Influence of cutting process mechanics on surface integrity and electrochemical behavior of OFHC copper

Superfinishing machining has a particular impact on cutting mechanics, surface integrity and local electrochemical behavior. In fact, material removal during this process induces geometrical, mechanical and micro-structural modifications in the machined surface and sub-surface. However, a conventional 3D cutting process is still complex to study in terms of analytical/numerical modeling and experimental process monitoring. So, researchers are wondering if a less intricate configuration such as orthogonal cutting would be able to provide information about surface integrity as close as possible to that one generated by a 3D cutting process. For that reason, in the present paper, two different machining configurations were compared: face turning and orthogonal cutting. The work material is oxygen free high conductivity copper (OFHC) and the cutting tools are uncoated cemented carbide. The research work was performed in three steps. In the first step, the process mechanics of superfinishing machining of OFHC copper was performed. In the second step, the surface integrity and the chemical behavior of the machined samples were analyzed. Finally, in the third step, correlations between input parameters and output measures were conducted using statistical techniques. Results show that when applying low ratios between the uncut chip thickness and the cutting edge radius, the surface integrity and cutting energy are highly affected by the ploughing phenomenon. Otherwise, the most relevant cutting parameter is the feed. In order to compare face turning with orthogonal cutting, a new geometrical parameter was introduced, which has a strong effect in the electrochemical behavior of the machined surface. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.