Investigation of Thermal Effects on Machining Chatter Using FEM Simulation of Chip Formation

Chatter vibration is a major cause of limitations in increasing material removal rate in machining. Machining chatter is caused by the interaction between tool and work-piece. Various nonlinear phenomena in the machining process affect the occurrence of chatter. Finite element simulation of chip formation allows for incorporation of various factors in the chip formation process. It can therefore be used to simulate the occurrence of chatter in practical conditions and to predict the conditions that lead to stable cutting. In this paper, a one degree of freedom dynamic model of the cutting tool is used to simulate the interaction of machining dynamics with the thermo-mechanical chip formation in orthogonal conditions. In this way, the effects of various phenomena such as friction, plastic deformation, heat generation and process damping on the occurrence of chatter may be investigated. In particular, the effect of heat rise in the cutting zone is investigated in this paper, which has not been reported in the literature before. It is shown how rising the temperature in the cutting zone can affect occurrence of chatter. Simulation results are presented and stability lobe diagram is obtained from simulation.