METAL CUTTING

Metal cutting is a common manufacturing process used to remove material from a metal
workpiece, typically in the form of chips.
● The two mechanisms of metal cutting are:
○ Orthogonal Cutting
○ Oblique Cutting

Orthogonal Cutting v/s Oblique Cutting

Orthogonal Cutting Oblique Cutting
Cutting edge of the tool makes an angle
Cutting edge of the tool is perpendicular to
1 1 other than right angle (90 ͦ) to the direction
the direction of the tool motion.
of tool motion.
The chip flows in the direction normal to the The chip makes an angle with normal to the
2 2
cutting edge. cutting edge.

Only two components of forces considered - Three components of forces considered -

3 3
cutting force and thrust force. cutting force, thrust force and radial force.

Forces can be represented in 2D coordinate Forces can be represented by 3D coordinate

4 4
system. system.

The shear force developed per unit area is

The shear force developed per unit area is
5 5 low and hence the heat developed is less
high which increases the heat developed.
and hence increased tool life.

SINGLE POINT CUTTING TOOL

Single Point Cutting Tool Multi Point Cutting Tool
More than one cutting point tip is
One cutting point or tip is available.
available.
e.g.: Lathe machine tool, Planing
E.g.: Milling Cutter, Grinding wheel, etc.
machine tool.
TOOL SIGNATURE
Tool signature is a standardized abbreviated system used for specifying tool angles.
o The seven elements that comprise the signature of a single point cutting tool are always
stated in the following order: (ASA)
1. Back rake angle (0°)
2. Side rake angle (7°)
3. End relief angle (6°)
4. Side relief angle (8°)
5. End cutting edge angle (15°)
6. Side cutting edge angle (16°) and
7. Nose radius (0.8 mm)
If a tool has shown by 2, 9, 5, 5, 9, 11, 3 it means
1. Back rake angle: 2°
2. Side rake angle: 9°
3. End relief angle: 5°
4. Side relief angle: 5°
5. End cutting edge angle: 9°
6. Side cutting edge angle: 11°
7. Nose radius: 3mm

Tool Geometry or Signature of a Single Point Cutting Tool

CUTTING TOOL MATERIAL
Properties of Cutting Tool
1. It should be harder than the work piece material.
2. High hot hardness temperature.
3. High toughness.
4. High wear resistance.
5. High thermal conductivity.
6. Low coefficient of friction.
7. Low cost.
8. Ease in fabrication.

Various Cutting Tool Materials

1. High Carbon Steel
2. High Speed Steel (H.S.S.)
3. Cemented Carbides
4. Cermets
5. Diamond
6. Ceramics and sintered oxides

TOOL LIFE
The actual machining time between two successive regrinds of a cutting tool is known as tool
life.
FACTORS AFFECTING TOOL LIFE
○ Cutting Speed
○ Cutting Temperature
○ Feed and Depth of Cut
○ Tool Geometry
○ Tool Material
○ Work piece Material
○ Nature and Cutting
○ Use of Cutting Fluids
○ Operator's Skill
TAYLOR’S TOOL LIFE EQUATION
V Tn =C
● V = Cutting speed (m/min)
● T = Tool life (minutes)
● n = a constant whose value depends upon the material of the cutting tool & job, called
tool life Index.
● C = a constant, called machining constant

MECHANISM OF CHIP FORMATION

When the tool comes in contact with the metal surface, elastic compression and then plastic
compression of the metal face in contact with the tool rake face takes place. This develops
shear and ultimately yielding or fracture starts. Finally, the deformed metal or chip flows over
the tool face and get removed. The chip will be removed and get further deformed due to
friction, depending upon the cutting conditions.
Types of Chips
Types of chips in metal cutting are as follows:

1. Continuous chips
2. Discontinuous or segmented chips
3. Continuous chips with built-up edge

Continuous chips
They are formed by continuous plastic deformation of the metal without fracture. Produced
while machining ductile material at normal cutting speeds with lower depth of cut.
The chips formed have same thickness throughout.

Discontinuous or segmented chips

The chips formed in a small segment or with breakage during cutting are known as
discontinuous or segmented chips. Discontinuous chips are formed by using brittle or hard
material in machining. The discontinuous chips are easily handled and disposed of.

Continuous chips with built-up edge

It has a built-up edge adhering on nose of the tool. It is obtained by machining ductile metals
with high-speed tools at ordinary cutting speeds, thus introducing high friction between the
chip and tool face.
LATHE
Principle: The job to be machined is held and rotated in a lathe chuck; a single point
cutting tool is advanced which is stationary against the rotating job. Since the cutting tool
material is harder than the work-piece, so metal is easily removed from the job.

LATHE TYPES
1. Speed lathe
2. Tool room lathe
3. Centre lathe or Engine Lathe
4. Bench lathe

LATHE PARTS
1. Lathe bed
2. Head stock
3. Tailstock
4. Carriage
5. Feed Mechanism
6. Gear Box
1. Lathe bed
It is the base or foundation of the lathe. It is heavy and single piece casting made to support
the working parts of the lathe. The headstock and tail stock are located at either end of the
bed and the carriage rests over the lathe bed and slide over it in guideways.
2. The Headstock
The headstock is permanently fastened on the inner ways at the left side of the bed. The
headstock spindle provides a drive from the motor to the work holding device. All lathes
receive their power with the help of a head stock.
3. The Tailstock
It is situated at the right-hand end of the bed and is mounted on the inner guide ways.
Use:
● It supports the other end of the work
● It hold a tool for performing operation such as drilling, reaming, tapping etc.
4. Carriage
The carriage controls and supports the cutting tool. By the help of this, tool moves away or
towards the headstock. It has following parts
 a. Saddle: It is mounted on the top of the bed so it slides along the ways between the
headstock and tailstock.
b. Cross Slide: It is mounted on the saddle.
c. Dovetail: It provides the cross movement (towards or away from the operator) to the
cutting tool.
d. Compound Rest: It is mounted on the top of the cross-slide and is used to support the
cutting tool.
e. Tool Post: It is mounted above the compound rest. It clamps the cutting tool or
cutting tool holder in a desired position.
f. Apron: It is fastened to the saddle and contains the feeding mechanism.
5. Feed Mechanism
The movement of the tool relative to the work is termed as "feed".
● A lathe tool may have three types of feed:
a) Longitudinal Feed: When the tool moves parallel to the work. i.e., towards or
away from the headstock.
b) Cross Feed: When the tool moves perpendicular to the work. i.e., towards or away
from the operator.
c) Angular Feed: When the tool moves at an angle to the work. It is obtained by
swivelling the compound slide.
● Lead screw is used for cutting of the threads in combination with the split nut. Split nut
(Half nut) ensures that carriage moves without any slippage.
● Feed Rod is used for powered longitudinal movement of the carriage and cross slide.
6. Gear box
The quick-change gear-box is placed below the headstock and contains a number of different
sized gears.

WORK HOLDING DEVICES USED IN LATHE MACHINE

The work holding devices are used to hold and rotate the workpieces along with the spindle.
They are
1. Chucks
2. Face plate
3. Driving plate
4. Catch plate
5. Carriers
6. Mandrels
7. Centres
8. Rests
1. Chucks
Workpieces of short length, large diameter and irregular shapes, which cannot be mounted
between centres, are held quickly and rigidly in chuck.
Types
○ Three Jaw self- centering chuck
○ Four Jaw Independent Chuck
○ Magnetic Chuck
○ Collet Chuck
a) Three Jaw self- centering chuck

The three jaws fitted in the three slots may be made to slide at the same time by an equal
amount by rotating any one of the three key hole by a chuck key. Suitable only for holding
and rotating regular shaped workpieces like round or hexagonal rods.

b) Four Jaw Independent Chuck

There are four jaws in this chuck. Each jaw is moved independently by rotating a screw with
the help of a chuck key. This can hold woks of irregular shapes. But it requires more time to
set the work aligned with the lathe axis.

c) Collet Chuck
Collet chuck has a cylindrical bushing known as collet. It is made of spring steel and has slots
cut lengthwise on its circumference. So, it holds the work with more grip. Collet chucks are
used in capstan lathes and automatic lathes for holding bar stock.

d) Magnetic Chuck
Workpieces made of magnetic material only are held in this chuck using electromagnet
placed in the chuck. Very small, thin and light works which cannot be held in an ordinary
chuck are held in this chuck

2. Face plate
Faceplate is used to hold large, heavy and irregular shaped workpieces which cannot be
conveniently held between centres. It is a circular disc bored out and threaded to fit to the
nose of the lathe spindle. It is provided with radial plain and ‘T’ – slots for holding the work
by bolts and clamps
3. Driving plate
The driving plate is used to drive a workpiece when it is held between centres. It is a circular
disc screwed to the nose of the lathe spindle. It is provided with small bolts or pins on its
face.

4. Catch plate
When a workpiece is held between centres, the catch plate is used to drive it. It is a circular
disc bored and threaded at the centre. Catch plates are designed with ‘U’ – slots or elliptical
slots to receive the bent tail of the carrier.

5. Carrier (Lathe Dogs)

When a workpiece is held and machined between centres, carriers are used to transmit the
driving force of the spindle to the work with the help of of driving plates and catch plates..
Carriers are of two types and they are:
o Straight tail carrier
o Bent tail carrier

6. Mandrel
Used to machine previously drilled or bored workpieces. The mandrel gets the drive through
carrier and a catch plate or a driving plate. The workpiece rotates along with the mandrel.
There are several types of mandrels and they are:
o Plain mandrel
 o Collar mandrel
o Step mandrel
o Cone mandrel
o Gang mandrel
o Expansion mandrel
7. Centres
Centres are useful in holding the work in a lathe between centres. The shank of a centre has
Morse taper on it and the face is conical in shape. There are two types of centres namely
o Live centre
o Dead centre

8. Rests
A rest is a mechanical device to support a long slender workpiece when it is turned between
centres or by a chuck. It is placed at some intermediate point to prevent the workpiece from
bending due to its own weight and vibrations setup due to the cutting force. There are two
different types of rests
o Follower rest
o Steady rest

SPEED, FEED AND DEPTH OF CUT

CUTTING SPEED
The cutting speed is the distance travelled by a point on the outer surface of the work in one
minute. It is expressed in meters per minute.

FEED
The feed of a cutting tool in a lathe work is the distance the tool advances for each revolution
of the work. Feed is expressed in millimetre per revolution.
DEPTH OF CUT
The depth of cut is the perpendicular distance measured from the machined surface to the
uncut surface of the workpiece. It is expressed in millimetre.

LATHE OPERATIONS
Various operations are performed in a lathe machine other than plain turning. These are: -
o Facing
o Turning
o Straight turning
a) Step turning
 b) Chamfering
o Grooving
o Forming
o Knurling
o Undercutting
o Taper turning
o Thread cutting
o Drilling
o Reaming
o Boring
o Tapping
FACING
Facing is the operation of machining the ends of a workpiece to produce flat surface square
with the axis. The operation involves feeding the tool perpendicular to the axis of rotation of
the work.

TURNING
Turning in a lathe is to remove excess material from the workpiece to produce a cylindrical
surface of required shape and size.
o Straight turning
The work is turned straight when it is made to rotate about the lathe axis and the tool is fed
parallel to the lathe axis. The straight turning produces a cylindrical surface by removing
excess metal from the workpieces.

○ Step turning
Step turning is the process of turning different surfaces having different diameters. The
work is held between centres and the tool is moved parallel to the axis of the lathe. It is
also called shoulder turning.

CHAMFERING
Chamfering is the operation of bevelling the extreme end of the workpiece. The form tool
used for taper turning may be used for this purpose. Chamfering is an essential operation after
thread cutting.
GROOVING
Grooving is the process of cutting a narrow groove on the cylindrical surface of the
workpiece. It is often done at end of a thread or adjacent to a shoulder to leave a small
margin. The groove may be square, radial or bevelled in shape.

FORMING
Forming is a process of turning a convex, concave or any irregular shape. For turning a small
length formed surface, a forming tool having cutting edges conforming to the shape required
is fed straight into the work.

KNURLING
Knurling is the process of embossing a diamond shaped pattern on the surface of the
workpiece. The knurling tool holder has one or two hardened steel rollers with edges of
required pattern. The tool holder is pressed against the rotating work. The rollers emboss the
required pattern. The tool holder is fed automatically to the required length.
The purpose of knurling is
o To provide an effective gripping surface
o To provide better appearance to the work
o To slightly increase the diameter of the work

UNDERCUTTING
It is a process of enlarging the diameter if done internally and reducing the diameter if done
externally over a short length. It is useful mainly to make fits perfect. Boring tools and
parting tools are used for this operation
Undercutting is done
○ At the end of a hole
○ Near the shoulder of stepped cylindrical surfaces
○ At the end of the threaded portion in bolts

THREAD CUTTING
The process of thread cutting is to produce a helical groove on a cylindrical surface by
feeding the tool longitudinally.
o Set up workpiece between centers.
o Ensure longitudinal feed matches thread pitch.
o Move carriage for feed via leadscrew.
o Establish gear ratio for feed and spindle rotation.
o Mount and align thread-cutting tool.
o Select spindle speed.
o Engage half nut lever with thread chasing dial.
o Adjust depth of cut.
o Disengage half nut lever when cut is complete.
o Return carriage to starting position and repeat.
o Verify thread accuracy with gauges.

DRILLING
● The process which is used to make a cylindrical hole in the work piece is called
DRILLING. It is done by a tool drill bit fixed it on the tail stock revolving against the
revolution of work piece.
BORING
The process in which material is removed from the inside of work piece is called BORING. It
is used to enlarge the inner diameter of the hole. It is done by using a tool called boring bar
along the axis of the work piece
REAMING
The process which is used to finish already drilled holes in the work piece is called
REAMING. It is also used to enlarge the drilled hole of the work piece. It is done by using a
tool called reamer fixing it on the tail stock like drilling but at low speed.

TAPER TURNING
A taper may be defined as a uniform increase or decrease in diameter of a piece of work
measured along its length.
Taper turning methods
1. Form tool method
2. Compound rest method
3. Tailstock set-over method
4. Taper turning attachment method
5. Combined feed method
1. Form tool method
A broad nose tool is ground to the required length and angle. It is set on the work by
providing feed to the cross-slide.
When the tool is fed into the work at right angles to the lathe axis, a tapered surface is
generated. This method is limited to turn short lengths of taper only. The length of the taper is
shorter than the length of the cutting edge.
Less feed is given as the entire cutting edge will be in contact with the work.

2. Compound rest method

The compound rest of the lathe is attached to a circular base graduated in degrees, which may
be swivelled and clamped at any desired angle. The angle of taper is calculated using the
formula
𝐷−𝑑
tan ∝ =
2𝑙
3. Tail stock set-over method
Turning taper by the set-over method is done by shifting the axis of rotation of the workpiece
at an angle to the lathe axis and feeding the tool parallel to the lathe axis.
The construction of tailstock is designed to have two parts namely the base and the body. The
base is fitted on the bed guideways and the body having the dead centre can be moved at
cross to shift the lathe axis.
The amount of set-over
LATHE SPECIFICATION
● A lathe is generally specified by:
1. Swing : The largest work diameter that can be swung for the lathe bed.
2. The distance between headstock and tailstock centres.
3. Bed length in meter.
4. The pitch of the lead screw.
5. Horse Power of the machine.
6. Speed Range
7. The weight of the machine in tonne.