The assessment of cutting tool wear

Flank wear of cutting tools is often selected as the tool life criterion because it determines the diametric accuracy of machining, its stability and reliability. This paper argues that the existing criteria of flank wear are insufficient for its proper characterization. Their existence is due to the lack of knowledge on the contact conditions at the tool flank-workpiece interface. Known attempts to evaluate the physical processes at this interface do not help to resolve this issue. This paper compares different characteristics of the evaluation of flank wear. The contact process at the mentioned interface is analyzed through the experimental assessment of the contact stresses, and the full validity of Makarow's law is confirmed, i.e. minimum tool wear occurs at the optimum cutting speed. A new concept of tool resources is proposed and discussed. This resource is defined as the limiting amount of energy that can be transmitted through the cutting wedge until it fails. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.