. The change rule of tool wear.
Figure 9. Variation of cutting force with cutting time.
stage. In the initial wear stage (0–10 min), due to large
surface roughness of the tool or poor resistance to wear
of surface structures of the tool, the tool is rapidly
worn in a short time at the beginning of cutting. When
the wear depth slowly increases from 0.15 to 0.40 mm
at a small wear rate, the wear enters its normal wear
stage (10–60 min). In this stage, owing to uneven sur-
faces being present, those surfaces with poor wear resis-
tance are abraded, the working pressures on tool
surfaces are reduced and become uniform. Therefore,
the tool is worn slowly, and the stage marks the effec-
tive machining time of the tool. Afterwards, in the
severe wear stage, the friction force increases and cut-
ting temperature rises, both of which wear, or burn, the
tool, thus resulting in a loss of cutting force and signifi-
cantly increasing the wear depth of the flank face.
Changes in cutting force with tool wear
Figure 9 demonstrates the changes in cutting force F
with cutting time T in the machining process. In the ini-
tial wear stage, the tool is relatively sharp and produces
9
a small cutting force. Moreover, Fx and Fy are basically
unchanged, while Fz decreases slightly, because micro-
scopic rough surfaces of the tool are gradually smooth-
ened herein. The milling force in the y direction in the
normal wear stage increases slowly and shows a similar
trend to that exhibited by the tool wear. After entering
the severe wear stage, the cutting force increases rap-
idly. According to Figure 9, the cutting force in the y
direction is the greatest and changes most significantly
in the cutting process: fluctuations of cutting force and
vibration in the y direction are the largest, while those
in the z direction are the smallest. This is because the y
direction is the direction of action of the main cutting
force and the tool bears the maximum feed resistance in
that direction during the cutting process. Furthermore,
different teeth are affected by elastic recovery, work-
piece friction and impact from workpiece materials in
the discontinuous cutting process, exhibiting periodic
directional fluctuations and a general, quasi-sinusoidal,
trend. End milling is used in the x direction and the full
width of the tool is involved in the cutting process.
Therefore, whether it is under the effects of elastic
10 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Figure 10. Cutting amplitude of vibration with cutting time.

Table 4. The effects of averaging method and variance analysis on cutting force.

Signal classification Influence factor

Tool wear Cutting velocity Feed Milling depth

Cutting force Level 1 343 279 247 285

Level 2 115 179 179 180
Level 3 127 144 153 137
Level 4 144 127 149 126
Range 228 152 98 159
F-test 11.3479 4.5195 2.0166 5.1358
p-test 0.0382 0.1236 0.2896 0.1061

recovery of workpieces, tool–workpiece impacts or the
tool cutting into the workpieces, the cutting force in the
x direction shows periodic fluctuations and the result-
ing vibration of the workpieces is lower than that in the
y direction. The cutting force in the z direction acts in
the same direction as on workpieces resisting the tool
and it undergoes small, continuous, fluctuations. The
tool wear is a slow process of change. The average cut-
ting force can reflect the change trend of tool wear pro-
cess. Based on the above analyses, the cutting force in
milling process changes periodically and the commonly
used data processing methods which include the aver-
age and the maximum cutting force methods. The latter
can conveniently process data and reflect changes in
each cutting force component, but cannot present the
changes and trends in the joint forces. Therefore, the
average cutting force method was used in this study.
For convenience, the average cutting force is herein-
after referred to as the cutting force.
Changes in cutting vibration with tool wear
Figure 10 demonstrates the changes in the root-mean-
square value of vibration acceleration signals with wear
depth of the flank face of the tool and time in this
cutting process: in the initial wear stage, vibration
amplitudes fluctuate slightly and show a slight decrease
and then a rapid increase. In the stable wear stage, due
to the high rigidity of the process system in the z direc-
tion, Az shows a small vibration amplitude and slight
fluctuation, being very stable. While Ax and Ay slowly
increase from about 1–3 m/s2. After that, vibration
amplitudes increase rapidly and fluctuate more widely,
so the tool enters its severe wear stage.
Influences of process factors on cutting force and
vibration
Effects of milling parameters on cutting force. Table 4 shows
the results of averaging method and variance analysis
on cutting force F using the experimental data in
Table 3.
Figure 11 shows the main effects of the mean ampli-
tude of cutting force signals: within the given range of
cutting parameters, with the increase in the cutting
velocity, the milling force gradually decreases, mainly
because built-up edges are easily produced when cutting
at medium and low speeds, resulting in unstable cutting
processes and large cutting forces. With increasing cut-
ting velocity, the cutting temperature gradually rises, so
Chuangwen et al.
Figure 11. The main effects of the mean amplitude of cutting force signals: (a) main effects of milling speed, (b) main effects of feed
speed, (c) main effects of cutting depth and (d) main effects of wear.
that softening occurs in materials and the cutting force
decreases. Therefore, in actual machining work, the
cutting force can be reduced by increasing the cutting
velocity. In comparison, the feed rate exerts a small
effect on the milling force: milling forces decrease
slightly with increased feed rate. Although the increased
feed rate can enlarge the cutting area and increase
deformation resistance, it can increase the cutting
width, reduce deformation and result in a lower friction
coefficient, thus improving the flow of chips, and thus
decreasing the milling force (Figure 11(b)).8 The milling
depth significantly affects the cutting force: with con-
stant increases in milling depth, the cutting force gradu-
ally increases because the increased cutting depth
directly enlarges the cutting area, thus increasing the
overall deformation resistance; thereafter, the cutting
force increases with cutting depth (Figure 11(c)).
Effects of tool wear on milling force. It can be seen from
Figure 11(d) that the milling force first decreases and
then gradually increases with the constant increase in
the tool wear. When tool wear depth VB increases from
0.05 to 0.15 mm, the milling force decreases rapidly,
indicating that some burrs and irregular asperities on
the tool surface are worn, causing uneven surfaces
appearing on the tool after wearing of the tool edge and
a small contact area being developed between it and the
workpiece. Moreover, the stresses are concentrated and
the edge is sharp. After undergoing initial wear, the
rough surface of the tool is smoothened and thereby
11
pressures decrease. As a result, the wear is uniform and
slow, and the cutting process is stable, which is reflected
by decreasing changes in milling force. When entering
the severe wear stage (after the tool wear reaches a cer-
tain level), the tool is worn and soon becomes blunted,
thus reducing its cutting ability and increasing the cut-
ting force thereon. To investigate the significance of the
influences of experimental factors on experimental
indices, range and variance, analyses are conducted.
According to the range analysis results of the mean
value of the cutting force signals, the maximum ranges
of wear degree, spindle speed, feed rate and cutting
depth for cutting force signals are 228, 152, 98 and 159,
respectively. The influences of these four factors on cut-
ting force are ranked from large to small as follows:
tool wear VB, milling depth ap , cutting velocity v and
feed f . In accordance with the F-values in Table 4, the
results of variance analysis of milling force mean are
checked by F-test, tool wear VB most significantly
affects cutting force, milling depth ap has a significant
influence, while the effects of cutting velocity v and feed
f on the cutting force are insignificant. In an actual
machining process, tool wear is a dynamic process and
cannot be controlled in real time; however, in modern
CNC machining, the tool states are recognised by ana-
lysing the changes in the cutting force signals. Although
reducing milling depth can reduce the cutting force to
some extent, it can reduce productivity. Therefore, on
the premise of meeting requirements for rigidity and
surface roughness of the machine tool in actual
12 Advances in Mechanical Engineering

Table 5. The effects of averaging method and variance analysis on vibration acceleration signals.

Signal classification Influence factor

Tool wear Cutting velocity Feed Milling depth

Acceleration Level 1 1.1702 1.7889 2.0382 2.7529

signals
Level 2 1.6557 1.7811 1.9334 2.3761
Level 3 2.2509 1.8312 2.0458 1.6013
Level 4 2.7304 2.4059 1.7899 1.0770
Range 1.5602 0.6248 0.2559 1.6759
F-test 10.0671 1.9962 0.3094 12.3471
p-test 0.0448 0.2923 0.8195 0.0340

Figure 12. The main effects of the mean amplitude of acceleration signals: (a) main effects of milling speed, (b) main effects of feed
speed, (c) main effects of cutting depth and (d) main effects of wear.

machining, productivity and inhibit cutting force can be
enhanced by increasing both the cutting velocity and
feed rate.
Effects of milling parameters on milling vibration. Table 5
shows the results of the averaging method and variance
analysis as applied to the vibration acceleration signals
and their root-mean-square values.
As shown in Figure 12(a), the milling vibration first
decreases and then increases with rising cutting velocity
within the given range of cutting parameters. This is
mainly because built-up edges are easily formed during
medium- and low-speed cutting, resulting in unstable
cutting and severe cutting vibration. After the cutting
velocity increases to 60 m/min, the cutting temperature
gradually rises with increasing milling velocity, which
softens the materials and reduces the cutting force, thus
decreasing the cutting vibration.17 However, when the
cutting velocity is greater than 90 m/min, the vibration
is aggravated due to the decrease in the rigidity of the
high-speed cutting machine tool.18 Therefore, cutting
vibration can be reduced by properly increasing the cut-
ting velocity in actual machining work. Furthermore,
the feed rate has a small effect on the milling vibrations.
As the feed rate increases, milling vibration decreases
slightly. Although the increased feed rate can enlarge
the cutting area and increase the deformation resis-
tance, it can increase the cutting width, reduce deforma-
tion, cause a decrease in the friction coefficient,
improve chip flow and decrease the dynamic cutting
force, thereby reducing milling vibration (Figure 12(b)).
Milling depth exerts obvious influences on cutting
vibration: with the constant increase in the milling
depth, cutting vibration first increases in intensity
because, at very small milling depths, the milling tool
Chuangwen et al. 13

edge finds it hard to cut into materials and significant tool wear while adhesive wear and diffusion
rubbing occurs between the tool edge and the work- wear mainly appear on the flank face. In the
piece surface, which greatly affects the stability of cut- milling process, the milling temperature of
ting process. As the milling depth constantly increases, the flank face is significantly lower than that of
the cutting force also increases continuously, thus the rake face, and the diffusion coefficient
increasing any cutting vibrations (Figure 12(c)). across the tool–workpiece interface is much
smaller than that across the tool–chip interface.
Therefore, the flank face is slightly less worn
Influences of tool wear on milling vibration. As shown in
than the rake face of the tool.
Figure 12(d), milling vibration constantly increases with
2. The wear patterns of the tool are mainly shown
tool wear. Tool wear, in different stages, exerts different
as wear of the rake and flank faces as well as at
effects on cutting vibration and the trends therein are
the boundaries. The tool wear in this milling
similar to those exhibited by the tool wear process.
process can be divided into an initial wear stage,
When the tool wear depth VB increases from 0.05 to
a normal wear stage and a severe wear stage.
0.15 mm, milling vibrations are intensified. This indi-
The tool is worn rapidly in the initial and nor-
cates that, in the initial wear stage, although cutting
mal wear stages, while wear depths increase sig-
force shows a decreasing trend, the severe wear of burrs
nificantly in the severe wear stage.
and irregular asperities on the surface of the tool gener-
3. In the cutting process, the cutting force is the
ates significant vibration of the system. After the initial
greatest, and changes most significantly, in the y
wear stage, the rough tool surface is smoothened and
direction. Moreover, it increases with tool wear
the pressures thereon are reduced. Moreover, the tool is
and shows similar trends to those exhibited by
worn uniformly and slowly, and the cutting process is
the tool wear. Vibration amplitudes fluctuate
relatively stable, which is reflected by the decreasing
slightly in the initial wear stage, then slowly
changes in milling vibration. When entering the severe
increase in the stable wear stage and dramati-
wear stage, the tool is rapidly worn and blunted, result-
cally increase, with more significant fluctuations
ing in a reducing cutting capacity and increasing cutting
seen, in the severe wear stage.
force and vibration. According to the range analysis
4. Process factors including tool wear, milling
results of the mean value of the vibration acceleration
depth, cutting velocity and feed rate have des-
signals, the maximum ranges of wear degree, spindle
cending effects on cutting force, while they are
speed, feed rate and cutting depth for vibration accel-
arranged (in decreasing order) as follows:
eration signals are 1.5602, 0.6248, 0.2559 and 1.6759,
milling depth, tool wear, cutting velocity and
respectively. Among these four influencing factors, the
feed rate in terms of their influences on vibra-
milling depth ap , tool wear VB, cutting velocity v and
tion amplitude. On the premise of meeting the
feed f successively present large to small effects on the
requirements of the rigidity and surface rough-
vibration amplitude. In accordance with the F-values in
ness of machine tools in actual machining oper-
Table 5, tool wear VB and milling depth ap exert signifi-
ations, productivity can be improved and the
cant influences on the milling vibration. Therefore, on
cutting force and vibration can be controlled by
the premise of meeting the requirements for the rigidity
properly increasing both the cutting velocity
and surface roughness of machine tools in actual
and milling depth.
machining operations, one can improve productivity
and reduce the cutting force by properly increasing
both the cutting velocity and feed rate. Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with
respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
Conclusion
article.
Through cutting experiments using a coated hard car-
bide end mill to mill 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel, Funding
the following conclusions are drawn:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial sup-
port for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this
1. When the 022Cr17Ni12Mo2 stainless steel is article: This project was supported by The National Natural
milled using the coated hard carbide end mill, Science Foundation of China (grant no. 51465029). The
the rake face is mainly subjected to adhesive, authors thank Gansu Province University Collaborative
oxidative and diffusive wear, along with Innovation Team Construction Plan for their support (grant
mechanical and thermal cracking and the flak- no. 2016C-07) and the fund for Lanzhou Talent Innovation
ing of bonding layers, all of which accelerate and Entrepreneurship (project grant no. 2015-RC-4).
14
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