Tool wear assessment of turning operation by 2D finite-element simulation

Tool wear is a critical problem in industrial manufacturing. When tool wear reaches a certain value, it causes a change in tool geometry. This directly affects chip formation, cutting force, temperature distribution, machining quality and so on. Therefore, prediction of tool wear is of great importance for optimizing the cutting process. Numerical analysis is a powerful method to predicting cutting variables that are difficult to obtain by experimental method. In this paper, the effect of different tool rake angle values on tool wear rate is investigated. A two-dimensional (2D) finite-element simulation is presented for chip formation analysis considering thermal effects. Boundary conditions are defined as stationary for the workpiece and axial velocity to the tool at the cutting direction. Different models are analyzed by changing the tool geometry, and the results of the tool wear are discussed. It is shown that wear rate decreases ten times with the negative rake angle. However, increase in clearance angle causes increase in wear rate.