ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijmactool

Effect of machining parameters in ultrasonic vibration cutting

Chandra Nath1, M. Rahman
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore–117576, Singapore
Received 7 November 2007; received in revised form 21 January 2008; accepted 25 January 2008
Available online 15 February 2008

Abstract

The ultrasonic vibration cutting (UVC) method is an efficient cutting technique for difficult-to-machine materials. It is found that the
UVC mechanism is influenced by three important parameters: tool vibration frequency, tool vibration amplitude and workpiece cutting
speed that determine the cutting force. However, the relation between the cutting force and these three parameters in the UVC is not
clearly established. This paper presents firstly the mechanism how these parameters effect the UVC. With theoretical studies, it is
established that the tool–workpiece contact ratio (TWCR) plays a key role in the UVC process where the increase in both the tool
vibration parameters and the decrease in the cutting speed reduce the TWCR, which in turn reduces both cutting force and tool wear,
improves surface quality and prolongs tool life. This paper also experimentally investigates the effect of cutting parameters on cutting
performances in the cutting of Inconel 718 by applying both the UVC and the conventional turning (CT) methods. It is observed that the
UVC method promises better surface finish and improves tool life in hard cutting at low cutting speed as compared to the CT method.
The experiments also show that the TWCR, when investigating the effect of cutting speed, has a significant effect on both the cutting
force and the tool wear in the UVC method, which substantiates the theoretical findings.
r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Ultrasonic vibration cutting; Tool vibration parameters; Cutting speed; Tool–workpiece contact ratio; Cutting tool life

1. Introduction to improve cutting quality and to increase tool life by

The ultrasonic vibration cutting (UVC) method is a
more effective cutting process over conventional turning
(CT) in terms of cutting force, cutting instability, tool
blunting, tool wear, chip generation, surface finish and so
on, to machine difficult-to-cut materials such as Ni- and
Ti-based super alloys, hardened steels, optical glasses,
ceramics, tungsten carbides, etc. [1–17]. This method
improves productivity by saving the manufacturing time
by about 5–10% as well as the machining cost by about
30% of the cost of parts as required in the deburring
process of precision parts [18].
Along with the usual parameters for the CT method, two
additional parameters: tool vibration frequency and vibra-
tion amplitude, are considered in the UVC system that help
Corresponding author. Tel.: +65 6516 2168; fax: +65 6779 1459.
E-mail addresses: g0500294@nus.edu.sg (C. Nath),
mpemusta@nus.edu.sg (M. Rahman).
1
Tel: +65 6516 4644; fax: +65 6779 1459.
lowering, mainly, the cutting force and improving the
dynamic cutting stability.
Extensive theoretical research [12–16], simulation [17]
and experimental results [8–12,19,20] for the UVC method
mention that the lower cutting force is due to a
considerable reduction of friction between the tool and
the workpiece [17,19] and the separating or pulse cutting
characteristic of the tool [12–14,18,21]. Previous experi-
mental reports also indicated that the UVC method
performs better at low cutting speeds [6–8,18–22] and at
both high-tool vibration frequency and amplitude [23].
Moreover, the UVC mechanism during the tool–workpiece
interaction is basically related to these above three
parameters [3,8,13,15,20]. Therefore, the cutting force is
directly related to these three parameters. However, the
relationship between the cutting force and these three
parameters has not yet been established.
Furthermore, Babitsky et al. [2,6] justified and compared
the axial surface profile and roundness profile for the
cutting of Inconel 718 by applying both the CT and the

0890-6955/$ - see front matter r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ijmachtools.2008.01.013
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966 C. Nath, M. Rahman / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974

UVC methods. However, the ability of the cubic boron ap

nitride (CBN) tool for this excellent tough and creep-
rupture resistance alloy and the effect of cutting parameters
Y-axis (Radial)
on the cutting performance by applying the UVC method
Tool insert
have not yet been studied. As a hard and tough cutting X-axis (Axial)
inexpensive tool material, CBN is the best choice, next only ve
Z-axis (Tangential)
to the diamond tools.
The authors in this paper investigate firstly the mechan-
T Feed directional
ism of the effect of these three parameters in the UVC PZ
vibration
process. It is theoretically understood that the amount of f, a
cutting force is directly related with these three parameters Radial directional
that establish two key factors: tool–workpiece contact ratio vibration
Tangential
and tool–workpiece relative speed (hereafter called directional vibration
‘‘TWCR’’ and ‘‘TWRS’’, respectively), for this intermittent
Fig. 1. Schematic of ultrasonic vibration cutting.
cutting technique. This paper focuses mainly on controlling
the first key factor, TWCR. It is found that the increase in
both the tool vibration frequency and the vibration
vt = 0
amplitude, and the decrease in the workpiece cutting speed x = a sin t
Cutting
reduce the TWCR. As the TWCR decreases, the non-
b’

Displacement of tool
cutting time of the tool increases, which decreases the b vct
a a’
cutting force and enhances both increased tool life and Free
(vt) max
improved cutting quality.
This paper also investigates the effect of cutting para- 0 ta tb Time
meters such as cutting speed and feed rate in cutting vt = 0
Tool
Inconel 718. The cutting quality is evaluated in terms of tc ta tc
three force components, tool wear, chip formation and T
surface roughness for both the UVC and the CT methods.
Additionally, the study observes and discusses the behavior
of tool failure and the formation of chips at different
Cutting force

cutting conditions by means of scanning electron micro-

R

scopy (SEM). Finally, a comparison is made to show the

advantages of the UVC method over the CT method. It is
concluded that the UVC method performs better than the
CT method up to a certain cutting speed range. However,
beyond this range, the CBN tools catastrophically failed in
machining of Inconel 718 in the UVC method. The authors
consider that this type of failure during ultrasonic cutting is
due to a number of consecutive high impacts between the
tool and the workpiece for long durations at a compara-
tively high-cutting speed. The higher the cutting speed, the
larger is the TWCR. Therefore, the cutting speed has a
significant effect on cutting force and tool wear in the UVC
method, which substantiates the theoretical findings.
Finally, it is remarked that the UVC method offers better
cutting performance in hard and tough cutting materials at
low cutting speed and at high-tool vibration frequency and
amplitude.
2. Theory
2.1. Study of the UVC mechanism
Fig. 1 shows an illustration of a UVC system where
a piezoelectric transducer (PZT) is configured into the
tool shank to excite the tool in any desired direction
corresponding to three conventional axes. In this study,
a tangential or cutting directional type UVC system is
0
Time
Fig. 2. Pulse cutting state in the UVC method.
considered as implemented by most of the previous
researchers [3,8–16,20]. The rest of cutting system in this
technique is the same as the CT set-up.
The cutting principle of the UVC method was explained
by previous researchers [8,12,13,15,20]. The tool oscillates
at an ultrasonic frequency f (i.e. vibration period, T=1/f)
with a very small vibration amplitude a where the
workpiece rotates with a constant cutting speed vc.
Accordingly in Fig. 2, the cutting edge starts to vibrate
from the origin O and then cuts the workpiece material
during the interaction periods tab, ta0 b0 .
The displacement of vibrating tool is described by
x ¼ a sin ot ¼ a sin 2pft (1)
where x and o are the displacement and the angular
velocity of the tool, respectively.
Thus the tool vibration speed is vt ¼ x_ ¼ ao cos ot,
which varies from a minimum of (vt)min ¼ 0 at any peak or
valley to a maximum of (vt)max ¼ ao ¼ 2paf at midpoint of
its either upward or downward motion, except for the
initial tool speed at the origin O. It was realized
[3,8,12,13,15,20] that ultrasonic cutting is satisfied if
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C. Nath, M. Rahman / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974 967

ao4vc, otherwise it becomes a conventional cutting Now let a workpiece, rotating with a constant cutting
process. Therefore, the critical cutting speed in the UVC speed vc, engages at a1 and disengages at b1 during the
method is defined as (vc)cr=ao=2paf=(vt)max. upward and downward motion, respectively, of the tool for
Fig. 2 also illustrates the three following basic equations the low-frequency UVC system. Thus the system for this
that govern the UVC system: case follows the same contact period tc1 as tb1 a1 ; tb01 a01 ;
vc þ ao cos otb ¼ 0 ðat t ¼ tb Þ (2) tb001 a001 ; . . . in the consecutive vibration cycles. Similarly, the
high-frequency tool for the same workpiece cutting speed
a sin oðT þ ta Þ  a sin otb ¼ vc ðT þ ta  tb Þ (3) follows the contact period tc2 as tb2 a2 ; tb02 a02 ; tb002 a002 ; . . .. It is
clear from the figure that tc1 4tc2 . But since T14T2, it
r ¼ tc =T (4)
cannot directly be determined whether r14r2 or vice versa.
where r is the tool–workpiece contact ratio (TWCR). Fig. 3(b) plots the TWCR against the tool vibration
Eqs. (2)–(4) formulate a final equation as obtained frequency using Eq. (5) where a ¼ 15 mm and vc ¼ 15 m/
by [13] min. Two different values of TWCR, r1 ¼ 0.2162 and
r2 ¼ 0.1600, can be found for f1 ¼ 20 kHz and f2 ¼ 35 kHz,
vc ð1  rÞ ¼ 2af sin pr cos½cos1 ðvc =ð2paf ÞÞ  pr
respectively. Thus, it is clear that the TWCR for a low-
ðfor 2paf 4vc Þ (5) frequency tool is higher than for a high-frequency tool in
Therefore, it is clear from the final equation (5) that the the UVC system. Therefore, the tool cutting area
term TWCR during ultrasonic cutting is dependent on experiences for a short duration of pulsating cutting force
three vital parameters, namely f, a and vc. Since this when using a high-frequency tool.
technique cuts the workpiece for a certain period in each Though the number of contact between the tool and the
vibration cycle, the cutting force in this method also should workpiece will always be higher for a relatively high-
be TWCR ( ¼ tc/T) times of that for the continuous cutting frequency cutting tool, it was experimentally reported [23]
[11,14]. That means a lower value of TWCR can decrease that the increase of tool vibration frequency in the UVC
the cutting force in the UVC system. Equation (5) directly system improves cutting quality and prolongs tool life that
indicates that the TWCR can be lowered by controlling agrees with the theoretical studies.
these three important parameters. In Sections 2.2–2.4, the
effect of these factors is studied theoretically first. Then the 2.3. The effect of tool vibration amplitude
effect of the third factor, workpiece cutting speed, is
justified in the experiment in Section 4.1. Again suppose other two tangential UVC systems
operate two different tool vibration amplitudes a1 ¼
2.2. The effect of tool vibration frequency 10 mm and a2 ¼ 25 mm where the frequency f ¼ 20 kHz is
fixed. Thus the tool vibration period T is same for both the
Suppose two UVC systems vibrate at two different systems. Fig. 4(a) illustrates a combined diagram of two
frequencies f1 ¼ 20 kHz and f2 ¼ 35 kHz with the same different displacement curves and the corresponding pulse
amplitude a ¼ 15 mm. Hence the tool vibration period T1 is cutting states against the time cycle for these two systems.
higher than T2. Fig. 3(a) combines both the UVC systems If a workpiece rotates with a constant cutting speed vc
including the tool displacement curves and their corre- for both the conditions, then the tool of small vibration
sponding pulse cutting states as a function of time. amplitude interacts with the workpiece earlier at c1 and

x 10-5
A J E N I
b1
1
b'1
Tool displacement

a2 b2 b'2 b''
1 a'2 a'1 a'' 2
a1 2

0.8
B K D F M H
0
0.6
TWCR

-1
C L G
T1
0.4 20, 0.2162
Cutting state

tc1 tc1
T2 35, 0.1600
tc2 tc2 tc2 0.2

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
time, t x 10-5 Tool frequency, f (kHz)

Fig. 3. UVC process: (a) tool displacement and resultant cutting force for two different tool vibration frequencies (subscripts: 1 and 2 are for 20 and
35 kHz, respectively), (b) relation between TWCR and tool vibration frequency, f.
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968 C. Nath, M. Rahman / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974

x 10-5 O Q 1
d2 d'2
Tool displacement,

c2 c'2
2
0.8
J d1 N d 1'
1 c1 c'1

K M 0.6
0

TWCR
L
-1 T
0.4 10, 0.2710
-2 tc1 tc1 25, 0.1644
Cutting state

P
tc2 tc2 0.2

0
0 2 4 6 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
time, t x 10-5 Vibration amplitude, a (micron)

Fig. 4. UVC process: (a) tool displacement and resultant cutting force for two different tool vibration amplitudes (subscripts: 1 and 2 are for 10 and
25 mm, respectively), (b) relation between TWCR and tool vibration amplitude, a.

x 10-5 1
Tool displacement

R q1 V
p1 p' q'
1 1
1 p2 q2 p' q' 0.8
2 2

S U W
0 0.6
TWCR

20, 0.2536
-1
T
T 0.4
Cutting state

tc2 tc2
40, 0.3803
tc1 tc1 0.2

0
0 2 4 6 8 0 20 40 60 80 100 120
time, t x 10-5 Cutting speed, v (m/min)

Fig. 5. UVC process: (a) tool displacement and pulsating cutting force against time at f ¼ 20 kHz and a ¼ 15 mm (subscripts: 1 and 2 are for low and high-
cutting speed, respectively), (b) relation between TWCR and workpiece cutting speed, vc.

separates from the workpiece later at d1 as compared with cutting quality and saves tool life, which substantiates the
the tool of large vibration amplitude. In this manner, theoretical findings.
let the tool for the former case follows the tool–workpiece
contact time tc1 as td 1 c1 ; td 01 c01 ; . . . in the successive passes 2.4. The effect of workpiece cutting speed
where the tool for the later case follows tc2 as td 1 c1 ;
td 01 c01 ; . . .. It is clearly seen from Fig. 4(a) that tc1 4tc2 . Thus Fig. 5(a) shows a tool displacement diagram and
r14r2 because T1 ¼ T2. corresponding pulse cutting state against time for a single
Fig. 4(b) shows the TWCR against the tool vibration tool following f ¼ 20 kHz and a ¼ 15 mm. Let two cutting
amplitude using the final equation (5) where f ¼ 20 kHz speeds vc1 and vc2 for the workpiece be considered where,
and vc ¼ 15 m/min. Two different values of TWCR, r1 ¼ vc1 ovc2 . Since vc1 is the smallest, the workpiece for this case
0.2710 and r2 ¼ 0.1644, can be picked out at a1 ¼ 10 mm holds with the tool later at p1 and then separates earlier at
and a2 ¼ 25 mm, respectively, where r14r2. Therefore, it is q1 during the upward and downward motion of the tool
obvious that the TWCR for a tool of a high-vibration respectively. Accordingly, the tool–workpiece in this
amplitude is lower than for a tool of a small-vibration condition follows the contact period tc1 as tq1 p1 ; tq01 p01 ; . . .
amplitude. As the number of contacts between the tool in the consecutive vibration cycles. On the other hand, the
and the workpiece is same for both the tool conditions [see workpiece of cutting speed vc2 engages with the tool earlier
Fig. 4(a)], the tool for the second condition favors better at p2 and disengages later at q2 following the tool–work-
cutting performance in the UVC system. piece contact period tc2 as tq2 p2 ; tq02 p02 ; . . .. From Fig. 5(a),
Zhang [23] experimentally investigated that the increase it is clear that tc1 otc2 and hence r1or2, because the same
of tool vibration amplitude in the UVC system improves frequency was applied to the cutting tool.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
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The curve for TWCR vs. the workpiece cutting speed is Table 1
plotted in Fig. 5(b) again using the final equation (5). If two Experimental conditions
different cutting speeds, 20 and 40 m/min, are considered Workpiece Material Inconel 718
then the TWCR is found to be about 0.2536 for 20 m/min Diameter 175 mm
as compared to about 0.3803 for 40 m/min. Therefore, the Length 600 mm
TWCR for a low-workpiece cutting speed in the UVC Tool Material CBN (BN250)
system is lower than that for a high-workpiece cutting Rake angle +101
speed. This means the tool experiences a short duration Relief angle 111
of the pulsating cutting force when applying low cutting Approach angle 301
speed. Nose radius 0.4 mm
Moreover, the TWRS in the UVC method increases with Cutting conditions Depth of cut 0.10 mm
the increase in cutting speed that definitely effects cutting Feed rate 0.025–0.1 mm/rev
quality in machining. Previous experimental works Cutting speed 5–20 m/min
[6–8,18–22] indicated that the UVC method improves Vibration conditions Frequency 1971.5 kHz
cutting quality and saves tool life at low cutting speed Amplitude 15 mm
values. Therefore, low values of cutting speed are suggested
to be used for the UVC technique.
Table 2
Properties (at RT) of workpiece Inconel 718
3. Experimental set-up and procedure
Density 8.19 g/cm3
All the cutting tests were conducted with a modern CNC Melting temp. range 1260–1336 1C
lathe machine Okuma LH35-N. One end of the workpiece Avg. thermal exp. coeff. 13.0 mm/m K
Specific heat 435 J/kg K
was held tightly in the three-jaw chuck and the other end
Thermal conductivity 11.4 W/m K
was supported by the lathe center. A Sonic impulse SB-150 Ultimate tensile strength 1240 MPa
device containing a PZT (see Fig. 6) was used to vibrate the Yield strength (0.2% off) 1036 MPa
tool tip in the tangential direction. The available power Elongation in 50 mm 12%
source supplied for the device was AC 100 V with 50–0 Hz Elastic modulus (tension) 211 GPa
Hardness 36 HRC
frequency that consumes 260 VA of electric power. Finally,
a fresh CBN tool insert (601 type) was mounted on the
cutter head in each test.
Table 1 presents the experimental conditions used for Table 3
both the CT and the UVC methods where Tables 2 and 3 Properties of CBN tool inserts used
show the physical and mechanical properties of both the
CBN contents 85–90 (vol %)
workpiece Inconel 718 and the CBN tool materials,
CBN grain size 3–5 (mm)
respectively. When switching off the generator of the Binder Co, etc.
vibration device, the cutting becomes CT. On switching it Poission’s ratio 0.22
on, the device provides the frequency of about 19 kHz and Thermal conductivity 100–130 (W/m K)
the amplitude of about 15 mm. Therefore, the maximum Thermal stability 1270 (K in air)
Hardness (GPa) 35–40 (at room temp.)
vibrating speed of the tool tip can be calculated as
12 (at 1273 K)
(vt)max=2paf=107.4 m/min.
In order to maintain separating-type vibration cutting,
the cutting speeds in all the operations were chosen to be
less than this critical speed. In regular intervals (about 2 min) of one-pass, machining
was stopped in order to observe and measure output
parameters such as tool flank wear width, chip formation
and surface roughness. A KISTLER 3-Component Tool
Dynamometer was used to measure the cutting force
components for tangential, radial and axial directions.
For analysis, the force signals were measured via
a Graphtec chart recorder. Also, the width of the tool wear
along the flank, VB, was measured with a Toolmaker’s
Microscope while the topography of the tool wear and the
formation of chips were examined with a Scanning Electron
Microscope (SEM). Moreover, a surface analyzer, Surtro-
Fig. 6. Photograph of a tool holder containing a PZT and tool insert in nic 10, was used to measure the average surface roughness,
the UVC method. Ra, throughout the experiments.
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970 C. Nath, M. Rahman / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974

4. Results and discussions

4.1. The effect of cutting speed on cutting force and on tool

wear

Fig. 7(a) shows the effect of cutting speeds on the cutting

force components for both the cutting techniques at a feed
rate of 0.1 mm/rev. It is observed that all the force
components for the UVC method are reduced up to
15–25% that is required for the CT method at all the
cutting speeds. Another finding is that, for both the cutting
methods, the thrust force component is the highest among
all the components followed by the tangential component
and then the axial component.
Fig. 7(b) plots the tool flank wear width, VB against the
cutting speeds after 10 min of cutting and Fig. 8 illustrates
the CBN tool wear characteristics with the following SEM
photographs for various cutting conditions by applying
both the cutting techniques. Though highest tool wear rate
was seen, the cutting operation was continued throughout
all the cutting speeds in the CT method. In contrast, the
wear rate in the UVC method was negligible at a cutting
speed up to 10 m/min. However, beyond this speed such as
15 and 20 m/min, the tool nose as well as the cutting edge
experienced high-wear rate and eventually failed after
4 min of machining. Since the tools were worn out within a
short time at 15 and 20 m/min by applying the UVC

80
70
60
Cutting forces, N

Fr in CT
50 Ft in CT
40 Fa in CT
Fr in UVC
30
Ft in UVC
20 Fa in UVC
10 Fig. 8. The SEM photographs of tool wear characteristics at different
0 cutting conditions. CT method: (a) 10 m/min, 0.05 mm/rev; (b) 10 m/min,
2.5 5 7.5 10 12.5 15 17.5 20 0.1 mm/rev; (c) 15 m/min, 0.05 mm/rev; (d) 15 m/min, 0.1 mm/rev; and
Cutting speed, m/min UVC method: (e) 10 m/min, 0.05 mm/rev; (f) 10 m/min, 0.1 mm/rev;
(g) 15 m/min, 0.05 mm/rev; and (h) 15 m/min, 0.1 mm/rev.

0.5
CT method, the wear values for those two cutting speeds are
0.4
Flank wear width, mm

UVC not shown in Fig. 7(b). Figs. 8(a)–(f) were captured after
10 min of machining while Figs. 8(g) and (h) were taken
0.3
after 4 min of operation.
0.2
Fig. 8 also shows that the CT method continuously
generated built-up-edge (BUE) that left the pits and debris
0.1 on the tool rake and flank faces. These pits and debris
sticking on the tool cutting area always increase the cutting
0 force and hence increase the tool wear. In contrast, a very
5 7.5 10 12.5 15 20 small amount of BUE and pits was produced in the UVC
Cutting speeds, m/min method. Therefore, Figs. 7 and 8 reveal that the removal of
Fig. 7. Effect of cutting speed in both the cutting methods: (a) cutting BUE, the separating cutting characteristic, the consequent
force components, and (b) tool flank wear width, VB after 10 min of reduction of the surface tearing during UVC [19],
cutting. aerodynamic lubrication [1,19] and the generation of
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comparatively thinner and even chips (Fig. 11) could be the

main reasons of producing both the lowest cutting force 70
and the tool wear at less than 15 m/min in the UVC 60
method. Fr in CT

Cutting forces, N
50
However, in the UVC method, a sudden increase of force Fr in UVC
components was observed when the cutting speed shifts 40 Ft in CT
Ft in UVC
from 10 to 15 m/min. This is because both the TWCR and 30 Fa in CT
the TWRS increase with the increase of the cutting speeds 20 Fa in UVC
as discussed in Figs. 5(a) and (b). Ignoring the TWRS
10
factor in this study, the TWCRs for 10 and 15 m/min are
found to be about 0.1739 and 0.2163, respectively. Hence 0
the tool–workpiece contact time is reduced by more than 0 0.025 0.05 0.075 0.1
4% in each vibration cycle if the cutting speed reduces from Feed rates, mm/rev
15 to 10 m/min. This means the tool engaged with the
workpiece for a relatively long duration at high-cutting 0.4
speed and also was attacked by a number of consecutive 0.35 CT
high-mutual radial and tangential impacts during the UVC

Flank wear width, mm

0.3
upward motion of the tool. As Inconel 718 has excellent
toughness, ultimate transverse strength, yield strength and 0.25
creep-rupture resistance (see Table 2), and a relatively high- 0.2
tool relief angle (111) was used in the tests, it is assumed 0.15
that the CBN tool material, which is next to diamond in
0.1
hardness, could not sustain these high impacts for a long
duration in this method. It is seen in Fig. 10(b) that the 0.05
CBN tool started to wear off at the beginning of cutting at 0
a comparatively high-cutting speed of 12.5 m/min or 0.025 0.05 0.075 0.1
beyond. Though the failure is insignificant at a cutting Feed rate, mm/rev
speed of 10 m/min (see Figs. 8(e) and (f)) even after 10 min Fig. 9. Effect of feed rate in both the cutting methods at a cutting speed of
of cutting, it is seen in Figs. 8(g) and (h) that the failure 10 m/min: (a) cutting force components and (b) tool flank wear width VB
firstly started with fracture (or abrasion) at the tool nose- after 10 min of cutting.
flank area and it increased with the increase in cutting
speed. Because of the worsening tool condition, the
measured cutting force components were found to be increase rate. In contrast, in the UVC method, the wear
higher immediately when the cutting speeds shift toward increases linearly with a very small slope throughout the
12.5 m/min. Due to the long duration of tool–workpiece whole range of the feed rates. Thus it is clear that the tool
interaction at these speeds (i.e. high TWCR) as compared wear rate in the CT method is significantly higher than in
to 10 m/min, the high number of impacts in vibration the UVC method.
cutting led to fatigue failure of the tool just after 4 min of Figs. 9(a) and (b) also demonstrate that the lower cutting
cutting at either 15 or 20 m/min. The tool failed along with force components in the UVC method reduced the tool
the cutting edge, starting from the tool nose area as seen in wear rate that lengthens the tool life. At all the feed rates, it
Fig. 8. Since the failure was very severe, it was considered is observed that the tool wear in the UVC method is
to be a catastrophic failure. Therefore, the UVC method reduced to about 12–14% of that in the CT method.
results in long tool life at low cutting speed. According to these results, it is predicted that the tool life
for the UVC method is almost 7–8 times higher than that
4.2. The effect of feed rate on cutting force and on tool wear for the CT method.

Fig. 9(a) reveals that the cutting force increases with the
feed rate in both the processes, which means that the UVC
method accords with the same rule in the CT method.
However, all the force components, at almost all the feed
rates, of the UVC process are reduced approximately to
about 12–20% of that of the CT process. Moreover, the
cutting force increase rate with the feed rate is insignificant
in the UVC process unlike in the CT process.
Fig. 9(b) shows that the tool flank wear width in the CT
method increases suddenly when the feed rate is increased
from 0.025 to 0.05 mm/rev and then it maintains a steady
4.3. Tool wear vs cutting time
Figs. 10(a) and (b) illustrate that the tool wear rate in the
UVC method is significantly lower than in the CT method
up to the cutting speed of 10 m/min. According to the
following experimental results, it is observed that the tool
life in UVC of Inconel 718 is almost 4–8 times higher than
that in CT up to that cutting speed limit. This is because
both the TWCR and the TWRS are low at low cutting
speeds in the UVC method. Thus a small value of both the
TWCR and the TWRS results in low tool wear rate.
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However, as discussed earlier, due to the high value of 100% TWCR causes a rise in temperature and different
both the TWCR and the TWRS beyond the cutting speed wear mechanisms at the tool–workpiece contact areas and
of 10 m/min, the tools eventually failed just after 4 min of elastic and plastic deformations occur to cause fast tool
cutting in the UVC method. On the other hand, though wear; cutting still could be continued in the CT method at
high speed because no impact is faced by the tool edge in
this method.
The above studies thus reveal that the CT method limits
0.5 the repeatability of the tool, which in turn increases the
production costs. On the other hand, the UVC method
0.4 limits the use of high-cutting speeds with hard and tough
5 m/min
Tool wear, mm

0.3 7.5 m/min

cutting like Inconel 718.
10 m/min
0.2 12.5 m/min 4.4. Analysis of chip formation
15 m/min
0.1 20 m/min Fig. 11 shows the SEM photographs of chips at different
feed rates for both the cutting methods. It can be easily
0
observed that the CT method generated thick, uneven,
0 2 4 6 8 10
short and cracked chips whereas the UVC method
Cutting time, min
produced comparatively thin, smooth and long chips.
The generation of thicker, uneven and cracked chips is
1 not favorable for high-quality machining because these
types of chips negatively affect the tool cutting area
0.8 resulting in non-uniform friction and generating high
5 m/min
Tool wear, mm

7.5 m/min
temperatures, high-cutting forces, high-regenerative chatter
0.6
10 m/min and rapid tool wear, which shorten the tool life. In
0.4 12.5 m/min contrast, non-continuous interaction between the tool and
15 m/min the workpiece in the UVC method generated thin, smooth
0.2 20 m/min and long chips that did not affect the tool life significantly.

0 4.5. The effect of cutting speed and feed rate on surface

0 2 4 6 8 10
roughness
Cutting time, min

Fig. 10. Tool flank wear width, VB against cutting time at a feed rate of Fig. 12(a) shows the roughness values Ra against the
0.1 mm/rev for (a) CT method and (b) the UVC method. cutting speeds that were taken after 10 min of machining

Fig. 11. SEM photographs of the chips produced at different cutting conditions by both the cutting methods. CT method: (a) 10 m/min, 0.05 mm/rev;
(b) 10 m/min, 0.1 mm/rev and UVC method: (c) 10 m/min, 0.05 mm/rev; (d) 10 m/min, 0.1 mm/rev.

C. Nath, M. Rahman / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974
with both the cutting methods. Since the tools were worn
out in the UVC method after 4 min of cutting at 15 and
20 m/min, the Ra values for those conditions were not
considered. It is observed that the Ra values increase with
the increase in cutting speeds where the increase rate for the
UVC method is very insignificant, unlike that for the CT
method.
It is also seen from Fig. 12(b) that a minimum surface
roughness Ra value in the CT method was 2.4 mm for the
cutting of Inconel 718, whereas it was 0.6 mm in the UVC
method. Furthermore, the Ra values with the UVC
technique did not cross 0.8 mm at the maximum feed rate
of 0.1 mm/rev. Thus the Ra values in the UVC process do
not increase markedly with the feed rates, as it does in the
CT process.
Figs. 12(a) and (b) also reveal that the surface finish with
the UVC method is improved by about 75–85% over the
CT method. Therefore, a high-quality surface finish for
tough cutting could be achieved with the UVC method.
The above studies demonstrate that, since the TWCR is
100% in the CT method, the generation of thick, uneven
and severe cracked chips, BUE, high-cutting force compo-
nents, frictional heat, and high-cutting instability, etc.
deteriorated the machined surface and finally produced a
rough and coarse surface. On the contrary, only a fraction
of TWCR and consequent reduction of the surface tearing
in the UVC method reduced the cutting force, frictional
6.0
CT
Surface roughness, micron
5.0 UVC
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
5 7.5 10 12.5 15
Cutting speeds, m/min
6 70
Surface roughness, micron
5 CT
UVC
4
3
2
1 10
0 0
0.025 0.05 0.075
Feed rate, mm/rev
Fig. 12. Average surface roughness values, Ra in both the cutting methods
after 10 min of cutting: (a) against cutting speeds at a feed rate of 0.1 mm/
rev and (b) against feed rates at a cutting speed of 10 m/min.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
973
force and frictional heat and produced comparatively
sharper fine chips that have less influence on the machined
surface. Thus the surface finish obtained in the UVC
method is regular and smooth, which is much better than
that in the CT method.
It is also observed that both the TWCR and the TWRS
in the UVC method influence the cutting quality for tough
cutting superalloy Inconel 718. For example, since the
TWCR and the TWRS are the lowest for 5 m/min as
compared to other cutting speeds (see Section 2 for the
TWCR values), the surface finish is better for this cutting
speed. Thus, as low as the values of these key parameters,
the cutting quality distinctly improves.
4.6. Comparative analysis between the CT and UVC
methods
Lastly, Fig. 13 presents a brief comparison between
the CT and the UVC methods based on the above
experimental findings. Four different output parameters
namely the tangential and radial cutting force components,
the flank wear width and the Ra values at a feed rate of
0.1 mm/rev, were taken into account for this comparison.
Since the UVC method performs remarkably better up to a
cutting speed of 10 m/min in cutting of Inconel 718, this
speed was selected as best suited for this analysis.
The chart in Fig. 13 shows that the UVC method, in all
the cases, promises better cutting performance than the CT
process. Therefore, it is concluded that the UVC method
not only attains high-quality cutting of difficult-to-machine
materials but also raises the tool life distinctly and saves
machining cost.
5. Conclusions
The effects of tool vibration frequency, tool vibration
amplitude and workpiece cutting speed in the UVC method
were studied theoretically. Also the effect of cutting
parameters on a superalloy Inconel 718 with CBN
20
tools was investigated thoroughly by applying the UVC
methods. In order to compose a comparative analysis,
CT
60 UVC
50
40
30
20
0.1 1 2 3 4
1) T. force, N; 2) R. force, N; 3) T. wear, mm X 100;
and 3) Roughness Ra, micron X 10
Fig. 13. Comparative analysis of cutting performances between the CT
and the UVC methods at a selected cutting speed of 10 m/min.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
974 C. Nath, M. Rahman / International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 48 (2008) 965–974
the cutting conditions applied in the UVC method were
also considered for the CT method. The cutting force
components, the tool flank wear width, the chip formation
and the surface roughness were justified as the output
parameters. Based on the theoretical studies and experi-
mental results achieved, the following conclusions can be
compiled:
1. In the UVC technique, the cutting quality depends
mainly on two important factors: TWCR and TWRS.
The cutting mechanism shows that the TWCR relies on
three independent key parameters: the tool vibration
frequency, the tool vibration amplitude and the work-
piece cutting speed.
2. To achieve high-quality cutting, the TWCR should be
kept as low as possible. The value of TWCR can be
lowered by increasing both the tool vibration frequency
and amplitude, as well as by decreasing the workpiece
cutting speed.
3. The test results show that the cutting force for the UVC
method was required to the about 12–25% of that for
the CT method in cutting of Inconel 718.
4. The tool flank wear in the UVC method was found to be
about 12–25% of that in theCT method when cutting up
to 10 m/min. Accordingly, the tool life with the UVC
method is increased by at least 4–8 times over the CT
method.
5. A minimum Ra value of 0.6 mm was achieved with the
UVC method whereas 2.4 mm was achieved with the CT
method for the same cutting condition. Hence, the
cutting quality with the UVC method was improved by
about 75–85% over the CT method.
6. However, beyond the cutting speed 10 m/min, the CBN
tools catastrophically failed after 4 min of machining
applying the UVC method. This type of failure may be
due to high TWCR when a high-cutting speed was used.
A number of consecutive high impacts between the tool
and the workpiece with high-TWCR induced to cause
fast tool wear that agrees with the theoretical study on
the effect of the third factor, i.e. the effect of workpiece
cutting speed.
7. To conclude, the UVC method has been found to be a
suitable technique to achieve high-quality finish surfaces
for Inconel 718; though low cutting speed range should
be maintained in this method.
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