Abstract
The micro-scale grooves are machined on the glass plates with the inclined ball end mills. This study discusses the effect of the tool shape on brittle fracture to improve the material removal rate. A large edge roundness, which can be controlled by honing, suppresses the crack propagation. However, the effect of the edge roundness reduces with the cutting length; and disappears in the long cutting length due to the tool wear. The effect of the tool stiffness on brittle fracture is also studied in the vibration tests and the cutting tests with changing the under-neck length. The maximum feed rate for finishing a crack-free surface increases with the tool stiffness.
