Finite element analysis of chip breaker geometry in turning process

This article applied the rigid-plastic finite element software, DEFORM (TM)-3D, to investigate the cutting plastic deformation behavior of 6061 aluminum alloy. The main design contained a variety of different geometric types of chip breakers for turning tools. There were three kinds of geometries for chip breakers in our design: the first one is an ordinary cutting tools provided without chip breaker, the second one is a squared concave contour, and the last one is an elliptical concave contour. For the purposes of analyzing the equivalent stress, strain, temperature, and wear of cutting tools after machining, a series of simulations were performed according to the three different geometric chip breaker designs that operated under the same turning conditions. The results of simulation analysis could assist the engineers to confirm the applicability of finite element method for cutting 6061 aluminum alloy. The article found that the squared-type chip breaker generated the maximum wear at the chip breaker area, and the elliptic chip breaker induced homogeneous wear at the tip area.