Modeling and simulation of tool wear during the cutting process

Experimental and analytic methods are still the main ways to investigate different cutting tool wear types. Numerous developments of numerical methods and simulations, associated to the existence of more and more powerful computer make possible tool wear studies using FEM. The main purpose of this work is to present a new approach to predict tool wear progression during cutting operation. In particular, an energy approach, linking the tool wear volume with the energy dissipated by friction is used. In addition, the interaction between residual stresses induced by cutting and the variation of tool geometry due to wear's mechanisms is investigated. In order to carry out this study, it is presented the experimental measurements of the wear of the tool, in particular the lost volume during the cut. Numerical simulation of orthogonal cutting operation using the commercial FEM code ABAQUS/Explicit is employed. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.