Experimental and simulative investigations of burr formation in planing of AISI 1045

Abstract

The clearance flow in dry-running vacuum pumps is the main loss mechanism. To reduce the clearance mass flow rate in rarefied gas flows, sawtooth structures transversing to the direction of flow can be utilized. However, due to the sawtooth’s structure size, micro-machining is necessary, whereby burr formation is a central challenge. First, the effectiveness of non-idealized sawtooth structures is investigated, demonstrating a high sensibility of the performance regarding the geometry of the tip. Therefore, burr formation in the cutting process must be minimized. For this reason, a 3D finite element (FE) chip formation model capable of predicting the burr formation is developed. An analysis of the burr formation zone showed positive triaxialities; thus, the triaxiality-dependent Johnson–Cook damage model is utilized. To minimize the mesh-induced error, a convergence analysis is conducted, showing no convergence of the maximum burr height. This is caused by the pathological mesh size dependence of local continuum damage models. A comparison of the cutting experiments and simulations revealed a reasonable prediction of cutting forces. In contrast, the passive force is predicted poorly, which is attributed to the underestimation of the ploughing force for non-elastic simulations. The prediction quality regarding the maximum burr height differs for the investigated cutting speeds, which can be explained by a built-up edge and a change in the machine tool compliance. Thereby, an analysis of the burr formation revealed that the burr height is captured by a non-physical remeshing algorithm and that the burr volume might be a more appropriate characteristic.