Abstract
This paper describes the effect of temperature and interatomic force between a workpiece and tool on the atomic-scale cutting mechanism, by means of molecular dynamics simulation. The interatomic force between the workpiece and tool is assumed to be derived from the Morse potential function. Molecular dynamics cutting simulations were carried out using a rigid pin tool, with changing of the temperature and the value of Morse potential parameters γ0, D and α. The increase in the potential parameters D and α resulted in the positive effect of surface roughness, but the increase in the parameter γ0 and temperature resulted in the negative effect of surface roughness. Chip formation and side flow resulted due to the collision between the workpiece and tool, which lead to a temperature increase of the workpiece. The surface of workpieces observed experimentally in micro-scale cutting was similar to that in atomic-scale cutting by molecular dynamics simulation.
