Deformation characteristics in micro-cutting of single crystal copper: effect of cutting tool geometry and friction

The micro cutting process differs significantly from its counter partner - the macro-cutting process - due to the fact that the uncut chip thickness is comparable with the crystal size of the workpiece and the cutting edge radius. In this study, the effects of cutting tool geometry including its nose radius and rake angle as well as its frictional behavior against the workpiece on the deformation characteristics of the single crystal were investigated extensively. To this end, a three-dimensional hybrid finite-element smoothed particle hydrodynamics model of micro-cutting of face centered cubic copper was developed, where its behavior was simulated using a crystal-plasticity theory, implemented through a VUMAT Fortran subroutine in ABAQUS/Explicit. The model was verified using the experimentally obtained specific cutting energy, available in the literature. The total shear strain accumulated on all slip systems, the individual contributions of different slip systems, the shear angle, the ploughing force and maximum principal stress were evaluated for the varying parameters mentioned above.