Modeling of tool wear during hard turning with self-propelled rotary tools

In this paper, an attempt is made to evaluate the self-propelled rotary carbide tool performance during machining hardened steel. Although several models were developed and used to evaluate the tool wear in conventional tools, there were no attempts in open literature for modeling the progress of tool wear when using the self-propelled rotary tools. Flank wear model for self-propelled rotary cutting tools is developed based on the work-tool geometric interaction and the empirical function. A set of cutting tests were carried out on the AISI 4340 steel with hardness of 54-56 HRC under different cutting speeds and feeds. The progress of tool wear was recorded under different interval of time. A genetic algorithm was developed to identify the constants in the proposed model. The comparison of measured and predicted flank wear showed that the developed model is capable of predicting the rate of rotary tool flank wear progression. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.