Experimental Assessment of Temperature Distribution in Three-Dimensional Cutting Process

In metal cutting a large amount of the external energy supplied to the cutting system is converted into heat. Therefore, the study of the thermal phenomenon developed in the metal cutting process is of prime concern. This phenomenon has a great influence on many metal cutting variables as tool wear, residual stress, and part distortion. This article presents the experimental analysis of the temperature distribution in the three-dimensional cutting process. Specially designed thermal imaging equipment, included both hardware and software, was developed in order to determine the temperature distribution in the deformation zone. A detailed description of this equipment, its calibration procedure and a full analysis of the emissivity of the cutting system components (chip, tool, and workpiece) are discussed. The designed thermal imaging equipment was proven to be very powerful to analyze the influence of the cutting parameters (cutting speed, cutting feed, depth of cut, work material, tool geometry, and tool material) on this temperature distribution. This equipment can also be useful for the construction and validation of numerical and analytical models of the three-dimensional cutting process.