To achieve high speed rotary cutting of difficult-to-cut materials, this study investigates the effect of the tool peripheral speed on the thermal behavior and the tool failure. Rotary cutting and conventional single-point turning tests of stainless steel SUS 304 were carried out at the cutting speed of 500 m/min. Tool peripheral speeds were set in the range of 0 to 260m/min. The increase of the tool peripheral speed in rotary cutting reduced the amount of tool wear, while the severe tool wear was observed in single-point turning. However, the higher tool peripheral speed caused the higher tool surface temperatures, and the excessive tool peripheral speed increased the amount of tool rake wear. Testing results shows that there is the optimum tool peripheral speed which minimizes the amount of tool wears.
