Application of 2D FEM to chip formation in orthogonal cutting

This paper summarizes the results of an investigation where the FE code DEFORM 2D was applied to simulate a plane strain cutting process. To perform the simulation with reasonable accuracy and to study continuous and segmented chip formation it was necessary to modify the existing version of the code. Damage criteria have been used for predicting when the material starts to separate at the initiation of cutting for simulating segmented chip formation. For this purpose, special subroutines have been implemented and tested. The influence of several parameters such as cutting speed, rake angle, and depth of cut has been studied. Results of extensive FEM simulations and the comparison with experimental data are reported.