Abstract
In turning of the sintered carbon, the influence of the varying depth of cut and feed rate on a tool life and a chip formation mechanism are shown experimentally. The tool life is a minimum at a given depth of cut and increases with increasing feed rate. These singular results of the tool life are discussed from chip particle size, vibration frequency and amplitude, crack extension and work surface roughness. The obtained results are as follows. At the larger depth of cut and feed rate, the vibration amplitude is larger so that the rate of the large chip particle increases and the work surface roughness is larger. On the other hand, at the smaller depth of cut the work surface roughness is larger because of the deeper crack extension. The tool life depends on the work surface roughness, which is relevant to the contact numbers between tool clearance face and work surface.
