THE TURNING PROCESS

The majority of turning operations involve the use of simple single-point cutting tools, with the
geometry of a typical right-hand cutting tool. As can be seen, such tools are described by a standardized
nomenclature. Each group of workpiece materials has an optimum set of tool angles, which have been
developed largely through experience over many years.

The important process parameters that have a direct influence on machining process, and the importance
of controlling these parameters for optimised productivity. This section outlines important turning-process
parameters, such as tool geometry and material-removal rate, and gives data for recommended cutting
pracctices, including cutting tool materials, depth of cut, feed, cutting speed, and use of cutting fluids.

Tool Geometry: The various angles in a single-point cutting tool have important functions in machining
operations. These angles are measured in a coordinate system consisting of the three major axes of the tool
shank.

 Rake Angle is important in controlling both the direction of chip flow and the strength of the tool tip.
Positive rake angles improve the cutting operation by reducing forces and temperatures, but they also
result in a small included angle of the tool tip, possibly leading to premature tool chipping and failure,
depending on the toughness of the tool material.

 Side rake angle is more important than the back rake angle, which usually controls the direction of chip
flow; these angles typically are in the range from -5degree to 5degree.

 Cutting edge angle affects chip information, tool strength, and cutting forces to various degrees;
typically, the cutting-edge angle is around 15degree.
 Relief angle controls interference and rubbing at the tool-workpiece interface. It is too large, the tool
tip may chip off; if it is too small, flank wear may be excessive. Relief angles are typically are 5degree.

 Noise radius affects surface finish the tool-tip strength. The smaller the nose radius (meaning a sharp
tool), the rougher the surface finish of the workpiece and the lower the strength of of the tool; a large
nose radii can, however, lead to rool chatter.

Forces in Turning: The three principal forces acting on a cutting tool in turning are important in the design
of machine tools, as well as in the deflection of tools and workpieces, particularly in precision machining
operations. It is essential that the machine tool and its components be able to withstand these forces,
without undergoing significant deflections, vibractions and chatter in the overall machining operation.

The cutting force, Fc, acts downward on the tool tip, and thus tends to deflect the tool downward and the
workpiece upward. The cutting force supplies the energy required for the cutting operation, and it can be
calculated with the data given. The product of the cutting force and its distance from the workpiece center
determine the torque on the spindle. The product of the torque and the spindle speed then determines the
power required in the turning operation.

The thrust force, Ft, acts in the longitudinal direction; it also is called the feed force, because it is in the
feed direction of the tool. This force tends to push the tool toward the right and away from the chuck. The
radial force, Fr, acts in the radial direction and tends to push the tool away from the workpiece. Because of
the several factors involved in the cutting process, force F t and Fr are difficult to calculate directly, and are
usually determined experimentally.

Forces in Turning

Roughing and Finishing Cuts: In machining, the usual procedure is to first perform one or more roughing
cuts, typically at high feed rates are high, and there is little consideration for dimensional tolerance and
surface roughness of the workpiece. These cuts are then followed by a finishing cut, typically performed at
a lower feed and smaller depth of cut, in order to produce a good surface finish.
 Design considerations and guidelines for Turning Operations:

Several considerations are important in designing parts to be machined economically by turning

operatiions, because machining in general (a) takes considerable time, thus increasing the production cost, (b)
wastes material, and (c) is not as economical as forming or shaping operations, and must be avoided as much as
possible. When turning operations are necessary, the following general design guidelines should be considered:

1. Parts should be designed so that they can be fixtured and clamped easily into work-holding devices.
Thin, slender workpieces are difficult to support properly and must be able to withstand clamping and
cutting forces.

2. The dimensional accuracy and surface finish specified should be as wide as permissible, but the part
must still function properly.

3. Sharp corners, tapers, steps, and major dimensional variations in the part should be avoided.

4. Blanks to be machined should be as close to final dimensions as possible, such as by near-net-shape

forming, so as to reduce production cycle time.

5. Parts should be designed so that cutting tools can travel across the workpiece without any obstruction.

6. Design features should be such that commercially available standard cutting tools, inserts, and tool
holders can be used.

7. Workpiece materials should preferably to be selected for their machinability.

Guidelines for Turning Operations: The following list outlines generally accepted guidelines for
turning operations;

1. Minimize tool overhang

2. Support the workpiece rigidly

3. Use machine tools with high stiffness and high damping capacity

4. When tools begin to vibrate and chatter, modify one or more of the processs parameters, such as
tool geoetry, cutting speed, feed rate, depth of cut, and cutting fluid.

DRILLING, DRILLS, AND DRILLING MACHINES

When inspecting large or small products, it will be noted that the vast majority have several holes in
them. Home making is among the most important operations in manufacturing, and drilling is a major and
common hole-making process; other processes for producing holes are punching and various advanced
machining processes. The cost of hole making is among the highest machining costs in automotive engine
production.
 Drilling of a hole

Drills:

Drills typically have high length-to-diameter ratios, hence thy are capable of producting relatively deep
holes. However, high ratios make drills somewhat flexible and prone to fracture or producing inaccurate holes;
moreover, the chips produced within the hole present significant difficulties in their disposal and also ensuring
cutting fluid effectiveness.

Drills generally leave a burr on the bottom surface of the part upon breakthrough, often necessitating
deburring operations. Also, because of its rotary motion, drilling produces holes have longitudinal marks. This
difference is significant in terms of the hole's fatigue properties.

The diameter of a hole produced by drilling is slightly larger than the drill diameter, as one can note by
observing that a drill can easily be removed from the hole it has just producted. The amount of oversize
depends on the quality of the drill, the equipment used, and on the machining practices employed. Furthermore,
depending on their thermal properties, some metals and nonmetallic materials expand significantly due to the
heat produced during drilling, thus the final hole diameter could be smaller than the drill diameter when the part
cools down. Fo bettter surface finish and dimensional accuracy, drilled holed may be subjected to subsequent
operations, such as reaming and hoing.

TWIST DRILL
Twist drills usually have a taper shank, at the end which
is fitted into the drilling machine having a tapered sleeve of matching taper. When the tapered sleeve
rotates, the twist drill also rotates along with it due to the friction between two tapered surfaces. Sometimes
the shank is machined parallel, then a special collet chuck is fitted in the drilling machine, in
which the drill is held.
The drill has two lips at the other end where the cutting takes place, when the drill rotates. The
angle between the two cutting lips is usually 118°. The chips formed at the cutting edges are automatically
guided upwards through the helical grooves cut into the body of the drill; these grooves are called flutes. This is
necessary, otherwise, the chips will interfere with the metal cutting.
 For rotating the drill and to overcome the resistance in cutting, a torque is needed to rotate the drill. An
axial force is also needed which keeps pushing the drill deeper and deeper into the hole being drilled. This is
provided by the machine feed. Machine feed is the downward axial movement of the drill per revolution of drill.
The drill will not start cutting the metal, if its bottom touches the metal surface superficially. This is on
account of the chisel edge which does not allow the cutting edges to come into the contact with metal and start
cutting until the chisel edge penetrates the metal surface by about a mm or so. To facilitate the cutting action, a
little depression is made by a punch at the centre of the hole to be drilled. Twist drills are made of solid high
speed steel, hardened and ground to shape. Drills with tungsten carbide inserts are also available.
DRILLING MACHINES

Drilling machines are of the following types:

1. Sensitive drilling machines,
2. Pillar type drilling machines,
3. Radial drilling machines, and
4. Multispindle drilling machines.

Sensitive or bench drilling machine

This is a light duty machine and is capable of drilling a hole of 12 mm dia maximum and its
spindle speeds are correspondingly high. This machine can tackle small jobs. The work piece is kept on
the table and clamped in the appropriate position and the hole is drilled by lowering the spindle of the
drilling head. Feed is given by moving the hand wheel gently which lowers the spindle and the hole is
drilled up to the required depth. Remember that the job has to be moved so as to align the centre of hole
exactly below the spindle.

Pillar type drilling machines: These are generally similar to sensitive drilling machines but
are meant for heavier work. The vertical column can be either of rectangular or round section; the latter
offers the advantage that the table can be swung out and the slightly bigger jobs can be accommodated
on the machine base instead of the table. The drilling head can be lowered and hole drilled in the job.

Pillar type drilling machine

Radial drilling machine: This is really meant to drill holes in bigger and heavier workpieces, which cannot be
manipulated so that the centre of the hole may be aligned with the drilling spindle. In this case, the drilling head
is mounted on a radial arm. The radial arm can be rotated around the round column and the drilling head can be
moved in or out on the radial arm.
The work piece is kept on the table which is really an integral part of the base and by the combined
movement of the radial arm and the drilling head (think of the polar coordinates θ, r), any point on the
work piece can be covered and a hole drilled at the required location, without shifting the heavy work
piece.

Radial drilling machine

Multiple spindle drilling machines: On these machines, more than one hole may be drilled at
one time. These machine are very useful for mass production work.

Core drilling: Holes made in castings by use of cores, are rough and require a special kind of
drill, called core drill to clean up the holes. This operation is called core drilling.

Core drilling machine

Step drilling: More than one diameter can be ground on the drill body which saves an extra
operation.

Counter boring: Often a flat surface is needed around a hole to provide a good seating area for
washer and nuts/head of a bolt. The counter boring tool has a pilot, which ensures that the counterbore
is concentric with the hole.

Counter sinking: Counter sinking provides a tapered entrance to the hole. A special counter sinking tool with a
pilot is used as shown.

Reaming: Reaming is an operation of sizing and improving the geometry and finish of a
previously drilled hole. Hand, machine and shell reamers are used for this purpose. Machine reamers
are used with a drilling machine. To work efficiently, proper stock allowance is very important. Reamers
cannot remove much material, but at the same time, enough material should be available all round. For
holes up to 12.5 mm in diameter, about 0.38–0.4 mm of material is left as reaming allowance.
A reamer follows the original hole and cannot shift its centre.

Tapping: Tapping is also done on a drilling machine with a special flexible adapter for holding
machine taps. Tapping means cutting internal threads in a hole. A machine tap set consists of two tapsrough
and finish. Both taps should be used in the same order. During tapping, the spindle r.p.m. is
drastically reduced and a good lubricant used.

Common operations associated with drilling

MILLING PROCESS

Milling is a machining process which is performed with a rotary cutter with several cutting edges
arranged on the periphery of the cutter. It is a multiple point cutting tool which is used in conjunction
with a milling machine. This process is used to generate flat surfaces or curved profile and many other
intricate shapes with great accuracy and having very good surface finish. Milling machines are one of
the essential machines in any modern machine shop.

BASIC MILLING PROCESS

Generally, there are two types of milling processes. These are called (a) Up milling or conventional
milling process, and (b) Down milling or climb milling process.
 Up and Down milling process

In upmilling, the direction of rotation of milling cutter and the direction of work piece feed are
opposite to each other; whereas in down milling, they move in the same direction at the point of contact
of the cutter and the workpiece. In upmilling, the thickness of chip at the start is nil and is maximum
when the cutting teeth leave the surface of the work piece. In down milling, it is vice-versa. In up
milling, the cutting teeth try to up root and lift the work piece from the machine table, in down milling,
reverse happens. Technically, downmilling is a superior process, but up milling is commonly used.
Down milling is not used unless the milling machine is fitted with a backlash eliminator.
The milling cutter is circular and a large number of cutting edges (or teeth) are arranged along its
circumference. The cutter is rotated at a speed of N r.p.m. If the cutter diameter is D, then cutting speed at the
tip of teeth can be calculated as πDN metres/minute and it should conform to the recommended values. The
depth of cut is clearly shown in the figure and the thickness of the work piece will reduce by this amount in one
pass. Usually,
the width of the milling cutter is more than the width of the work piece, hence one pass is all that is
required.
Feed of the work piece is measured in terms of mm/minute. Actually, the correct measure of
feed is movement of work piece per revolution of cutter per teeth. If a milling cutter has z number of teeth and if
the table feed is ‘f’ mm/minute, feed per rev per teeth will be f/NZ mm. It should therefore
be clear that metal removal rate in milling operation is much higher than in shaping or planing operations.

However, as in shaping or planing operation, the stroke length is always a little more than the
length of the job, in milling operation also, the minimum table traverse required is L + D, where L is the
length of job and D is the milling cutter diameter. D/2 is the minimum overlap required on either side of
job, so that the cutter becomes clear of the job.
Unlike turning, the milling process involves intermittent cutting and the chip cross-section is
not uniform. The high impact loads at entry as well as fluctuating cutting force make milling process
subject to vibration and chatter. This aspect has great influence on design of milling cutters.

TYPES OF MILLING PROCESSES

The milling process is broadly classified into peripheral milling and face milling. In peripheral milling,
the cutting edges are primarily on the circumference or periphery of the milling cutter and the milled surface is
generally parallel to cutter axis.
In face milling, although the cutting edges are provided on the face as well as the periphery of
the cutter, the surface generated is parallel to the face of the cutter and is perpendicular to the cutter
axis. The peripheral milling cutters are supported on a long arbor. The deflection of arbor restricts the
dimensional and form accuracy of this process. In face milling, the overhang of the cutter is limited
resulting in better dimensional control and flatness. Peripheral milling cutters are normally used with a
horizontal milling machine whereas the face cutters are used in conjunction with a vertical milling
machine.
Milling cutters are made of solid high speed steel, or have high speed steel inserts. The cutters
are also made, with tungsten carbide blades (either brazed or with throw away inserts).

(a) Pheripheral milling (b) Face milling

PERIPHERAL MILLING
Peripheral milling is adopted for the following machining operations:
1. Slab milling to produce flat surfaces.
2. Slot milling to produce precision slots.
3. Side and face milling to machine adjacent horizontal and vertical surfaces simultaneously.
4. Form milling to produce prismatic shape of any form, e.g., involute form in gear cutting.
5. Straddle milling to machine two parallel vertical faces.
6. Gang milling to machine a number of surfaces simultaneously with a set of cutters.

A number of milling cutters of peripheral milling type are shown in Fig. 4.4. The hole and the
keyway provided in the centre of all peripheral cutters is for mounting them on the arbor of a horizontal
milling machine.

FACE MILLING

Face milling is widely used for milling operations involving high metal removal rate. Face milling is a
combination of up cut and down cut milling operation. The points discussed earlier about up and down milling
operations in peripheral milling, apply equally well to the facemilling operation.
In face milling, the position of the cutter with respect to the workpiece is of considerable significance.
Three possibilities are there. Either the cutter may be symmetrically placed on the work piece or
it may be asymmetrically placed, offset slightly towards the entry side or it may be asymmetric, offset
slightly towards the exit side.

Asymmetric milling with larger chip thickness at entry and smaller chip thickness at exit is ideal and should be
adopted.
 Symmetrical Vs Assymetrical milling

END MILLING
End mills perform a combination of peripheral as well as face milling operations simultaneously. It has
got cutting edges on the bottom face as well as on its periphery. End mills are extremely useful and are
used for machining edges, shoulders, grooves, slots and keyway pockets. They are also widely used for
die-sinking and generation of sculpted surfaces.
Today, end mills are available in many tool materials:
1. Cobalt high speed steel (super H.S.S.)
2. Coated H.S.S.
3. Solid carbide
4. Micrograin solid carbide
5. Indexable inserts of cemented carbide or coated carbide.
End mills have a taper shank which fits into a taper sleeve provided in the spindle of a vertical
milling machine.

Solid carbide end mills

MILLING MACHINES
All the milling cutters described above are used in conjunction with milling machines, which provide
rotary movement to the cutters, and feed to the workpiece and arrangement for clamping, automatic
feed etc. Milling machines come in three basic models:
1. Horizontal milling machines,
2. Vertical milling machines, and
3. Universal milling machines (This is also of horizontal type with a few special features).
Other configurations of the milling machine have been developed for special applications, but
above three are most common.
HORIZONTAL MILLING MACHINE
The most common type of milling machine is the horizontal knee type; so called, because of the
overhanging ‘‘knee’’ which can slide up and down the front of the machine and which carries the cross slide
and the table. Horizontal milling machines may be either plain or universal type. The main difference between
the two is that the table of the universal type is mounted on a turn table and may be swivelled in a
horizontal plane. This feature permits the cutting of helix. In addition, the standard accessories provided
on the universal machine include a ‘dividing head’ for indexing. There are some other minor refinements,
which make the universal horizontal machine very useful for tool room work.
The plain version of the horizontal machine is much more robust and more suitable for production
work. In the diagram, the arbor on which peripheral cutters are mounted is not shown. It is fitted in the
spindle nose ‘C’ and extends a little beyond arbor supporting bracket ‘B’. Even end mills, face milling cutters
and drills etc. can be used with this machine. In such a situation, arbor is removed and the taper shank of these
cutters is fitted into the hollow spindle ‘C’.
With such an arrangement the vertical faces of the workpiece may be milled without any difficulty.
The table of the horizontal milling machine can be given either hand feed or autofeed. It is also capable of being
traversed at high speed. With these features, the machine proves really useful.

Horizontal milling machine

Vertical milling machine: The application and technique of this machine differ from that of a
horizontal milling machine. It does not have an arbor and instead has a vertical spindle into which the
taper shank of end mills and facing milling cutters and drills etc. can be fitted. The arrangement and
movement of table are similar to the table of a horizontal milling machine.

This machine used for making, flat surfaces, grooves, slots, pockets and guideways etc. in
workpieces using end mills and facing mills etc.
 Vertical milling machine

Universal milling machine: Its features have already been described under the heading of
horizontal milling machine.