Machining is one type of manufacturing operation (secondary manufacturing process) where excess material is gradually removed by shearing in the form of chip from a preformed blank. A rigid, hard, wedge shaped device, called cutting tool, is employed for compressing the work material and thereby shearing the excess layer of material. The cutting tool is firmly mounted on the machine tool and all necessary motions are provided by the machine tool via various arrangements.
So the purpose of cutting tool (also called cutter) is to compress a particular layer of work material in order to shear it off. Therefore, cutter must have wedge shape with sharp edge for smoothly and efficiently removing material requiring minimum power. At the same time cutter material should be sufficiently hard so as to withstand intense rubbing occurred during machining. The thickness and width of the material to be removed at a time by the cutting tool are determined by the basic process parameters (cutting velocity, feed rate and depth of cut).
Geometry, material and setting orientation of cutting tool are three important factors that influence overall machining performance and machinability. This page is dedicated to the cutters—its type, shape, classification, features, geometry, designation, material, coating, life, price, etc. You can get the topic library below.
Introduction to cutting tool
Cutting tool it is a wedge shaped device used to remove excess material from workpiece during conventional machining. Examples include turning tool, drill, milling cutter, grinding wheel, hob, broach, etc. When cutter has only one main cutting edge, it is called single point cutter; when it has two then it is called double point cutter; and when it have more than two it is called multi-point cutter. To see all articles, you can browse all articles.
Designation of cutting tools – tool signature
Tool designation basically refers displaying various features of the cutting tool in a symbolic but standardized manner. Various systems for designating cutter are Tool-In-Hand system, American Standards Association (ASA) system, Orthogonal Rake System (ORS), Normal Rake System (NRS) and Maximum Rake System (MRS). Tool signature in all these systems, their examples and interpretation, comparisons, advantages and disadvantages of one system over another, etc. are discussed here. To see all articles, you can browse all articles.