625

APPLIED MECHANICS GROUP

ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING: A REVIEW

AND AN ANALYSIS OF CUTTING FORCES
G. Arndt, PhD, MEng Sc, BE(Mech), CEng (Graduate)”

As part of the search for a new cutting mechanism, a few largely empirical investigations into ultra-high-speed
machining (velocity greater than 500 ftls) have been performed in the past. A comprehensive review of this
and other work related to machining at very high cutting speeds is presented and the physical factors pre-
dominating in UHSM are discussed. As a consequence of this a new theory of cutting forces at ultra-high
speeds is presented, based on inertia and temperature effects, adiabatic shear, and strain-rate dependent yield
stress. This theory shows that workpiece properties greatly influence force behaviour, the latter determining
the feasibility of machining at ultra-high speeds.

1 INTRODUCTION mechanical test method and moreover does so in a con-

T o SATISFY the increasingly stringent demands on the
mechanical properties of materials used in today’s ‘space-
age’ technology, new and mechanically superior materials,
in particular metal alloys, are continuously being de-
veloped. These usually possess a high strength-to-weight
ratio, are capable of withstanding high temperatures
under load and often they cannot be transformed by con-
ventional means into the sizes and shapes required. Be-
cause of this, industry over the past twenty years has
witnessed the introduction of a variety of such ‘exotic’
machining processes as ultrasonic, electro-spark, chemical
and laser-beam machining, to mention but a few, many
of which have now become established methods of
manufacture.
One avenue towards the successful machining of such
‘difficult’ materials that has to some extent been pursued
in the past, but which has never been investigated con-
clusively, is the possibility of machining at extremely
high speeds. The term ‘ultra-high-speed machining’
(UHSM) has thus been coined, generally designating
cutting speeds above 500 ft/s. In a continuing investiga-
tion into UHSM at Monash University ( ~ )cutting t and ‘ultra-high’ (above 500 ft/s) cutting speeds (which
speeds up to 8000 ft/s are being aimed for, primarily to
be able to study the cutting/deformation process at speeds
exceeding the elastic wave propagation speed in certain
materials (e.g. 7100 ft/s for lead). Cutting speeds of up
to 5400 ftjs have hitherto been achieved and preliminary
results have been reported (2). At cutting speeds of this
order of magnitude, strain rates of up to lo9 s - l should
theoretically apply during orthogonal machining, caused
by the cumulative effects of the high cutting speed and
the shear deformation mode inherent in metal cutting.
The tatter yields the highest strain rates possible in any
This paper is published for written discussion. The M S . was received
for publication on 17th July 1972 and accepted for publication on
8th M a y 1913. 12
* Senior Lecturer, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Monash
University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
t References are given in the Appendix.
tinuous rather than transient manner. Past investigations
into metal behaviour at strain rates of up to lo6 s - l on
the whole indicate a continuous increase in yield strength
with strain rate. However, it has been argued that there
must be some point at which thermal softening effects
annul any strain-dependent strengthening effects, be they
due to an adiabatic (‘thermoplastic’ or ‘catastrophic’)
shear mechanism, or to complete melting occurring within
the deforming material. The existence or otherwise of
such a ‘turning-point’ has been the subject of some con-
troversy.
The aim of this paper is firstly to survey past work on
and relating to UHSM and secondly to make some con-
tribution towards resolving the above-mentioned contro-
versy by presenting a new type of UHSM force analysis.
2 P A S T WORK ON HIGH- AND
ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING
2.1 General outline
Cutting tests dealing with ‘super-high’ (up to 500 ft/s)
can also be called ‘ballistic machining’ (3)) began in 1925,
when Salomon (4) performed some high-speed milling
tests and predicted cutting-temperature versus speed
relationships exhibiting a turning point. The validity of
this has since been questioned (5) and neither experi-
mental nor theoretical proof of it exists. Twenty years
later Kuznetsov (6) and Polosatkin (7) commenced, and
since continued, a series of experiments that could be
called the first serious investigations into UHSM (8)-(11).
However, it was not until Vaughn and Recht (Lockheed
tests) carried out their investigations, around 1958-60
(12)-(IS), that any proper scientific analysis of the UHSM
process was attempted.
A survey of bibliographies such as given by Boston (16)
and the A.S.T.M.E. (17)~effectively covering all metal-
cutting literature from 1864 to 1956, yields hardly any
references directly related to even high-speed machining.

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626
Of the 202 references listed by Vaughn (14)as relevant
to the topic, only about 65 deal with machining. Never-
theless, various investigations have been carried out since
those of Salomon. These were based mainly on the use
of modified conventional machine tools, to obtain some-
what higher-than-usual cutting speeds, which can hardly
be classified as ‘ultra-high’. They do, however, bridge the
gap between the latter and conventional speeds. Amongst
them are the work of Kuznetsov (6) (maximum speed
obtained was 167 ft/s), Salomonovich (18) (110 ft/s),
Takeyama et al. (19) (17ft/s), Siekmann (20) (334 ft/s),
Findley and Reed (21) (64ft/s), Okushima et al. (22)
(167 ft/s) and Tanaka et al. (23)(440 ft/s).
In the search for a cutting mechanism applicable at
ultra-high speeds, Kuznetsov (6) argued that with in-
creasing cutting speed, metals tend to behave more and
more in a brittle way, since there is less and less time avail-
able for plastic deformation, accompanied by a drop in
energy requirements. He found that aluminium and cast
iron formed increasingly discontinuous chips with in-
creasing cutting speed, but that carbon steel and copper
did not. A change from continuous to discontinuous chips
and a decrease in the amount of plastic deformation with
increasing speed was also found by Findley and Reed (21)
and by Vaughn (13)(14)even for steel and at speeds well
above 500 ft/s. Further support to the ‘brittleness at
high speed’ postulate is furnished by von Karman’s
critical impact criterion (3), although it has since been
proved conclusively (13) (14) (24) that this criterion,
mainly on account of differing boundary conditions, does
not apply in metal cutting.
One may reasonably classify the reaction of metals, in
order of increasing cutting speed and energy, as elastic,
plastic, brittle with fracture, and hydrodynamic (12)~ each
accompanied by a further decrease in cutting ‘resistance’
of the work material. The practical verification of this,
together with the possible advantages gained thereby,
particularly for difficult-to-machine materials, are the
basic reasons for studying UHSM.
2.2 Adiabatic shear
Vaughn (13) established by micro-examination that no
brittle fracture was involved in UHSM chip formation.
The experimental results supported instead the existence
of adiabatic shear, according to which with increasing
cutting speed an adiabatic condition is approached whereby
thermal energy is restricted to preferred slip planes, in
which localized melting occurs. The existence of such an
adiabatic shear mechanism rests on the formation of
microscopic bands of intense shear. Their size may be
of the order of a grain diameter and they may propagate
across many grains. The existence of such bands in a
wide variety of high-rate metal deformation processes has
been well established (25)-(37), including metal cutting
(38).Recht (38)analysed data obtained by Siekmann (20)
and found that, in the machining of mild steel, adiabatic
(or ‘catastrophic’) shear is well developed at cutting
speeds around 330 ft/s, while for titanium this mechanism
exists a t cutting speeds as low as 0.06 ft/s, illustrating that
some materials are much more sensitive to adiabatic slip
than others. He postulates that adiabatic shear will occur
when the slope of the true stress-true strain curve becomes
zero and presents some criteria for the onset of this
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G . ARNDT
mechanism. The formation of such shear bands depends
on material composition and heat treatment (9) (35).
Deformation energy decreases with increasing number of
shear bands and with penetration speed (25) (35). Evi-
dence of melting within adiabatic shear bands was ob-
tained by Stock et al. (14)(15)and strain rates in them
as high as lo8 s - l have been reported (39).
2.3 Heat and temperature effects
Apart from the above possibility of adiabatic shear-zone
melting, the conditions of very high pressure and heat
concentration at the chip-tool interface and within the
secondary deformation zone in the chip may also lead to
melting of the chip material next to the cutting tool (14)
(21) (38). This is further enhanced in the case of hot
machining.
Heat and temperatures in machining have been widely
studied, as illustrated, e.g., by over 200 references on
these topics discussed by Arndt and Brown (5) (39)
oriented towards temperature aspects and by Vukelja (40)
dealing with the thermodynamic aspects of cutting. I n
his theoretical analysis of the Lockheed tests, Recht (15)
shows that for AISI 4340 steel the heat passing from the
cutting zone to the workpiece and tool at speeds of approxi-
mately 5 ft/s and above becomes insignificant compared
with the total quantity of heat generated and that there-
after conduction rates remain approximately constant, or
even decrease, while at higher speeds the mode of heat
transfer changes from conduction to convection. He hence
assumes that all heat remains in the chip and derives an
average, velocity-dependent ‘stabilized’ chip tempera-
ture along lines similar to those of Shaw (41)~ Chao and
Trigger (42) and others (5). This shows that melting at
the chip-tool interface may occur at relatively low speeds
and that a molten film may in fact be formed there with
the above steel grade at speeds somewhat below 100 ft/s.
Contrary to this, stress wave theory predicts that ‘fluid’
behaviour of solids such as steel will not occur below
deformation speeds of 2000-3000 ftjs (3) (see Section 2.5).
Recht concludes that cutting temperature increases in-
definitely with cutting speed, i.e. does not exhibit a maxi-
mum as postulated by Salomon (4). According to this
one could argue that at extremely high cutting speeds the
pressure and temperature at the chip-tool interface may
be high enough to produce partial or complete vaporiza-
tion of the chip material.
The concept of a ‘limiting’ cutting temperature is sup-
ported by Polosatkin et al. (10) who found that at a
cutting speed of approximately 1000 ft/s the contact
temperature-cutting speed plots for steel, copper, brass,
aluminium and zinc all reached constant values at which
they remained up to the highest speeds (approximately
2800 ft/s) investigated. This again contradicts Salomon’s
postulate.
2.4 Friction
The existence of a molten layer at the chip-tool interface
must lead to favourable friction conditions. Experimental
evidence of large decreases in the coefficient of friction p
at the rake face at very high cutting speeds has been pre-
sented by Findley and Reed (21) ( p N 0.9 at V = 0, to
0.3 at 42 ft/s, lead-antimony alloy, 0” rake angle), Tanaka
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 ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING: A REVIEW AND AN ANALYSIS OF CUTTING FORCES 627

et al. (23) ( p N 0.8 at V = 0, to 0.4 at 435 ft/s for alu-
minium, 2: 0.6 to 0.18 for steel and 0.6 to 0.1 for brass,
for the same speed range) and by others. Similar decreases
in p for single-point rubbing ,at speeds of up to 655 ft/s
have been reported (43). The ‘apparent’ coefficient of
friction (the ratio of thrust force to cutting force, for zero
rake angle) was briefly dealt with by Vaughn (14)for
speeds from 500 to 2000 ft,/s. Whereas this ratio decreased
markedly for annealed AISI 4340 steel, it tended to in-
crease for heat-treated 4340 steel.
2.5 Energies and forces
The energy balance in metal cutting is relatively simple,
and has been discussed at length (6)(41).Apart from the
elastic and plastic (or shear) deformation energies and the
frictional and surface-energy components, the energy
loss caused by the momentum change from the workpiece
state to the chip state, given by (41):
EM = pV2y2sin24 . (1) . .
where p is the workpiece density, y is the shear strain
+
and is the shear angle, becomes very considerable, this
quantity being a purely dynamic effect, and independent
of any particular cutting mechanism. With increasing
cutting speed, momentum effects gain in significance,
while material strength, provided the ‘fluid state’ has
been reached, eventually loses its effect completely. At
some intermediate stage, however, both must be con-
sidered, in which case the following simple analysis
applies (3) (44).
The so-called ‘momentum force’ in metal cutting,
caused by the change in flow direction from uncut work-
piece to chip and acting parallel to the shear velocity
vector in orthogonal cutting, in terms of width of cut by
depth of cut t, cutting velocity V, material density p ,
shear angle 4 and rake angle a , is given by (41):
1
F, = -
It may be neglected at conventional velocities, but may
become exceedingly high at very high velocities, as illus-
trated by Fig. 1, calculated for a low carbon steel with
u = - 5 O , b = 0.25 in, t = 0-02 in, p = 0.283 lb/in3 and
a shear angle variation extrapolated from experimental
findings (3). A ‘momentum force circle’ may, by analogy
with Merchant’s conventional force circle, therefore be
superimposed on the latter, as shown in Fig. 2, as well as
a resultant circle encompassing the vectorial sums of all
corresponding force resolutes. The ratio of momentum-
to cutting-force circle diameter will increase with V. At
the particular instant shown, the magnitude and direction
of F, have caused the resultant force, R,, to act downwards
on the tool, thereby reversing the direction of both the
resultant thrust and friction forces F,, and Ff,.
If T is the shear stress on the shear plane and p is the
friction angle, the conventional cutting and thrust forces
may be written as (45):
tbT COS (p-CX)
F, = sin 4 cos (4+/l-a) * . (3)
tbT sin @-a)
F -- sin 4 cos ($+@-a) * * (4)
Thus the resultanu, momentum-modified cutting and
thrust forces, i.e. F,, = F,+F,, and F,, = F,+F,,, may
be expressed as :
T COS (/l-U)
F,, = bt

Fi, = bt

Subscripts c Cutting. t Thrust.

30 s Shear. f Friction.
Cutting speed, V n, N = Normal. m = Momentum.
f t I5 u = ultra-high-speed resultant.
Fig. 1. Typical variation of momentum force with Fig. 2. Force geometry for orthogonal ultra-high-
cutting speed (3) speed machining

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628
Similarly, expressions may be derived in terms of equa-
tions (2), (3) and (4) for all the other resultant force com-
ponents in Fig. 2, i.e.
F,, = F,+Fc cos +-Ft sin 9 . (7)
FN, = FN = F, sin + + F , cos 4 . (8)
F,, r= F,,, cos (90-++u)f(Fc sin a+F, cos u)
. . . (9)
F,, = F, sin (90-++a)+(Fc cos a-F, sin a )
. . . (10)
In each case the 'cutting' component varies from some
definite value to zero as the cutting velocity increases
from zero to a value vf, at which the material loses its
shear resistance, while the 'momentum' component does
the opposite. A quantitative estimate of vf may be ob-
tained from stress wave theory, according to which it
may be shown (3) (46) that quite apart from the tempera-
ture, the pressure generated in the solid during such high-
speed impact will cause it to behave as a fluid when the
deformation velocity exceeds approximately 0.133 times
the longitudinal elastic wave velocity. This, for the com-
mon metals, is of the order of 2000-3000 ft/s (e.g. for
aluminium 2800 ft/s, for steel 2600 ft/s and for brass
1870 ft/s) (3).
Bredendick (47), using a basic dynamics approach,
analysed the inertia forces in metal cutting, concluding
that only at cutting speeds above the speed of sound (in
air) will the inertia forces be of the same order of magni-
tude as the conventional cutting components. Using the
concept of specific cutting force, k,, he calculated the
cutting speed V iat which the inertia force component in
the direction of cutting would equal the (conventional
speed) cutting force, as :
vi=Jf . . .
( p as above) and obtained the following approximate
values of' Vi: for steel 2000 ft/s, for cast iron 1000 ft/s,
for brass 1250 ft/s, for aluminium 1600 ft/s, for magnesium
alloy and. hard rubber 1500 ft/s and for hard paper 1300
ft/s.
The variation of the mechanical component of cutting
forces with speed has been the subject of many investiga-
tions, but as yet no definite trend has emerged. Findley
and Reed (21) found large force decreases by increasing
the cumng speed from 0.1 to 63 ftjs for a lead-antimony
alloy. Similar trends are quoted by Fenton and Oxley (48),
for NE 9445 steel and for speed increases from 3.3 to
17 ft/sJ and by Vaughn (13)~who found an approximately
40 per cent decrease in both cutting and thrust forces
for AISI 4340 steel at 2000 ft/s and relatively constant
forces in the range 500-1500 ft/s. On the other hand,
Okushima et al. (22) found that with medium carbon steel,
the cutting forces remain constant up to approximately
110 ft/s and then increase. This agrees with results ob-
tained by Tanaka et al. (27) who, apart from the initial
(conventional) force drop below 5 ft/s, report steady force
readings up to 440 ft/s. Polosatkin et al. (10)report essen-
tially constant normal (thrust) forces, but increasing cut-
ting forces, in the range from 330 to 1300 ft/s and when
cutting steel, which, together with the increasing cutting
force for aluminium and duralumin for speeds from 330
to 3300 ftjs found by Kuznetsov et al. (8), directly contra-
dicts the above findings. The explanation of this dis-
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G. AFWDT
crepancy might lie in the presence or absence of the adia-
batic shear deformation mode, which, as shown earlier,
does not apply uniformly to all metals. I n a theoretical
prediction of cutting forces at high speeds, Fenton and
Oxley (48), using a strain-rate-dependent metal-cutting
analysis, predict a force decrease for NE 9445 steel up
to 17 ft/s, which agrees with experiment, and thereafter
an increase up to and above 1700 ft/s, where experimental
data no longer exist. However, a similar analysis for alu-
minium revealed no increase in force with increasing
speed (49). The need for a more thorough and complete
analysis of cutting forces and perhaps of their relation
to adiabatic shear is clearly indicated before definite
conclusions on their behaviour at high speeds are pos-
sible.
2.6 Analysis of the deformation mechanism
None of the present methods of theoretical analysis is
capable of predicting accurately what happens to the
cutting mechanism at ultra-high speeds, mainly on ac-
count of the unknown material properties existing at high
strain rates. One is therefore left with extrapolating data
applicable at conventional speeds, which in itself is an
uncertain venture. Considering the orthogonal machin-
ing model, one basic controversy concerns the chip
thickness, or cutting ratio, and the shear angle behaviour
at very high speeds. It is known that at conventional
speeds the cutting ratio rc (i.e. depth of cut/chip thick-
ness) increases with cutting speed, as does the shear
angle, and that both these variables exhibit an initial
non-linear rise, followed by a flattening-out, i.e. tending
towards a constant value, when plotted against cutting
speed (7) (19) (21) (23) (48)-
Takeyama et al. (19) derived empirical relationships
for the cutting ratio and shear angle as a function of the
cutting speed V and rake angle a, of the form:
1 eK,CQO-a)
-- - ( K 2e-K3V+1) . . (12)
r.2
where the constants K,, K2and K3 depend on geometrical
and material properties. By substituting the expression
for rc into the standard shear angle relationship, tan = +
cos u/(rc- -sin u), a velocity-dependent expression for
+ also results. Thus by extrapolating the results of Tanaka
et al. (23) to approximately 2000 ftjs for 0.2 per cent
carbon steel, a shear angle of about 45" is obtained. This
compares favourably with an extrapolation of Fenton
and Oxley's (48) theoretical predictions of shear angle for
steel, which also yields approximately 45" at 2000 ft/s,
for a rake angle of - 10". Exponential expressions similar
to equation (12), but related to the coefficient of friction,
were suggested earlier by Kronenberg ( 5 0 ) ~e.g.
rc = -v c = e-ecn/2-a)
V
. . (13)
However, these expressions are basically too simple and
inaccurate, since they do not take into account other cut-
ting conditions and workpiece properties.
From energy considerations it would appear that a
shear angle of 45" is the maximum value possible for a 0"
rake angle, resulting in a chip thickness equal to the depth
of cut, i.e. cutting speed equal to chip speed. However,
from high-speed films taken during the Lockheed in-
vestigations (13) (14) chip velocity was recorded to be
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 ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING: A REVIEW AND AN ANALYSIS OF CUTTING FORCES
greater than cutting speed, implying that rc > 1 and
4 > 45”. The chip velocity measurements from which
rc was determined were based on shadow photography,
the interpretation of which, at the extreme speeds con-
sidered, is inherently difficult. Also, apparently no at-
tempt was made to verify the unusual values of r, by
measuring the chip thickness directly. It could be argued
that both these factors place some doubt on the r,-values
obtained. However, recent tests by Arndt and Brown (2)
have confirmed that the cutting ratio can in fact exceed
unity during UHSM.
2.7 Surface effects and tool wear
The nature of the finished workpiece surface and tool wear
at ultra-high speeds are of practical significance. The effect
of very high cutting speeds on the depth of the deformed
and/or heat-affected surface layer has not yet been re-
solved. Kuznetsov (8) claims a decrease and Vaughn (14)
an increase in depth with increasing speed. From the
definite metallographic data given by Vaughn and by
considering energy dissipation during cutting an increase
in depth appears more likely, as is also caused by higher
negative rake angles (10).
Vaughn also reports that the wear parameter ‘tool wear
per gram of metal removed’ experienced a minimum when
plotted against cutting speed and was found to depend
strongly on the workpiece heat treatment and the depth
of cut. Again further evidence is required here before
making any conclusive statements.
2.8 High-strain-rate materials behaviour in
machining
Many expressions that relate strain rate and/or tempera-
ture to stress and strain have been derived, ranging from
the simple empirical expression (51):
u = U1P . . . (14)
where u is the stress, 6 the strain, u1 and n are constants
depending on the material, and on 2, to the more explicit
expression (52)-(55) :
u = u l ~ n e - A T ~. .
. (15)
where T , is the ‘velocity-modified temperature’ :
T, = T(l-BlnCi) . . (16)
where A, B and C are material constants and to constitu-
tive equations of the type (56):
The disadvantage inherent in all these stress-strain
relationships is their empirical nature, that necessitates
individual testing for each material. Even then a com-
parison of test results by different workers is difficult,
since test conditions are rarely the same. On the other
hand, any analytical expressions of this nature also have
to include a variety of material properties, taken under a
range of test conditions, e.g. of temperature, which would
need to be established experimentally. Hence it is best
to use the experimental approach for strain-rate-depen-
dent stress-strain relationships right from the start.
A great variety of test methods exists for finding stress-
strain data at high strain rates. A very comprehensive
survey of these was given by Bitans (57) and typical
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629
Table 1. Maximum strain rates for various
experimental techniques
Technique Approximate maximum
strain rate, s-l
-_I_
-
Cam plastometer . 200
Typical compression/tension/shear
deformation methods . 300
Flywheel-type torsion machines . 103
Hopkinson’s pressure bar . 104
Conventional machining. . 105
Ultra-high-speed machining . 109
maximum strain rates for various experimental techniques
are shown in Table 1.
In metal cutting, high strain rates exist in the deform-
ing material as a result of large deformation occurring in a
very constricted space and not by virtue of high particle
velocities, although the latter would naturally give rise to
even higher strain rates. Also, a steady-state process (and
hence strain rate) rather than a transient one obtains,
which means that stress-wave propagation phenomena
may be neglected. However, simplifications of the process
are inevitable, the two main ones being the use of ortho-
gonal cutting, and the assumption of a constant shear-
zone thickness. With these, the shear strain rate (?) may
be found from the well-known expression :
?=
v cos a . . . (18)
A S cos (+-a)
where V is the cutting speed, a is the rake angle, (b is the
shear angle and A S is the shear zone thickness.
This equation may be derived directly from the velo-
city vector diagram, or from the general two-dimensional
flow velocity expression:
with the flow velocities u and v in directions x and y,
respectively. Kececioglu (58) first used this technique
for determining ?. He estimated A S by a quick-stop
technique, which has been improved recently by a num-
ber of investigators. Results of this and of other investiga-
tions using this technique invariably indicate an increase
in yield stress with increasing strain rate (49)(51) (59)-
(63)and rarely exceed strain rates of approximately lo5s - l.
In the Lockheed UHSM tests (14), strain rate was not
considered explicitly. By extrapolating previous results
relating to A S (decreasing with increasing V) and 4
(increasing with V) to A S = 0.0001 in and 4 = 45”, and
using 4 = O”, V = 8000 ftjs (the maximum speed en-
visaged in the Monash investigation), equation (18) yields
a strain rate of 1.35x lo9 s-l, i.e. even in excess of those
obtained in the explosive shock-loading of metals. AS
may in fact be even smaller than assumed; the limit,
based on considerations of dislocation mobility, being
several thousand 8,according to von Turkovich (62),
who also comments on the uncertainty of comparing the
‘low-particle velocity’ strain rates in metal cutting with
the ‘high-particle velocity’ strain rates resulting from direct
loading processes. This aspect was also discussed by
Wolak and Finnie (64).
Apart from dislocation theory, there are other factors,
such as fracture, crack propagation and stress wave
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630
phenomena that come into play at the extreme strain
rates appertaining to UHSM. These factors may collec-
tively outweigh those dominating at conventional cutting
speeds and this is illustrated in the following analysis,
which attempts to relate at least some of the factors des-
cribed above to metal cutting.
3 A NEW CUTTING-FORCE THEORY FOR
ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING
As outlined in Section 2, conflicting views and conflicting
experimental findings exist regarding cutting force
behaviour at very high cutting speeds. It appears that
in some cases the cutting force increases with increasing
speed, whereas in others it decreases. I n the following a
theory is presented that accounts for both these cases.
It considers collectively the three fundamental high-speed
deformation phenomena : adiabatic shear, strength in-
crease due to high-strain-rate deformation (strain harden-
ing) and inertia or momentum effects. It is based on the
force vector diagram shown in Fig. 2, i.e. on the force
resolutes given by equations (5) to (lo), each of which
consists of two parts whose relative magnitudes change
with increasing speed from a strength-dominated to an
inertia-dominated value.
Although it has been claimed (58) that the shear zone
in metal cutting, which at low speeds has been found to
be quite thick and of irregular shape, progressively ap-
proaches a planar, thin-zone shape with increasing speed,
more recent investigations using quick-stop devices do
not support this hypothesis (63). No experimental evi-
dence exists to indicate that at extremely high speeds the
shear zone approaches a thin plane. Thus the assumption
of a shear plane would be invalid for the purpose of analy-
sis. However, since the aim of this analysis is to arrive at
cutting forces only, this presents no major problem, be-
cause the shear force even for a thick shear zone can
always be related to the stress on a plane extending from
the tool nose to the workpiece-chip transition ‘point’ at
the free surface, i.e. to a shear plane as used in orthogonal
metal cutting analyses. This shear plane then represents
simply one of the slip lines in the plastic field to any one
of which the shear force may be related. This is the
starting point for the present analysis.
Next, the concept of adiabatic shear is introduced. As
described above, it has been shown conclusively that at
high deformation rates adiabatic shear or melting along
isolated molecular layers may take place within the highly-
stressed material regions. This and the above shear-plane
hypothesis give rise to the following model. The shear
zone, of total volume V,, originally consists of solid
material. With increasing speed, minute molten regions
of volume SV are generated within the shear zone, thereby
reducingthevolumeofthesolidmaterial to V , = V,-Z:SV.
By resolving the shear zone volume into planes of in-
finitesimal thickness and parallel to the above mentioned
shear plane, the same applies for each of these planes
and in particular for the shear plane considered. I n other
words, the shear plane of constant area AT (= btlsin 4)
consists of a solid material area A, and of molten (or
melting) areas 6A, not necessarily of the same size, such
that:
As = A , - B A . . . (20)
(It should be noted that the formation of microcracks
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G . ARNDT
instead of shear bands, or of both, could also be ac-
counted for by equation (20).)
By definition, the shear force acting along the shear
plane may be expressed in terms of the shear area and
the yield shear stress, r, i.e.
Fs = rA, . . . . (21)
Shear stress as well as direct stress are a function of de-
formation speed as shown earlier. Assuming the relation-
ship between yield shear stress r and shear strain y to
be of similar form to that given for direct stress and strain
in equation (15) and by rewriting equation (18) as, e.g.
p = KV,the following relationship results :
7 = rlym eaT(blnKV-1) . . (22)
This and similar strain-rate dependent expressions des-
cribe the increase in shear stress with deformation speed.
On the other hand, adiabatic shear as well as gross melt-
ing of the material will have the opposite effect, by virtue
of the formation of more and more molten zones within
the shear-plane area, whose shear strength is negligible
compared with that of the adjacent solid material. At low
cutting speeds no such molten zones exist and ZSA = 0
in equation (20). This condition prevails until adiabatic
shear commences. According to Recht (38) and using
the = KV simplification, the minimum deformation
speed for the onset of adiabatic shear is given by:
4n-kpC(y-yS) &/ay 778
V, = K [%7%] * [GI
(23)
where k, p and Care as defined above, 8 is the temperature,
L is the specimen length and the subscript s refers to the
yield condition. This expression is difficult, if not im-
possible, to evaluate on account of the unknown gradient
terms, so that simpler expressions for the mean shear
zone temperature, d,, or its maximum value ( 5 ) as a func-
tion of cutting speed may be preferable for evaluating
that speed V , at which the shear zone temperature ap-
proaches the melting point. When V , is exceeded, it
may reasonably be assumed that the molten regions will
grow in size and in number at an exponential rate in
analogy with such rate processes as recrystallization, self-
diffusion of atoms and grain growth. Hence the shear
area A, may be described by the relationships :
A, = AT V < V , . (24a)
A , = A , e-rcv-va) V > V , . (24b)
The resulting variation of shear area with deformation
speed is shown in Fig. 3.
Having thus established the nature of T and A, in
equation (21), the resultant shear force F, due to the
structural aspects of the deformation mechanism may
from equations (22) and (23) be expressed as :
1 -
Fs(v<va,= ATrlym[l+eaT(blnKV-l) (254
FSCV,
- ATTlYme[aTcb
Va) -
In K V - 1)- r ( V -V,M
(25b)
Fig. 3. Hypothetical variation of effective shear area
V d 187 44/73
 ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING: A REVIEW AND AN ANALYSIS O F CUTTING FORCES 631

Cutting v e l o c i t y , V

Fig. 4. Variation of shear force, based on Fig. 3

These expressions may be represented graphically as RI ‘A2

Cutting velocity
- ’ A3
-

shown in Fig. 4. (In practice it is more probable that the

curve will follow the dotted line, in the vicinity of V,.)
(4
Although equation (25b) contains both a positive and a
negative exponential term, the resultant effect is negative
since (V-V,) increases much more rapidly than
(b In KV- l), so that, as is to be expected from purely
theoretical reasoning, the shear force approaches zero as
the material in the shear zone approaches the liquid
state.
Turning then to the dynamic aspects of cutting forces,
it was shown earlier that, based on the velocity vector
triangle in orthogonal machining, the momentum force,
F,, acts along the shear plane direction (see Fig. 2). The
total effective shear force thus becomes :
Fs, = Fs +F m . .
(26) *
Cutting v e l o c i t y
R3 -
As shown by Bredendick (47) and others, the momentum (b)
force is relatively insignificant at speeds below that of
sound in air at which point it may approach the magni-
tude of the conventional cutting forces. This and the
fact that F , cc pV2 (equation (2)) may be used to quali-
tatively plot F, versus V, as shown in Fig. 5. (The curve
shown should in fact not be truly parabolic, since the
d’
shear angle 4 also varies with speed. However, the effect
of this on F, has here been neglected since it is small
compared with the influence of V on F,.) The velocity
V ,locates the parabola, and is obtained from equation (11).
The final step then consists of adding the forces shown
in Figs 4 and 5 to arrive at the overall shear force varia-
tion. This has been done for various situations in Figs
6a, 6b and 6c, from which some interesting conclusions +4Cutting velocity
R3 -
may be drawn. The three cases apply for the conditions (c)
V , < V,, V,+ V , and V , > Vi. The fact that V , has Subscripts
been used to locate the position of the F,-parabola is su = Resultant (shear) force.
simply a matter of convenience here, giving the relative sc = (Shear) force at conventional cutting velocities.
s = Shear.
location of the F,- and F,-curves. I n practice, F, would m = Momentum.
follow directly from equation (2).
Fig. 6. Theoretical behaviour of resultant and component
Fig. 6a, with V, < V,, illustrates the F,,-behaviour for forces a t ultra-high cutting velocities as a function
a typical low-melting-point (low V,) work material, or of the relative magnitude of Vi and V , (equations (11 )
alternative for a high-strength, low-weight material and (23))
(i.e. high k,, low p, :. high V , = 2 / ( k s / p ) ) as commonly
used in aircraft and spacecraft construction. The Fs,-
curve exhibits a pronounced ‘adiabatic’ trough, the mini-
mum value of which lies below that of the equivalent
shear force at conventional speeds, Fsc. One can hence
distinguish between three speed ranges: R,, R, and RB.
I n range R1 the resultant shear force at higher speeds
will moderately exceed that at lower speeds. Range
R , would be the most attractive economically and in fact
the only machining speed range in which the advantages
of ultra-high speeds are immediately obvious. In range
Cutting ve1ocity.V R,, forces increase indefinitely with speed, presumably
Fig. 5. Theoretical variation of momentum force until the ‘liquid chip’ state changes into a ‘gaseous chip’

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632
state at which point the concept of cutting force becomes
somewhat meaningless. Nevertheless, at the low-speed
end of Rcl, machining would still be possible, provided
that the cutting tool and its support are rigid enough to
withstand the high inertia forces involved rather than the
no-longer-existent forces caused by the shear deformation
mechanism. In this respect, range R3 still has advantages
over conventional speeds since at the latter it may not
be possible at all to machine such high-strength materials
as a result of superior workpiece strength properties (i.e.
high resistance to shear deformation).
In Fig. 6b, with V , and V, approaching each other,
which could be caused by an increasing V,, i.e. a higher
melting point material or a decreasing V , (low strength,
high-density material), the R2 range vanishes. FSuis al-
ways greater than F,,, although a small trough still exists
near V,. The argument concerning the possibility of
machining at high speeds in this case still applies, as
described above. Finally, Fig. 6c illustrates the case
V , > V, which could, from the V,-values given in sec-
tion 2.5, for example, apply for cast iron ( V , N 1000 ft/s).
The ‘adiabatic trough’ has become insignificant and inertia
forces predominate. In this case it is very likely that in
the speed range designated as R,, it is for mechanical
reasons quite impossible to machine such materials at all.
It must be stressed that, although the expounded theory
has been explained on the basis of shear force only, any
of the other resolutes obtained from the ultra-high-speed
force circle (Fig. 2) may likewise be analysed. The above
expositions are largely qualitative in nature, mainly be-
cause of uncertainties inherent in empirical equations
such as equation (22) and in assumed relationships such
as equation (24). Quantitative and largely metallurgical
tests have to be performed before accurate graphs for
particular materials, such as shown in Fig. 6, can be
established. Nevertheless, the theory does accommodate
material-dependent increases or decreases in cutting
forces at very high speeds and may hence explain the
anomalous findings of earlier workers.
4 CONCLUSIONS
(1) In the course of a comprehensive literature survey it
was found that very little scientific work had been per-
formed on ultra-high-speed machining (or UHSM-a
term generally implying cutting speeds above 500 ft/s) in
particular concerning its theoretical analysis. Some more
or less empirical studies had been reported, of which that
by Vaughn (14)was the most significant. Apart from the
uncertainty of the practical application of UHSM, rather
than its ability of providing fundamental insights into
extreme-strain-rate materials behaviour, this lack of
information is clearly a result of the complexity of this
topic, in which many interrelated fields interact, such as
high-strain-rate materials behaviour, plasticity theory, dis-
location theory, stress waves and impact phenomena,
dynamic fracture and flow phenomena.
(2) Inertia effects in UHSM were analysed theoretically.
These can be shown to lead to a ‘momentum’ force acting
along the commonly-assumed shear plane direction. This,
in analogy with Merchant’s force circle at conventional
cutting speeds, effectively gives rise to another force circle
accounting for inertia effects. These two circles combine
to form a resultant force circle at ultra-high cutting speeds.
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G. ARNDT
(3) A new theory for cutting forces at ultra-high cutting
speeds was presented. Considering firstly an exponential
decrease of shear volume (or area) caused by the onset of
adiabatic shear, melting or microcracks, secondly a strain-
rate-dependent increase in yield stress and thirdly inertia
effects, i.e. ‘momentum’ forces, it was shown that the
behaviour of the resultant ultra-high-speed cutting force
with cutting speed depends on the ratio VJV,, where
Vi = d ( k s / p ) (where k, is the specific cutting ‘force’, p is
the density of the work material) and V , is the deforma-
tion velocity necessary for the onset of adiabatic shear
(equation (23)).
(4) This theory predicts that for low-melting-point,
low-density materials (Vi> V,), the resultant cutting
force may exhibit an ‘adiabatic trough‘ in which for a
range of cutting speeds, situated near the speed of sound
in air, the resultant cutting force falls below that found at
conventional speeds. As the situation V, < V , is ap-
proached, this trough becomes more and more insignifi-
cant and the resultant cutting force is always high.
However, its material-strength-dependent component still
decreases with increasing speed so that it would still be
possible to cut the material, provided that inertia effects
could be counteracted.
5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledgements are due to the Harold Armstrong
Memorial Fund for its support in financing the ultra-high-
speed machining project from which this paper originated
and to Associate Professor R. H. Brown for his helpful
suggestions concerning the theoretical aspects.
APPENDIX
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Discussion
E. D. Doyle Ascot Vale, Victoria
1should like to discuss the second aim of the author’s very
interesting paper, that is the controversy over the defor-
mation process in metals when they are subjected to high
rates of deformation. The author concludes that there is
experimental evidence to prove the existence of an
adiabatic shear process and that melting may occur within
the shear band. Here I must keep the controversy raging
by pointing out that there is no conclusive evidence that
melting occurs within shear bands and, in fact, there is no
proof that an adiabatic shear process occurs at all. The
concept of adiabatic shear was introduced as a hypo-
thesis to explain a condition of plastic instability. Since
then, metallurgists have been attempting to account for
certain structural anomalies associated with so called
adiabatic shear but have been largely unsuccessful. The
only consistent points of agreement between many
research workers over the last 40 years concerning the
phenomenon of adiabatic shear are that it occurs in
regions of high stress concentration and that the resultant
shear band consists of fine grains (1 pm diameter). This
second point accounts for the shear band’s etching white
since the fine grain structure cannot be resolved in the
optical microscope, and it is not necessarily evidence of an
as-quenched martensitic structure, as has often been
assumed in the past.
I should like to introduce an observation made recently
in the Defence Standards Laboratories of Australia which
appears to offer an alternative mechanism of instability
when metals are subjected to high rates of deformation.
This was made on chips produced by fine grinding of
various metals; an example is shown in Fig. 7. The chip
has the characteristic lamellar structure but the inter-
Fig. 7. Transmission electron micrograph of a fine
grinding chip from nitrided stainless steel, showing
a fine lamellar structure
@I IMechE 1973
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D193
lamellar structure is barely resolvable. The type of
electron diffraction pattern obtained from these chips is
shown in Fig. 8. The fine continuous rings suggest a fine
grain structure. A possible explanation of the mechanism
responsible for this type of chip formation has been put
forward (65) and very briefly involves the following
sequence. The high stress concentration immediately
ahead of the advancing grit causes the metal to re-
crystallize to a fine grain structure, which becomes
unstable under the high applied stress. The process then
repeats itself and sets up a dynamic equilibrium. I n
support of this observation of an instability condition
associated with a fine grain size, Bridgman (66)observed
that metals become unstable when sheared under high
pressure and that the resultant shear band consists of fine
grains. Why a fine grain structure should become unstable
under high applied stress is not at all clear from the
present experimental observations.
It seems to me that the condition described above more
closely resembles the type of chip formation obtained by
the author. The possibility of instability through the
formation and linking of microcracks is unlikely in this
instance owing to the very short times available. However,
this in no way invalidates the drop in shear force with
increased cutting velocity as shown in Fig. 4. T h e
experimental observations of Recht (38) confirm a drop
in cutting forces with increased cutting speed. This is
explained in terms of the increasingly catastrophic drop
in shear strength with corresponding increase in shear
strain on the shear plane as the cutting speed increases.
Recht proposed an adiabatic shear mechanism to explain
this although it can be quite adequately accounted for by
fine grained instability.
Fig. 8. Typical’electron diffraction pattern from chips
produced by fine grinding
Proc lnstn Mach Engrs Vol 187 44/73
D194 DISCUSSION ON G . ARNDT
I am confident that a careful metallographic examination
of the chips produced by ultra-high-speed machining will
go a long way towards resolving this controversy. I look
forward to seeing future publications on this work.
REFERENCES
(65) DOYLE,E. D. and AGHAN,R. L. Submitted to Metall.
Trans.
P. W. J . appl. Phys. 1937 8,328.
(66) BRIDGMAN,
R . F. Recht Denver, Colorado
It is clear that the author has been thorough in his review
and analysis of ultra-high-speed machining investigations.
Unfortunately, an analytical error has been made.
Merchant’s force circle is used as a basis for examining
the effects of the ‘momentum force’ on the force resultant
which acts upon the tool. Merchant’s force circle depicts
the equilibrium of the four forces (Fs, F,, F, and F,)
which act upon the chip-free body at low machining
speeds as shown on Fig. 9a. Of these four forces, only F,
and F, act (in the opposite direction) upon the tool as
illustrated; thus, the resultant R of F, and F, does act
upon the tool, as indicated by the author. (Also acting
upon the tool are the thrust and friction forces at the wear
land and the force and moment reactions imposed by the
tool holder.)
0
b The inclusion of momentum forces and adiabatic
a Low-speed machining.
6 Ultra-high-speed machining.
Fig. 9. Force diagrams
@ IMechE 1973
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In the paper the ‘momentum force’ F , is considered to
add vectorially to the resultant of Merchant’s cutting-
force circle (the segment of R, lying in the smaller circle
on Fig. 96) to produce the resultant which acts upon the
tool. The tool does provide the larger resultant R,
required to support the F, component, but it also supports
the additional component AFN, shown on Fig. 9b. ( F ,
does not act directly upon the tool.) The neglect of
AFN, leads to the unfortunate conclusion that the friction
forces F,, (Fig. 9b) and F, (Fig. 9a) act in opposite
directions. Friction always acts in opposition to the
upward motion of the chip and F,, must act in the same
direction as F,. Further, the direction of R, is governed
entirely by the friction coefficient at the tool-chip inter-
face which is equal to Ffu/Nu.
The ‘momentum force’ derives from the body forces
which act during acceleration of material from workpiece
velocity to chip velocity. This force F, acts upon the chip-
free body, adding directly to the shear force F,, as shown
on Fig. 9b. The smaller circle on Fig. 9b is Merchant’s
force circle which differs from that of Fig. 9a for several
reasons. The direction of R, is different from that of R
only because the sliding coefficient of friction at the
toof-chip interface has decreased. Experiments have
demonstrated dramatic decreases in friction coefficient
at high sliding velocities ;Krafft (67) showed conclusively
that the dynamic-friction coefficient is very small during
ballistic penetration owing to melting at the sliding
interface (as small as 0.01). The magnitude of the com-
ponent R, which lies within the small circle is different
from R because the average shear force F,, is less than F,
and the coefficient of sIiding friction is different. The
direct effect of F, is to enlarge Merchant’s circle, in-
creasing all of the force components which lie in the small
circle by the ratio (F,+ F,,)/Fs,.
With regard to heat and temperature effects, it is
important to clarify the separate roles of shear defor-
mation and tool-chip friction upon temperatures and tool
wear. Heat generated in the shear zone is carried into the
chip by convection, no conduction being required. From
the friction interface, heat must be driven into the chip by
temperature gradients which increase sharply with
machining speed ;thus, even if friction heat per unit chip
volume remains constant, interface temperature rises
rapidly. As speed increases, AT, increases and F,, may
increase or decrease; increases in either cause heat per
unit chip volume to increase. Interface temperatures are
much greater than ‘stabilized’ chip temperatures (heat
uniformly distributed in chip). Melting at the interface
can level off the temperature. Tool wear is exceedingly
sensitive to interface temperature; tool materials which
remain strong at workpiece melting temperatures can
survive at ultra-high machining speeds.
REFERENCE
(67) KRAFFT,J. M. ‘Surface friction in ballistic penetration’,
J . appl. Phys. 1955 26, 1248.
R. L. Woodward Maribyrnong, Victoria
shearing effects into the metal cutting analysis clarifies
considerably the expected behaviour of materials in
high-speed cutting. The author states that the momentum
Proc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol187 44/73
 ULTRA-HIGH-SPEED MACHINING: A REVIEW AND AN ANALYSIS OF CUTTING FORCES
force acts parallel to the shear plane. However, as the
momentum change takes place along the shear plane one
also expects, from Newton’s second law of motion, that
the momentum force will act at points on the shear plane
and thus along the shear plane. If this is the case, some
important practical considerations arise from an examina-
tion of the equilibrium of forces and moments.
Using the symbols and geometry of Fig. 2 where
possible we see that the momentum force F, is opposed
by a normal force F,,, and a friction force F f m dis-
tributed along the rake face of the tool. Taking moments
about the tool tip, noting that the friction force and the
momentum force both act through the tool tip, we have
F,,a = 0 . .
. . (27)
where a is a mean distance along the tool at which F,,
acts and is given by
2 FlmXim
a=-
Fnm
. . . (28) -
where Fi, represents the distribution of F,, along the tool
face at distances xi, from the tip and
2 Fi, = F,, . . . .
As xi, and F,, cannot be negative, equations (27) and
(28) imply that a = xi, = 0 and thus the normal force
F,, must act entirely at the tool tip. T o obtain equilibrium
of forces the friction force F,, also acts at the tool tip.
If this is the case the momentum force is supported at
the tip of the tool, and as the momentum force increases
fracture of the tool tip becomes more likely. With large
momentum forces one also expects large deflections of the
tool so that the depth of cut is altered considerably.
Whether an increase or a decrease occurs depends on the
rake of the tool; a positive rake causes an increase, a
negative rake a decrease.
G . Arndt Graduate (Author)
Firstly, it is unfortunate that R. F. Recht has not con-
sistently adhered to the force convention as used in the
paper where, as is obvious from equations (7) and (26), or
from Fig. 6, F,, is the sum of F, and F,, implying that in
Fig. 2 the end points of all three vectors F,,, F, and F, are
at the tool tip, not at the intersection points with the
various circles, as is the case in Fig. 9b. All forces with
subscripts u are stated to be the resultant effects of both
mechanical and momentum contributions and have their
end points on the largest of the three circles shown in
Fig. 2. According to this convention the forces F,, and
FNushown inside the small circle of Fig. 9b are simply F,
and FN, as per Fig. 9a.
The fact that the same momentum force F, acts along
the shear plane and hence at the tool tip (which is still part
of the tool), whereas the actual ‘mechanical’ resultant
force R, originating from the workpiece-strength-
dominated cutting process, in practice acts at some point
further along the tool rake face, is well understood. The
distance x along the rake face by which the two points of
application of the forces F, and R are separated may be
about 0.5 to 2 times the depth of cut, i.e. a rather small
quantity. It gives rise to a moment about the cutting edge
of magnitude M = xF, which unfortunately does not
show up in the usual convention of drawing Merchant’s
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D195
force circle. This moment, particularly at ultra-high
speeds, where F, approaches zero as the hydrodynamic
region is reached, is therefore negligible in comparison
with the other effects contributing towards tool loading.
This, although not stated explicitly in the paper, was
implicit in the use of Merchant’s model which, as the
reader is aware, also contains several other simplifying
assumptions. The analysis was introduced as a ‘simple’
analysis; perhaps ‘simplified’ would have been a better
term.
Having thus explained the reasons for assuming both
F, and R to act at the tool point in this analysis, one can
turn to Fig. 9b. This contains several issues with which I
disagree. The most serious error, which in fact explains
the introduction of the fictitious force component AF,,,
(whose origin has not been explained), lies in the in-
correct addition of F, and R. The momentum force F,
in itself is a ‘resultant’ force acting purely along the shear
plane, and cannot introduce any force component, or
resolute, normal to it. This means that the only force
acting normal to the ‘shear plane’, even at ultra-high
speeds, is FN, and that F, = FNu,as in equation (8). I n
Fig. 9b the resultant R of Merchant’s circle is shown as
(29)
‘the segment of R, lying in the smaller circle on Fig. 9b‘.
For vectorial addition of F, and R the dashed line shown
parallel to F, represents F,, and the resultant vector sum
R, is a line (vector) extending from the left-hand end of
this dashed line to the tool tip (as can be verified from
Fig. 2). The portion of the ‘resultant’ R, as shown in
Fig. 9b lying outside the smaller circle may be thought of
as a resolute of F, acting in the direction of R, although
even then it is wrong since it cannot be greater than F ,
itself, i.e. the right angle should be at the other end of
‘AF,;. AF,, cannot exist, and moreover there is no
reason why F, should be resolved in the direction of R.
R, and R will usually not be collinear, as shown in Fig. 2.
Another difference of opinion with respect to Fig. 9b
lies in the representation of the normal force at ultra-high
speeds Nu (= F,,+ F,,) some distance along the tool rake
face. The point of application of F,,, is always at the tool
tip. At the high speeds F,, $- F, so that the point of
application of the resultant normal force Nu will largely
coincide with that of R,. As stated in the discussion, at
these speeds the dynamic coefficient of friction p = F,,/N,
is very small. To take the example quoted, viz. p x 0.01,
it follows that Nu x 100 F,,, implying that in both Figs 9b
and 2 the direction of Nunearly coincides with that of R,.
The term ‘friction’ force for F,, is perhaps misleading:
F,, could more correctly be described as ‘the combined
effect of friction on the rake face (itself the result of shear
and momentum effects along the shear plane) and normal
and friction forces on the clearance face’. The forces on
the clearance face are again neglected in Merchant’s
analysis. They may in fact be appreciable at ultra-high
speeds, and contribute towards the existence of the final,
positive coefficient of friction. Admittedly, the overall
‘mechanical’ frictional effect always acts in a direction
opposite to the motion of the chip, whereas the resolute
of Fm2along the rake face, i.e. F,,, does not. The limita-
tions in the use of Merchant’s force circle become clearly
apparent at this point. However, the force-circle approach
was simply chosen to demonstrate the overriding effect of
momentum in UHSM, for which purpose it is sufficient.
The points offered by E. G. Recht in no way invalidate the
Proc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol187 44/73
D196 DISCUSSION ON G. ARNDT
force theory presented, but his comments are appreciated.
I thank him also for his remarks on heat and temperature
effects.
I n reply to E. D. Doyle, the justification for using the
term ‘conclusive evidence’ in the paper rests solely on the
findings of some 13 previous investigations (25)-(38) into
the high-strain-rate shear deformation mechanism,
whether it be called adiabatic shear, ‘so called’ adiabatic
shear, melting, or simply a condition of plastic in-
stability. The exact nature of this phenomenon clearly
needs further investigation, and the mechanism suggested
by E. D. Doyle represents another step in this direction.
As he agrees, the fact remains that at high speeds defor-
mation energy decreases by some mechanism, for which the
present theory accounts. A metallographic examination
of the UHSM chips has in fact been made and has been
reported elsewhere (2). Evidence of both melting and the
formation of white-etching bands within the chip, as well
as recryst,allization, was obtained, a fact which supports
the theory as presented.
I n reply to R. L. Woodward, F,,, always acts at the tool
tip, as shown in Fig. 2 and mentioned in my reply to R. F.
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Recht’s comments. F,,,, in fact is not ‘distributed’ along
the rake face of the tool, but is simply the resolute of F,
in that direction. The result of R. L. Woodward’s analysis
is obvious and implicit in Fig. 2. Tool as well as work-
piece deflections are a function of the rigidity of the
cutting system and the strength of the materials used in it.
If rigidity and strength are high, deflections do not
necessarily have to be large. This is one of the practical
requirements in ultra-high-speed machining if accurate
cuts are to be made. It may be alleviated somewhat by the
use of appropriately arranged multiple cutting edges
which balance out each other’s momentum forces. The
question of whether a negative rake on a tool cutting at
ultra-high speeds will cause a ‘decrease’ in depth of cut,
i.e. prevent digging-in of the tool, is a debatable point,
since even with negative rake angles F,,, will still act down-
wards in Fig. 2. Although F,,,, (which is then smaller than
Ffm)will tend to push the tool back, the ‘dynamic com-
ponent’ in F,,, viz. F,,, will still tend, through the chip
material, to pull the tool into the workpiece. This was
invariably found to be the case in the UHSM tests per-
formed by me (I), also with negative-rake tools.
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