Abstract
In any cutting process, plastic deformation involved in chip formation and
friction between the tool and the workpiece produces heat by the conversion of
mechanical energy. A portion of this heat conducts into the tool and results in high
temperatures near the cutting edge. As the temperature increases, the tool becomes
softer and wears more rapidly, thus having a negative impact on tool life. In many
cutting processes, tool life, or tool wear, is the major limitation to the process
viability. Increased temperature also affects the dimensional accuracy of the products
and machining efficiency. Because of these considerations, it is crucial to be
able to predict accurately the tool temperature.
Cutting temperatures have been studied widely for a number of years. Most
research, however, has been restricted to steady state temperatures in relatively
simple processes, such as orthogonal cutting or cylindrical turning, in which the
cutting speed, feed rate, and the depth of cut are constant [1^3, 17, 21, 24]. In most
industrial machining processes, however, these parameters vary with time so that
a steady state temperature assumption may not be valid.