Evaluation of vibration-induced textures on hard turning of a tool steel

Abstract

Creating designed surface textures is a recent aim in the industry. There is some demand about using surfaces that may provide different optimization possibilities for the performance of the part, as long fatigue life, high wear resistance, low friction, and better cooling. Several processes are nowadays employed on obtaining textured surfaces, like grinding, milling, and even vibration-assisted machining. Anyway, every machining operation is intrinsically subjected to vibrations, especially regarding the feedback vibration phenomenon by the system, which is called chatter. This auto excited vibration is usually faced as harmful to tool life and the quality of the machined surface; however, as well as on vibration-assisted machining, it may be supposed that it could bring benefits by creating textured surfaces, eliminating the necessity for an external source of vibration. This present work aims to study and characterize an unusual surface obtained on hard turning without cutting fluid during a former study that was held on the research group in which it is inserted, so that, finally, it can be reproduced in different conditions. Using hard turning for manufacturing textured surfaces is a possibility still not well explored which may bring great advances on the surface integrity of the components. (AU)