The influence of tool micro-geometry on stress distribution in turning operations of AISI 4140 by FE analysis

The aim of this paper is to gain a better understanding of the impact different micro-geometries has on stress distribution in cutting tools. Both principal and effective stress distribution are studied. These quantities have a major impact on the occurrence of damages in the cutting tool such as crack formation, flaking, chipping, breakage and plastic deformation. The development of a stagnation zone is also investigated as well as the effect tool micro-geometries have on this zone. A finite element model is developed which enables the examination of these aspects, in detail. It was found that the model predicted these metal cutting phenomena with high accuracy. Cutting forces is within the standard deviation of experimental results. The experimental results also indicate that the stress distributions and the stagnation zone have been simulated correctly. This study has shown that the micro-geometries of the cutting tool have a great potential in reducing the maximal tensile/principal stress. This research work has also shown that the size of the stagnation zone can be controlled by micro-geometries on the cutting tool, which in turn can have an effect on the wear on the cutting edge.