The influence of rake angle, cutting feed and cutting depth on residual stresses in hard turning

Hard turning is replacing grinding as a method in the production of precision steel products. There are several reports from research works describing the effects on the residual stress and the improvement of the fatigue life of hard turned products. This paper describes how rake angle and cutting parameters affect the residual stresses in turning. Face turning with constant speed in AISI 52100 was used. Cutting feed and cutting depth were investigated, but the main focus was on rake angle influence. The residual stresses were measured using the X-ray diffraction method in both speed and feed direction. The material was etched down to a depth of 100 mum in order to monitor residual stresses in the whole of the affected depth. Altered cutting feeds and rake angle clearly produced significant changes in residual stresses. Results show that rake inclination had the strongest influence on the residual stresses. The compressive stresses become greater with increased feed rate. Different cutting depths did not generate different stress levels. The results show that it is possible to produce tailor-made residual stress levels by controlling the tool geometry and cutting parameters. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.