Development of a practical ultrasonic vibration cutting tool system

In this study, a combination of countermeasures to prevent the chipping of the edge of a cutting tool is investigated. This chipping usually occurs when difficult-to-cut materials such as hardened steels are cut by means of a conventional ultrasonic vibration cutting (UC) method. The authors consider that the chipping is caused by a collision between the flank of a cutting tool and the machined surface of a workpiece when the tool moves backwards thereby contacting the workpiece. As a first countermeasure they propose a new UC device which has more rigidity and stability than the previous one that they used, even when subjected to high cutting resistance. As an additional countermeasure, in addition to using the new UC device, an attempt to is made to perform a cutting operation in which the vibrational direction of the cutting tool is inclined from the principal cutting direction by 10-30 degrees toward the workpiece. It is found from the results that the chipping of the cutting edge can be effectively prevented and a good surface finish obtained by both continuous and intermittent cutting modes when cutting hardened steels. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.