A comparative study on cutting performance of rake-flank face structured cutting tool in orthogonal cutting of AISI/SAE 4140

Surface structuring on cutting tools is a modern application of surface structuring that has shown improvements in tribological phenomena at tool-chip interface. Literature suggests that this technique has been used mainly to structure the rake face of a cutting tool. This study reports on the performance of femtosecond laser-generated structures on both rake and flank faces of the cutting tool. The premise for fabricating structures on both faces of cutting tool was to have strong impact on tool wear and cutting forces so as to reduce power demands. Fabricated structures were in a form of conventional micro-grooves. Performance of structures was assessed in the machining of AISI/SAE 4140 over a conventional range of cutting speeds for the selected workpiece material. The orthogonal cutting tests to investigate the effects of structured tool on cutting forces, friction coefficient and flank land wear rate were performed. Results show that the structured tool is effective in delivering better machining performance as compared to unstructured tool in terms of reduced friction coefficient by 14 %, cutting forces by 10 %, feed forces by 23 %, and compression ratio by 10 %. Characterisation of sticking and sliding contact was evaluated.