Researches on physical field evolution of micro-cutting of steel H13 by micron scale ceramic cutter based on finite element modeling

The purpose of this study is to investigate the wear characteristics of ceramic cutter with size 1 μm for ultra micro-cutting of steel H13. The three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of micro-cutting has been developed, and micro-cutting conditions of simulation and material properties have been applied. The simulation results show that cutting forces along X and Z directions are more stable and smaller than the force along Y direction comparatively. And, the force fluctuation increases with rise of cutting speeds. The cutter wears increase with the rise of cutting speeds. There exist minor differences between maximum temperatures in cutter/workpiece during micro-cutting, and the deviation values are about 10 °C. Through these researches, some physical field evolution of micro-cutting parameters could be predicted, and it could be helpful to predict the variation of cutting force, cutter wears, and temperature evolutions. The obtained results could provide the fundamental and practical guidelines for choices of cutting speeds for the metal micro-cutting by ceramic cutter.