Thermomechanical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Orthogonal Turning of 42CrMo4 Steel: Case of Workpiece/Tool Studies

Abstract

Machining of mechanical parts using material removal is one of the most used manufacturing techniques in the industry. This type of machining is a highly coupled thermomechanical process. During machining, the tool/chip interface is the site of complex interactions between mechanical, thermal and metallurgical phenomena. The experimental study remains difficult and expensive because of the multitude of parameters involved in the cutting phenomenon, which makes the use of finite element (FE) simulations an essential approach. In this work, a thermomechanical 2D model of the orthogonal cutting process of 42CrMo4 steel was developed using Abaqus/Explicit. The objective of this work is to study the influence of cutting parameters (feed f and cutting speed Vc) on cutting forces, stress distribution and temperature. A particular interest is given to the temperature and constraints of the cutting tool compared to similar work, particularly for 42CrMo4 steel. Knowing these two answers makes it possible to calculate the wear and thus the service life of the cutting tool. The results show that cutting speed and feed rate have a significant influence on cutting force, stress and temperature in the cutting zone. A comparison of the simulated and experimental results was carried out in terms of cutting force, to verify the accuracy and reliability of the developed simulation model. It was found that the average error on the cutting force is 8.11%, which proves the relevance and reliability of the proposed numerical model.