A study on ultrasonic vibration cutting of low alloy steel

High quality mirror surface machining of hard and brittle materials such as glass, ceramics, tungsten, Ni-based and Ti-based alloys has become more important in recent advanced technological applications; as these materials are widely used as aspheric shapes in optical and electronic devices, aerospace industries, household works etc. Much research has been conducted covering various cutting parameters to optimize machining conditions of such difficult-to-machine materials. Low alloy steel (DF2), a hardened steel, is a workhorse material in all industries, especially in chemical process industries due to its lower cost, good mechanical properties, weldability, and corrosion resistance at moderate temperatures. High quality surface finish is essential in most of the cases and this cannot be obtained by conventional turning (CT) process. Ultrasonic vibration cutting (UVC) has been applied to study the tool wear, cutting forces, chip formation and surface roughness under specified cutting conditions over a range. This paper investigates the effects of UVC in cutting of DF2 material, on abrasive wear and on the transition of low to high tool wear rate in the machining of the same material. Finally, it compares the UVC with CT in machining of DF2 for different cutting parameters. It is observed with photography that UVC process results in better surface finishes as compared to CT, and UVC requires lower cutting forces than in the CT process. It is also found that UVC has lower tool flank wear rate compared to CT under all cutting conditions.