CHIP DISPOSAL

PURPOSE:To eliminate damage of a tool due to winding of chips or injury of the surface of a work by vibrating an electrode in a method of fine cutting chips, produced by cutting, by carrying current in between chips and the electrode. CONSTITUTION:Cutting chips 4 occurs in cutting a work 1 with a cemented carbide tip 3 fixed in a tip holder 2. A vibrating device 5 containing a piezoelectric element is installed on the tip holder 2 through an insulating material. An electrode 7 is fixed at one end of the vibrating device 5. Accordingly, when voltage applied to the vibrating device from a vibration power supply 8 is varied, the piezoelectric element within the device extends and contracts, so that the electrode 7 fixed in the vibrating device is vibrated. Consequently, the state of a cutting chip being in contact with the electrode 7 and the state of a cutting chip being separated from the electrode 7 occur alternately. Arc discharge thus appears immediately before the cutting chip 4 and the electrode 7 get in mutual contact and immediately after they get mutually separated and so the cutting chip 4 is cut.