Tool-Life of Wiper and Standard Cutting Tool in Finish Turning of SAE 4140

Vibration tendency can rise in turning process when selecting a cutting tool with larger nose radius and/or increasing the feed rate. As consequence, it may affect the process performance by reducing the tool-life and causing damage to the machined surface finish. Moreover, the generated surface roughness strongly depends on the relation between feed rate and cutting tool nose radius. The wiper cutting tool is a recent technological advancement which is claimed to allow both the feed rate and the depth of cut to be doubled while maintaining the same surface finish value in comparison with standard tools. Thus, the objective of this paper is to benchmark tool-life of standard and wiper cutting tools in dry finish turning of SAE 4140 steel. The analysis consists of successive measurements of workpiece roughness and tool corner wear after each turning pass while using combined machining parameters for a target roughness average value close to 2 mu m with both inserts being used under the manufacturer's recommended cutting conditions. It is noted that the two inserts presented good performance both in the workpiece finish and in tool-wear.