EMPIRICAL EVALUATION OF HIGH-SPEED MACHINING AND HEATING SUPPORT ON CUTTING TOOL WEAR AND SURFACE ROUGHNESS DURING PROCESSING OF HEAT-TREATED SKD61 STEEL

Abstract

This study investigates the optimal ranges of high-speed machining and temperature that achieve a balance between cutting efficiency, cost reduction, improvement in surface quality, and extension of tool life. Milling experiments were conducted on heat-treated SKD61 steel at different temperatures, including room temperature and elevated temperatures, to evaluate the effect of heating on cutting tool wear and surface roughness. After determining the suitable temperature condition, additional experiments were conducted with increased high-speed cutting to examine the influence of cutting speed on tool wear and surface roughness. The results show significant enhancements in wear height (86.45%) and surface roughness (76.55%) when employing high-speed machining parameters such as a speed of 300 m/min, depth of cut of 0.5 mm, feed rate of 0.15 mm/tooth, and heating support at 500°C, compared to machining at room temperature. Furthermore, within the speed range of 300-600 m/min, wear height exhibits minimal increase, while surface roughness is significantly reduced. However, exceeding a speed of 600 m/min leads to notable wear, resulting in detrimental effects on the cutting tool and a sharp increase in roughness. This study provides valuable insights into the reasonable ranges of speed and temperature necessary to achieve specific objectives in terms of quality and productivity.