metal cutting

m/c
If you want to cut metal and you work in an industrial
environment, you have several choices. You can use a
traditional oxy-fuel cutter or you can opt for a more
sophisticated plasma cutter or laser cutter.

The fact is that each has its place in the metalworking

world and each can do its job effectively and efficiently.
Laser cutters can be relied upon for precision and

accuracy; and increasingly they are being integrated into

lights-out- manufacturing and full scale automation.
But this degree of accuracy is unnecessary for those who
are cutting, say, a metal pipe which will be buried
underground. The tried-and-true method, Oxy fuel cutting
is entirely suitable for such applications and can still be
relied upon for a good job.

Plasma cutters
Plasma cutters are accurate and reliable. Yet their
accuracy falls short of that offered by laser cutting
machines.
Put simply, cutting tasks that can be measured with a tape
measure can be successfully completed with a plasma
cutter, while jobs that require measurement with a vernier
should be left to a laser cutter.

Laser cutters
Despite claims made by some of their more enthusiastic
manufacturers, there are some jobs that high-definition
plasma cutters cant handle.
For example, a plasma cutter cant be used to cut a finely
detailed saw blade. Such a job requires a laser cutter.
Laser cutters offer precision and can be relied upon to
repeat jobs and repeat them with a high degree of
precision. You can cut a piece today and then cut another
piece in a years time with the exact same dimensions
and precision

pulley
A pulley is simply a collection of one or
more wheels over which you loop a rope to make it
easier to lift things.
Pulleys are examples of what scientists call simple
machines. That doesn't mean they're packed
with engines and gears; it just means they help us
multiply forces. If you want to lift a really heavy weight,
there's only so much force your muscles can supply,
even if you are the world's strongest man. But use a

simple machine such as a pulley and you can effectively

multiply the force your body produces.

How pulleys work

One wheel
If you have a single wheel and a rope, a pulley helps you
reverse the direction of your lifting force. So, as in the
picture below, you pull the rope down to lift the weight
up. If you want to lift something that weighs 100kg, you
have to pull down with a force equivalent to 100kg,
which is 1000N (newtons). If you want to raise the
weight 1m into the air, you have to pull the loose end of
the rope a total distance of 1m at the other end.
Two wheels
Now if you add more wheels, and loop the rope around
them, you can reduce the effort you need to lift the
weight. Suppose you have two wheels and a rope
looped around them, as in the figure below. The 100kg
mass (1000 newton weight) is now effectively supported
by two sections of the same rope (the two strands on the

left) instead of just one (ignoring the loose end of the

rope you're pulling with), and this means you can lift it by
pulling with a force of just 500 newtonshalf as much!
That's why we say a pulley with two wheels, and the
rope wrapped around it this way, gives a mechanical
advantage (ME) of two.
Mechanical advantage is a measurement of how much a
simple machine multiples a force. The bigger the
mechanical advantage, the less force you need, but the
greater the distance you have to use that force. The
weight rises 1m, but now we have to pull the loose end
of the rope twice as far (2m). How come? To make the
weight rise 1m, you have to make the two sections of
rope supporting it rise by 1m each. To do that, you have
to pull the loose end of the rope 2m. Notice that we can
also figure out the mechanical advantage by dividing the
distance we have to pull the rope by the distance the
weight moves.
Four wheels
Okay, what if you use four wheels held together by a
long rope that loops over them, as in the picture below?
You can see that the 100kg mass (1000 newton weight)
is now hanging from four sections of rope (the ones on

the left, ignoring the loose end of the rope you're pulling
with). That means each section of rope is supporting a
quarter of the total 1000 newton weight, or 250 newtons,
and to raise the weight into the air, you have to pull with
only a quarter of the forcealso 250 newtons. To make
the weight rise 1m, you have to shorten each section of
the rope by 1m, so you have to pull the loose end of the
rope by 4m. We say a pulley with four wheels and the
rope wrapped around like this gives a mechanical
advantage of four, which is twice as good as a pulley
with two ropes and wheels.
How a pulley is like a lever
You can probably see that a pulley magnifies force in a
similar way to a seesaw, which is a kind of lever. If you
want to lift someone four times bigger than you on a
seesaw, you need to sit four times further away from the
balancing point (fulcrum) than they are. If you move your
end of the lever down by 4cm, their end of the seesaw
moves up only 1cm. As they rise up, they gain a certain
amount of potential energy equal to their weight
multiplied by the distance they move. You lose exactly
the same amount of energyequal to your weight (four
times smaller) times the distance you move (four times
larger). You can shift their much bigger weight because

you move your end of the seesaw over a much bigger

distance: the leverage of the seesaw makes it possible
to produce more force by working over a bigger
distance.
The same thing is happening with a pulley, except that
you're pulling on a rope instead of moving the end of a
seesaw. To lift something four times heavier, you can
use exactly the same force but only if you pull the rope
four times further. If you look at what's happening on
both sides of a pulley, and multiply the force by the
distance moved, you'll find it's the same. On your side,
you use a small force over a large distance. On the other
side, there's a much bigger weight but it's moving a
smaller distance.

v belts drive
Round belts are a circular cross
section belt designed to run in a pulley with a 60
degree V-groove. Round grooves are only suitable
for idler pulleys that guide the belt, or when (soft)
O-ring type belts are used. The V-groove
transmits torque through a wedging action, thus
increasing friction.

V belts (also style V-belts, vee belts, or, less commonly,

wedge rope) solved the slippage and alignment problem.
It is now the basic belt for power transmission. They
provide the best combination of traction, speed of
movement, load of the bearings, and long service life.
They are generally endless, and their general crosssection shape is trapezoidal (hence the name "V"). The
"V" shape of the belt tracks in a mating groove in
the pulley (or sheave), with the result that the belt cannot
slip off. The belt also tends to wedge into the groove as
the load increasesthe greater the load, the greater the
wedging actionimproving torque transmission and
making the V-belt an effective solution, needing less width
and tension than flat belts. V-belts trump flat belts with
their small center distances and high reduction ratios. The
preferred center distance is larger than the largest pulley
diameter, but less than three times the sum of both
pulleys. Optimal speed range is 1,0007,000 ft/min (300
2,130 m/min). V-belts need larger pulleys for their thicker
cross-section than flat belts.
For high-power requirements, two or more V-belts can be
joined side-by-side in an arrangement called a multi-V,
running on matching multi-groove sheaves. This is known

as a multiple-V-belt drive (or sometimes a "classical V-belt

drive").
V-belts may be homogeneously rubber or polymer
throughout, or there may be fibers embedded in the
rubber or polymer for strength and reinforcement. The
fibers may be of textile materials such as
cotton, polyamide (such as Nylon) or polyester or, for
greatest strength, of steel or aramid (such
as Twaron or Kevlar).
When an endless belt does not fit the need, jointed and
link V-belts may be employed. Most models offer the
same power and speed ratings as equivalently-sized
endless belts and do not require special pulleys to
operate. A link v-belt is a number of
polyurethane/polyester composite links held together,
either by themselves, such as Fenner Drives' PowerTwist,
or by metal studs, such as Gates' Nu-T-Link. These
provide easy installation and superior environmental
resistance compared to rubber belts and are length
adjustable by disassembling and removing links when
needed.

AC motor

An induction or asynchronous motor is

an ACelectric motor in which the electric current in
the rotor needed to produce torque is obtained by
electromagnetic induction from the magnetic field
of the stator winding.
An AC motor is an electric motor driven by an alternating
current (AC). The AC motor commonly consists of two
basic parts, an outside stationary stator having coils
supplied with alternating current to produce a rotating
magnetic field, and an inside rotor attached to the output
shaft producing a second rotating magnetic field. The
rotor magnetic field may be produced by permanent
magnets, reluctance saliency, or DC or AC electrical
windings.
Less commonly, linear AC motors operate on similar
principles as rotating motors but have their stationary and
moving parts arranged in a straight line configuration,
producing linear motion instead of rotation.
Operating principles[edit]

When an AC motor is in steady-state rotation (motion), the

magnetic fields of the rotor and stator rotate (move) with
little or no slippage (near synchrony). The magnetic forces
(repulsive and attractive) between the rotor and stator

poles create average torque, capable of driving a load at

rated speed. The speed of the stator rotating magnetic
field ( ) and the speed of the rotor rotating magnetic field
( ), relative to the speed of the mechanical shaft (

),

must maintain synchronism for average torque production

by satisfying the synchronous speed relation
(i.e.,

).[1] Otherwise, asynchronously rotating

magnetic fields would produce pulsating or non-average

torque.
The two main types of AC motors are classified as
induction and synchronous. The induction motor (or
asynchronous motor) always relies on a small difference
in speed between the stator rotating magnetic field and
the rotor shaft speed called slip to induce rotor current in
the rotor AC winding. As a result, the induction motor
cannot produce torque near synchronous speed where
induction (or slip) is irrelevant or ceases to exist. In
contrast, the synchronous motor does not rely on slipinduction for operation and uses either permanent
magnets, salient poles (having projecting magnetic poles),
or an independently excited rotor winding. The
synchronous motor produces its rated torque at exactly
synchronous speed. The brushless wound-rotor doubly
fed synchronous motor system has an independently

excited rotor winding that does not rely on the principles

of slip-induction of current. The brushless wound-rotor
doubly fed motor is a synchronous motor that can function
exactly at the supply frequency or sub to super multiple of
the supply frequency.
Other types of motors include eddy current motors, and
also AC/DC mechanically commutated machines in which
speed is dependent on voltage and winding connection.

FULCRUM(lever)
A lever (/livr/ or US /lvr/) is a machine consisting of
a beam or rigid rod pivoted at a fixed hinge, or fulcrum. A
lever is a rigid body capable of rotating on a point on
itself. It is one of the six simple machines identified by
Renaissance scientists. The word entered English about
1300 from Old French, in which the word was levier. This
sprang from the stem of the verb lever, meaning "to
raise". The verb, in turn, goes back to the Latin levare,
itself from the adjectivelevis, meaning "light" (as in "not
heavy"). The word's ultimate origin is the Proto-IndoEuropean (PIE) stem legwh-, meaning "light", "easy" or
"nimble", among other things. The PIE stem also gave
rise to the English word "light".[1] A lever amplifies an input
force to provide a greater output force, which is said to

provide leverage. The ratio of the output force to the input

force is the mechanical advantage of the lever.
Force and levers[edit]

A lever in balance

A lever is a beam connected to ground by a hinge, or

pivot, called a fulcrum. The ideal lever does not dissipate
or store energy, which means there is no friction in the
hinge or bending in the beam. In this case, the power into
the lever equals the power out, and the ratio of output to
input force is given by the ratio of the distances from the
fulcrum to the points of application of these forces. This is
known as the law of the lever.
The mechanical advantage of a lever can be determined
by considering the balance of moments or torque, T,
about the fulcrum,

where M1 is the input force to the lever and M2 is the

output force. The distances a and b are the
perpendicular distances between the forces and the
fulcrum.
The mechanical advantage of the lever is the ratio of
output force to input force,

This relationship shows that the mechanical

advantage can be computed from ratio of the
distances from the fulcrum to where the input and
output forces are applied to the lever, assuming no
losses due to friction, flexibility or wear.

Tool materials
Carbon Steels
Carbon steels have been used since the 1880s
for cutting tools. However carbon steels start to
soften at a temperature of about 180oC. This
limitation means that such tools are rarely used
for metal cutting operations. Plain carbon steel

tools, containing about 0.9% carbon and about

1% manganese, hardened to about 62 Rc, are
widely used for woodworking and they can be
used in a router to machine aluminium sheet up
to about 3mm thick.
2 High Speed Steel (HSS)
HSS tools are so named because they were
developed to cut at higher speeds. Developed
around 1900 HSS are the most highly alloyed tool
steels. The tungsten (T series) were developed
first and typically contain 12 - 18% tungsten, plus
about 4% chromium and 1 - 5% vanadium. Most
grades contain about 0.5% molybdenum and
most grades contain 4 - 12% cobalt.
It was soon discovered that molybdenum (smaller
proportions)could be substituted for most of the
tungsten resulting in a more economical
formulation which had better abrasion resistance
than the T series and undergoes less distortion
during heat treatment. Consequently about 95%
of all HSS tools are made from M series grades.
These contain 5 - 10% molybdenum, 1.5 - 10%
tungsten, 1 - 4% vanadium, 4% Chromium and
many grades contain 5 - 10% cobalt.
HSS tools are tough and suitable for interrupted
cutting and are used to manufacture tools of
complex shape such as drills, reamers, taps, dies

and gear cutters. Tools may also be coated to

improve wear resistance. HSS accounts for the
largest tonnage of tool materials currently used.
Typical cutting speeds: 10 - 60 m/min.
3 Cast Cobalt Alloys
Introduced in early 1900s these alloys have
compositions of about 40 - 55% cobalt, 30%
chromium and 10 - 20% tungsten and are not
heat treatable. Maximum hardness values of 55 64 Rc. They have good wear resistance but are
not as tough as HSS but can be used at
somewhat higher speeds than HSS. Now only in
limited use.
4 Carbides
Also known as cemented carbides or sintered
carbides were introduced in the 1930s and have
high hardness over a wide range of
temperatures, high thermal conductivity, high
Young's modulus making them effective tool and
die materials for a range of applications.
The two groups used for machining are tungsten
carbide and titanium carbide, both types may be
coated or uncoated.
Tungsten carbide particles (1 to 5 micro-m) are
are bonded together in a cobalt matrix using
powder metallurgy. The powder is pressed and
sintered to the required insert shape. titanium

and niobium carbides may also be included to

impart special properties.
A wide range of grades are available for different
applications.
Sintered carbide tips are the dominant type of
material used in metal cutting.
The proportion of cobalt (the usual matrix
material) present has a significant effect on the
properties of carbide tools. 3 - 6% matrix of
cobalt gives greater hardness while 6 - 15%
matrix of cobalt gives a greater toughness while
decreasing the hardness, wear resistance and
strength. Tungsten carbide tools are commonly
used for machining steels, cast irons and
abrasive non-ferrous materials.
Titanium carbide has a higher wear resistance
than tungsten but is not as tough. With a nickelmolybdenum alloy as the matrix, TiC is suitable
for machining at higher speeds than those which
can be used for tungsten carbide. Typical cutting
speeds are: 30 - 150 m/min or 100 - 250 when
coated.
5 Coatings
Coatings are frequently applied to carbide tool
tips to improve tool life or to enable higher
cutting speeds. Coated tips typically have lives
10 times greater than uncoated tips. Common
coating materials include titanium nitride,

titanium carbide and aluminium oxide, usually 2 15 micro-m thick. Often several different layers
may be applied, one on top of another,
depending upon the intended application of the
tip. The techniques used for applying coatings
include chemical vapour deposition (CVD) plasma
assisted CVD and physical vapour deposition
(PVD).
Diamond coatings are also in use and being
further developed.
6 Cermets
Developed in the 1960s, these typically contain
70% aluminium oxide and 30% titanium carbide.
Some formulation contain molybdenum carbide,
niobium carbide and tantalum carbide. Their
performance is between those of carbides and
ceramics and coatings seem to offer few benefits.
Typical cutting speeds: 150 - 350 m/min.
7 Ceramics Alumina
Introduced in the early 1950s, two classes are
used for cutting tools: fine grained high purity
aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and silicon nitride (Si3N4)
are pressed into insert tip shapes and sintered at
high temperatures. Additions of titanium carbide
and zirconium oxide (ZrO2) may be made to
improve properties. But while ZrO2 improves the

fracture toughness, it reduces the hardness and

thermal conductivity. Silicon carbide (SiC)
whiskers may be added to give better toughness
and improved thermal shock resistance.
The tips have high abrasion resistance and hot
hardness and their superior chemical stability
compared to HSS and carbides means they are
less likely to adhere to the metals during cutting
and consequently have a lower tendency to form
a built up edge. Their main weakness is low
toughness and negative rake angles are often
used to avoid chipping due to their low tensile
strengths. Stiff machine tools and work set ups
should be used when machining with ceramic tips
as otherwise vibration is likely to lead to
premature failure of the tip. Typical cutting
speeds: 150 - 650 m/min.
Silicon Nitride
In the 1970s a tool material based on silicon
nitride was developed, these may also contain
aluminium oxide, yttrium oxide and titanium
carbide. SiN has an affinity for iron and is not
suitable for machining steels. A specific type is
'Sialon', containing the elements: silicon,
aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen. This has higher
thermal shock resistance than silicon nitride and
is recommended for machining cast irons and
nickel based superalloys at intermediate cutting
speeds.

8 Cubic Boron Nitride (cBN)

Introduced in the early 1960s, this is the second
hardest material available after diamond. cBN
tools may be used either in the form of small
solid tips or or as a 0.5 to 1 mm thick layer of of
polycrystalline boron nitride sintered onto a
carbide substrate under pressure. In the latter
case the carbide provides shock resistance and
the cBN layer provides very high wear resistance
and cutting edge strength. Cubic boron nitride is
the standard choice for machining alloy and tool
steels with a hardness of 50 Rc or higher. Typical
cutting speeds: 30 - 310 m/min.
9 Diamond
The hardest known substance is diamond.
Although single crystal diamond has been used
as a tool, they are brittle and need to be
mounted at the correct crystal orientation to
obtain optimal tool life. Single crystal diamond
tools have been mainly replaced by
polycrystalline diamond (PCD). This consists of
very small synthetic crystals fused by a high
temperature high pressure process to a thickness
of between 0.5 and 1mm and bonded to a
carbide substrate. The result is similar to cBN
tools. The random orientation of the diamond
crystals prevents the propagation of cracks,
improving toughness.

Because of its reactivity, PCD is not suitable for

machining plain carbon steels or nickel, titanium
and cobalt based alloys.
PCD is most suited to light uninterrupted finishing
cuts at almost any speed and is mainly used for
very high speed machining of aluminium - silicon
alloys, composites and other non - metallic
materials. Typical cutting speeds: 200 - 2000
m/min.
10 Other Materials
To improve the toughness of tools, developments
are being carried out with whisker reinforcement,
such as silicon nitride reinforced with silicon
carbide whiskers.
Tool Life Curves
The Taylor tool life equation can be written as:
v(T)n = C, where
v is the cutting speed, m/min, T is the tool life, in
minutes, C is the cutting speed for a tool life of 1
minute and n is the Taylor exponent (Do not
confuse this use of n with the cold working index
n).

Angular plates

An angle plate is a work holding device used as

a fixture in metalworking.
The angle plate is made from high quality material
(generally spheroidal cast iron) that has been stabilized to
prevent further movement or distortion. Slotted holes
or T bolt slots are machined into the surfaces to enable
the secure attachment or clamping of workpieces to the
plate, and also of the plate to the worktable.
Angle plates also may be used to hold the
workpiece square to the table during marking
out operations.
Adjustable angle plates are also available for
workpieces that need to be inclined, usually towards
a milling cutter.
Angle plates are used to measure and hold various
workpiece whilst being worked upon.

hand cutting meachine with

reciprocating cutter

A reciprocating saw is a type of saw in which the cutting

action is achieved through a push and
pull reciprocating motion of the blade.
The term reciprocating saw is commonly assigned to a
type of saw used in construction and demolition work.
This type of saw, also known as a recip saw, sabre saw,
saw zaw or Sawzall (a trademark of the Milwaukee
Electric Tool Company) has a large blade resembling that
of a jigsaw and a handle oriented to allow the saw to be
used comfortably on vertical surfaces. The typical style of
this saw has a foot at the base of the blade, also similar to
a jigsaw. The user rests this foot against the surface being
cut so that the tendency of the blade to push away from or
pull towards the cut as the blade travels through its cycle
can be countered.
Mechanism[edit]

Main article: Reciprocating motion

Mechanism of Milwaukee Sawzall reciprocating saw showing

helical drive gear, fit of mechanism in tool, and a sequence of the
operation of the swash plate to drive the reciprocating action.

The reciprocating action may be produced several ways.

A crank[5] or Scotch yoke type drive may be used, a swash
plate[6] type drive, a captive cam or eccentric, barrel cam,
[7]

or other rotary to linear drive. Modern tools are built with

variants of all of these mechanisms. Eccentric cam, crank

and scotch yoke drives need balance weights to reduce
vibration in the plane of the rotating element, and may still
exhibit vibration that is objectionable to a user of a
handheld saw and can lead to difficulty in controlling a cut.
The swash plate drive has the advantage that there is
little rotational out of balance, so the principal vibration is
in line with the blade. This is generally controllable by
keeping the foot of a handheld tool against the work.