Influence of Feed Variation on Tool Wear When Milling Stainless Steel 17-4Ph

Abstract

This paper presents the results of experimental studies on the influence of feed variation on tool wear during face milling. Experimental results on milling Stainless Steel 17-4PH show that it is possible to increase tool life substantially with a proper variation of the cutting feed rate throughout the cutting process. Experiments clearly demonstrate this phenomenon and show a decrease of approximately 30 percent of the tool wear. Comparison between constant and variable feed processes is based on the constant volume of material removed in a given time span, therefore maintaining a constant process efficiency for both cases. This paper presents an explanation of this phenomenon by the influence of feed variation on the temperature distribution and on the crater axis position in the tool-chip interface.