Process Optimization of Finish Turning of Hardened Steels

Abstract

Process planning and optimization is crucial to help establish the economic and quality viability of hard turning processes with the presence of a wide spectrum of tooling and process parameters. A systematic methodology is discussed in this paper to design the optimal tool geometry and cutting conditions for hard turning, incorporating the consideration of part finish, tool wear, and material removal rate. Experimental demonstration of the optimization scheme is presented at two levels: the first level is to validate the process prediction results and the second is to validate the optimization results. Hardened AISI 1053 steel was selected as the workpiece material in this study and its material property related parameters, including the Johnson–Cook constants and wear coefficients, were determined based on the machining tests. It is seen that the cutting force and tool wear progression agrees well with the predictions from 3-D oblique cutting model, and the machined surface roughness can be predicted with a surface kinematic model incorporating the plowing effect. The experimental results also showed that the process configuration as derived from the analytical optimization procedure lends itself to superior results in comparison to other experimental results under non-optimal configurations.

Keywords:

• Finish hard turning
• Material removal rate
• Process planning
• Surface roughness
• Tool wear