Stochastic dynamics of metal cutting: Bifurcation phenomena in turning

A method for analysis of stochastic processes is presented which makes feasible the extraction of deterministic and random components of process dynamics directly from data. The method is applied to time series from metal cutting. Three regimes of turning are treated: (a) chatter-free cutting, (b) cutting accompanied by a strong, and (c) by a weak chatter. It is shown that the transition from chatter-free cutting to chatter exhibits some properties of the Hopf bifurcation from a stable fixed point to a stable limit cycle. Other possible applications of the method are mentioned. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.