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CIRP Annals - Manufacturing Technology

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Mechanism of Cutting Elastomers with Cryogenic Cooling

Matthias Putz (2)a,b, Martin Dix b,*, Mike Neubert b, Torsten Schmidt a
a
b

Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU), Reichenhainer Str. 88, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany
Institute for Machine Tools and Production Processes (IWP), Technische Universitat Chemnitz, Reichenhainer Str. 70, 09126, Chemnitz, Germany

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Keywords:
Turning
Cryogenic machining
Polymer

Machining of elastomers offers more exibility of product shape in comparison to the common
compression moulding, especially for small batch series. In this context the entropy-elastic behaviour of
the material with low Youngs modulus is the main barrier for high-quality manufacturing. This material
behaviour could be temporarily adapted by cryogenic cooling for precise cutting. In this article, the
different mechanisms, e.g. forces, friction and separation procedures, are analysed for elastomers with
different material behaviours. Different chip formation mechanisms are shown in comparison to metal
machining. As a result, the friction (m  1) between work piece, chip and tool dominates. An analytic chip
formation model has been applied.
2016 CIRP.

1. Elastomersmanufacturing and properties

1.1. Introduction
Elastomer components play an important role as sealing,
bearings or as electric insulators in engineering. Primary shaping
such as injection moulding or compression moulding are the most
common technologies for manufacturing elastomer parts. However, as it requires expensive custom-made pressing moulds, the
fabrication of single parts and small batch sizes is uneconomic.
Shape cutting as an alternative production technology for small
quantities enables a reduction of cost and increases the exibility
of handling. However, the high elastic material behaviour with low
Youngs modulus is the main barrier to economical machining with
high accuracy and high quality surfaces.

long-time loads mechanisms such as creep and relaxation were

detected. The dynamic material behaviour can be described by the
complex dynamic modulus G, which is based on the storage
modulus and the loss modulus G00 . G0 denes the elastic behaviour
and the G00 denes the viscous behaviour [1].
q
0
00
G G 2 G 2

(1)

Both moduli are inuenced by deformation rate and temperature. So G and G00 increase with increasing deformation rate. This
means that the elastomer becomes harder at higher deformation
rates and also dissipates more energy. Especially the reduction of
the operation temperature results in an increase of the moduli
(Fig. 1). Thus the material characteristic can be modelled.

1.2. Material behaviour of elastomers

Elastomers are usually thermoset plastics with widely meshed
cross-links between the twisted molecular chains. Under loads the
twisted molecular chains are oriented in the direction of the force.
The cross-links ensure that the chains get back in the twisted initial
state when the part is unloaded. When this process is 100%
reversible and all the mechanical work for deformation can be
regained, the material characteristic is ideal elastic. Yet, in case of
conventional elastomers such as the often-used nitrile butadiene
rubber NBR the material characteristic is viscoelastic. This means
that the material is elastic under short-time loads, but viscous
under long-time loads. Also mechanical energy dissipation occurs
at every load cycle which is based on internal friction. During

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 371 531 36678.

E-mail address: martin.dix@mb.tu-chemnitz.de (M. Dix).

Fig. 1. Dynamic material parameters [3].

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.04.075
0007-8506/ 2016 CIRP.

Please cite this article in press as: Putz (2) M, et al. Mechanism of Cutting Elastomers with Cryogenic Cooling. CIRP Annals Manufacturing Technology (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.04.075

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Therefore, the viscoelastic behaviour will be changed to an energy

elastic behaviour by cooling to low temperatures [2].
This transition from entropy-elastic/viscoelastic to energyelastic is dened as glass-transition-range. High strain-rates move
this range towards higher temperatures. This correlation between
temperature and strain-rate was described by an analytical
equation derived by Williams, Landel and Ferry [4].
The main problem in machining elastomers consists in high
elasticity combined with the low Youngs modulus. Thus high
elastic deformation occurs in the entire workpiece during
machining, which results in poor manufacturing qualities. Based
on the shown general material behaviours, two strategies are
possible to increase the machinability of elastomers. One is the
increase of the cutting speed to obtain a stiffer material, i.e. higher
G and G00 , by increasing the deformation rate. This strategy was
tested by Bargel [5]. He analysed the inuence of different cutting
parameters on the machinability of an acrylonitrile-butadieneelastomer under dry conditions. Thus the cutting speed has the
highest inuence. The second strategy, which is discussed in this
article, is the cooling of the workpiece under the glass-transitionrange to achieve the energy elastic material behaviour with a
higher Youngs modulus.
2. Measured mechanical properties of NBR
2.1. Tensile stress
A thermomechanical analysis was necessary to determine the
required temperature range for machining nitrile-butadienerubber NBR. Therefore tensile tests were conducted at different
temperatures on a Zwick material testing machine (testing speed:
0.05 mm/s; preload force: 10 N) in a temperature chamber used for
low temperatures. The measured results are shown in Fig. 2,
demonstrating that decreasing temperatures lead to an increase in
elastic modulus and in tensile stress. The maximum elongation
rst increases by reducing the temperature and achieving a local
maximum at 20 8C. At this temperature the maximum
elongation falls signicantly. A brittle and quasi-elastic material
property is achieved at 70 8C.
Based on these ndings cryogenic cooling with liquid nitrogen
LN (Tboiling = 196 8C) was chosen for pre-cooling the rotating
workpiece. It was cooled down by a LN2 jet shortly before the
turning operation started. Bulk temperature was assumed to be
below glass transition temperature.

[7]. Internal friction is a hysteresis process which is caused by

the deformation of the elastomer during sliding over an uneven
counter-surface. The generated oscillating forces lead to repetitive
deformations of the elastomer. As a consequence, the loss module
G _ leads to energy dissipation. The appropriate friction portion
hysteresis composed with adhesion results in the friction force
FR. Khan [7] described in his work that the friction force has the
same temperature dependence as that of the elastic modulus [7].
The friction on elastomer surfaces strongly depends on the
sliding velocity. The reason for this is the frequency dependence of
the complex model of the elastomers. Each roughness peak of the
hard counter body leads to a deformation of the elastomer and
stimulates certain frequencies. Therefore, the frequency is raised
with increasing sliding speed.
Friction experiments were performed on a rotational tribometer (TRM5000 WAZAU GmbH, Ring on disc, radius 35 mm) to
evaluate the temperature dependence like the one of the complex
elastic modulus. The experiments were conducted under dry and
cryogenic conditions. The normal force was varied by a constant
increase from FN = 100 N up to FN = 250 N over a time period of
Dt = 200 s. Characteristic results are presented in Figs. 3 and 4.
It is shown that under cryogenic conditions the friction force
and the friction coefcient have higher values than under dry
conditions at 20 8C and at the same velocity and loads. So a value of
mcryo  1 was determined. The observation of friction behaviour in
dry conditions is consistent with the investigation results of
Grosch [6]. He observed a nonlinear increase of the friction with
increasing velocity. At each sliding velocity, friction decreases with
increasing temperature [6].

2.2. Friction on elastomer surfaces

The friction behaviour of elastomers against hard counterbodies differs greatly from metallic materials. Therefore there
should be a distinction between the mechanisms of internal and
outer friction. Outer friction is dened by the surface contact
between the two friction partners which are characterized by
adhesion processes [6]. The resulting adhesion friction portion is
important only for sufciently clean and smooth surfaces

Fig. 2. Measured stress-strain curve of NBR at different temperatures.

Fig. 3. Friction analysis under dry conditions - NBR ring on ground steel ring.

Fig. 4. Friction analysis under cryogenic conditionsNBR ring on ground steel ring.

Please cite this article in press as: Putz (2) M, et al. Mechanism of Cutting Elastomers with Cryogenic Cooling. CIRP Annals Manufacturing Technology (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.04.075

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3. Cutting of elastomers in dry and cryogenic conditions

3.1. Experimental setup and cutting conditions
The turning experiments were performed on a conventional
turning lathe (Mikromat 2D DZFG). Fig. 5 shows the experimental
setup. All elastomer specimens were sliced from a 50 mm thick
rubber mat using abrasive waterjet cutting. The nal shape is a
hollow cylinder with an outer diameter of 90 mm. In order to avoid
deformation during mounting, the elastomer specimens were held
by a customized mandrel which is designed to prevent the
specimens from turning and moving sideways. This xture was
then clamped into the three-jaw chuck of the lathe.
The lathe tool has an approach angle of 908. Rake and clearances
angle were adapted to the desired values by grinding. The
clearance angle is 118, and the two recommended values [8,10]
were tested for the rake angle: 20 and 408. The applied cutting
insert is made of uncoated carbide ISO P25/P30.
A dynamometer by Kistler was used to record cutting forces
Table 1.

Fig. 5. Setup of longitudinal turning tests.

Table 1
Tested cutting parameters (ap = 1.5 mm).
Working conditions

Rake angles (8)

Feed (mm)

Dry cutting
Cryogenic cooling

20; 40
20; 40

0.2; 0.25; 0.315; 0.4

0.2; 0.25; 0.315; 0.4

Turning tests were performed twice for every parameter

combination (two rake angles and four feeds) under dry and
cryogenic conditions. For the cryogenic tests, the work piece was
pre-cooled in the clamped state by a LN2 jet with the following
parameters:
 nozzle diameter of 3 mm, distance to the workpiece 40 mm.
 pressure of the cryogenic delivery system 1.2 bar.
 two cooling cycles with 450 rpm and axial nozzle feed of 12 mm/s.
3.2. Cutting forces
The measured forces for the different cutting conditions and
cooling parameters are shown in Fig. 6.
In all parameter combinations the cutting force shows an
increase with increasing feed, which is typical for conventional
machining. Also higher rake angles tend to cause lower cutting

Fig. 6. Cutting and feed forces in dry and cryogenically cooled turning NBR with
different rake angles.

forces. The inuence of pre-cooling with LN2 which creates a

higher material complex modulus and higher friction coefcients
results in signicantly higher cutting and feed forces. An
interesting effect was observed in the behaviour of the feed force
over the increasing feed. In machining of metals such as aluminium
the feed force increases with increasing feed also at such high rake
angles [8]. In the case of turning of elastomers the feed force
decreases with increasing feed. In the case of dry machining
negative values also accrue. The cooled process shows a
signicantly higher feed force and no negative values.
Overall the characteristic of the forces and thus the chip
formation could not be explained with the classic chip formation
theory of turning metals and require a different approach.
3.3. Mechanism in the chip formation
Based on the viscoelastic or rather energy elastic material
behaviour of elastomers, it is clear that the cutting mechanism
cannot be based on plastic forming in the shear zone as it is shown
in the classical chip formation theory of Vieregge [9]. The necessary
power for the chip formation can only be based on separation
mechanism, friction and material redirection.
Joswig [10] analysed the chip formation of uncooled turning
elastomers by in-process-photography and visioplasticity. The
analysis demonstrated that the separation of the chip is strongly
located in front of the cutting edge. The main contact between
workpiece and tool is in the area of the cutting edge and the rake
face. A contact between the clearance face could be avoided by
clearance angles higher than 108. Based on this knowledge a model
was developed for determining the force. This model is based on
the analytic determination of the separation force Fs and the
friction force FR on the rake face (Fig. 7).
The beam theory, where the beam is clamped at the chip root,
was applied to determine the bending force FB.
FB

aB Ebf 3
2

F N;B F R;B 10

The normal force FN is calculated by the balance of the forces in

x and y direction and by trigonometry. FR is calculated using the
measured friction value m (section 2.2). This theory was veried for
different elastomer materials under dry machining and showed
good applicability [10].
The model was applied for the current turning investigation
results with and without cooling for the material parameters
(chapter 2.1, Fig. 2) and friction values (chapter 2.2, Figs. 3 and 4).
The calculated force values are presented in Fig. 8.
In dry machining a quasi-constant separation force in the range
of approx. Fs  10 N was calculated with increasing feed. This can
be conrmed by the thesis that the amount of material which must
be separated did not increase signicantly with the increasing feed
by turning with a approach angle of k = 908. Fig. 6 shows that the
cutting forces increase with increasing feed, so the ratio Fs/FC
decreases with increasing feed. The normal force and with it the
friction force, correlating to the friction value m (mdry = 0.54;

Fig. 7. Forces in cutting of elastomers by [10].

Please cite this article in press as: Putz (2) M, et al. Mechanism of Cutting Elastomers with Cryogenic Cooling. CIRP Annals Manufacturing Technology (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.04.075

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Fig. 10. Power distribution in turning elastomers and steel.

Fig. 8. Calculated forces in dry and cryogenically cooled turning of elastomers.

mcryo = 0.97), increases with increasing feed. This increase is based

on the higher thickness of the chip/beam, which results in a high
bending force and a higher normal force on the rake face.
Cryogenically assisted turning shows some elementary differences. Based on the higher Youngs modulus of the material (Fig. 2),
a higher normal force occurs. In addition, the friction force is
higher, especially due to the higher friction coefcient value
ofmcryo  1, which was determined in specic experiments (Fig. 4).
The force distribution of the cryogenically cooled machining
shows differences in comparison to the dry machining. Thereby the
separation force decreases with increasing feed. A local minimum
is reached at f = 0.3 mm, then the separation force starts to
increase. This effect could be explained by the increasing
temperatures in the cutting zone. However, the higher separation
and friction forces result in higher heat production per time unit at
higher feed rates. Thus also the heat ux in the workpiece increases
and the glass-transition-range is achieved. So, the temperatures in
the separation zone are in a critical range where the material is not
brittle anymore and allows elongation, but still has a high
hardness. In correlation with the material parameters shown in
Fig. 2, the temperatures in separation at the high feeds must
achieve temperatures higher than 70 8C.
The normal forces FN in cryogenically cooled turning are
signicant higher due to the higher Youngs modulus of the
material and the stiffer chip/beam. The low temperatures in the
chip and the chip root were conrmed by the brittle material
behaviour which results in improved chip breaking and shorter
chips. Fig. 9 shows the formed chips.
So cryogenic cooling allows a change from an endless ribbonchip to a segmented chip.

based on the work of Vieregge [9], dealing with turning steel AISI
L6 (Rm = 800 MPa) with the cutting parameters vc = 100 m/min,
b = 4.25 mm and the tool parameters g = 108 and a = 58. The
comparison shows that power consumption of separation and
friction, which dominates elastomer machining, is smaller in steel
turning than the consumption of the deforming mechanism in the
shearing zone.
Especially for higher feeds or rather higher cutting crosssections, plastic material forming dominates the chip formation in
steel machining.
5. Conclusion
The machining of elastomers is based on mechanisms quite
different than those of steel. Especially the absence of plastic
deformation results in a different chip formation, including pure
separation in front of the cutting edge and friction of the chip on
the rake face. The low modulus of elasticity in dry turning results in
high deformation and low quality. Cryogenic cooling changes the
material properties and friction behaviour signicantly. As a result
the forces in the chip formation are increased, but the change of the
material behaviour from viscoelastic to energy-elastic with higher
Youngs modulus allows precise machining with improved chip
breaking.
Acknowledgements
The research results were obtained as part of the project
Technology for machining plastics assisted with cryogenic
cooling, which is funded by the Central Innovation Program for
SMEs (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy
based on a decision of the German Bundestag.
The authors wish to express their gratitude to their project
partners J. Schmalz GmbH and Metrom GmbH for their support.
References

Fig. 9. Chip formation of (a) cryogenically assisted turned elastomer and (b) dry
turned elastomer.

4. Summary
The analytic model of the force determination in combination
with the analysis of material and friction claries that machining of
elastomers is dominated by a separation process in front of the
cutting edge and relatively high power consumption due to the
friction of the chip on the tool rake face. In comparison to turning of
metals such as steel or aluminium, the power distribution is quite
different. Fig. 10 presents a qualitative comparison of the power
consumption distribution of the mechanism in chip formation in
turning of elastomers and steel. The values for steel turning are

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Please cite this article in press as: Putz (2) M, et al. Mechanism of Cutting Elastomers with Cryogenic Cooling. CIRP Annals Manufacturing Technology (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cirp.2016.04.075