Abstract
Cutting experiments were conducted to investigate cutting characteristics of Niobium plate. Niobium is used for a super-conductivity material such as an acceleratator cavity because of its high conductivity, ductility and anti-corrosion property. However, mechanical engineers are unfamiliar with not only the material properties but also the mechanical properties. Hence, the cutting charactersitics have yet been determined. The cutting charactersitics such as cutting forces, machined surface properties, chip formation mechanism are not investigated sufficiently. The results indicated that the cutting provided not smooth chip formation: less than 30 degree rake angle tools offered unstable chip formation which means alternating change in the chip formation at the same depth of cut: unstable chip formation resulted in chipping of tool edge.
