The influence of ultrasonic elliptical vibration amplitude on cutting tool flank wear

In this article, the effect of vibration amplitude during ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning on cutting tool flank wear (VBmax) and tool diffusion wear mechanism has been experimentally studied in machining of AISI 4140 hardened steel. To achieve this goal, an ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning setup was designed and manufactured. This device was then used in both ultrasonic-assisted tuning and ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning tests (i.e. one-dimensional and two-dimensional ultrasonic-assisted machining). According to the achieved results, ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning is more effective than ultrasonic-assisted tuning in reducing tool flank wear; at an amplitude of 13 μm, work velocity of 180 mm/s and feed of 0.09 mm/rev, VBmax were decreased 30.3% and 54.3%, respectively, in case of ultrasonic-assisted tuning and ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning. It was also observed that increasing the amplitude of ultrasonic vibrations reduces VBmax; at work velocity of 180 mm/s and feed of 0.09 mm/rev, the reduction of VBmax in ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning with amplitudes of 5 and 13 μm is, respectively, 39.3% and 54.3%, compared with that of conventional machining. The results also show that the application of ultrasonic vibrations weakens the cutting tool diffusion wear mechanism. This attenuation is much higher for ultrasonic elliptical vibration–assisted turning in comparison to ultrasonic-assisted tuning. Besides, the amount of attenuation in cutting tool diffusion wear mechanism decreases with increasing vibration amplitude.