Effect of cutting edge radius on surface roughness and tool wear in hard turning of AISI 52100 steel

Performance of cutting tool in hard turning is significantly influenced by its microgeometry, such as edge radius. This study presents an experimental exploration to understand the effect of cutting edge radius on machining performance in terms of surface roughness and tool wear. The cutting tools (CBN) with three groups of nominal edge radius, 20, 30, and 40 μm, were used in the study. The cutting edge radii were characterized with an Alicona optical microscope, and variation of the edge radius was evaluated in this study. The machining tests were then conducted to experimentally assess the effect of cutting edge radius on surface quality and tool wear under different machining conditions. Three-level and two-factor experiments were designed in the test. The results in this study suggest that there is noticeable variation in the edge radius on a cutting tool with a certain nominal value of edge radius. The variations tend to be smaller with increase of the nominal value of edge radius. Besides, the results can be drawn that edge radii have a significant influence on surface roughness and tool wear. Considering all factors, the cutting tool with nominal edge radius of 30 μm demonstrate better machining performance among three groups of cutting tool in hard turning of AISI52100 steel.