OPTIMIZATION OF THE MICRO-CUTTING PROCESS IN ORDER TO REDUCE THE SURFACE ROUGHNESS

Abstract

The paper analyses the possibility of improving the micro-cutting process, where the machining is performed with a given force of penetration of the tool into the material of the workpiece during machining process and not with a given cutting depth. The paper also shows the advantages of the considered machining method as well as the possibilities of its improvement in order to achieve less surface roughness of the machined workpiece surface. The considered machining process is performed on conventional machine tools or CNC machines, where the penetration force of the tool, i.e. the depth of micro-cutting, is regulated by changing the angular speed, mass or eccentricity of the specially developed cutting tool and toolholder assembly. The proposed method reduces errors in the movement system of the machine, which enables achieving greater dimensional and geometric accuracy of the workpiece. Experimental results show that it’s possible to improve the tested process. A cleaner is placed on the developed micro-cutting tool and toolholder assembly, whose role is to remove the micro chip from the surface caused by the previous pass of the tool. The use of a cleaner during the machining process significantly reduces the roughness of the surface treated by micro-cutting machining method.