Recently, soft magnetic steel has been used for many components utilizing electromagnetic forces as the solenoid valves in automobiles. However, in machining of soft magnetic steel, it is difficult to control the occurrence of burrs because this material is stickier than other types of carbon steel. Moreover, as the cutting ability is decreased with increased tool wear, the number of burrs is considered also to be increased with increasing tool wear. This study was performed to investigate the effects of cutting conditions on the relation between tool wear and the occurrence of burrs. The experimental results indicated that the relation between tool life focused on the occurrence of burrs and cutting conditions can be determined using Taylor's tool life equation.

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A fundamental study on ultraviolet ray (UV)-aided machining (U-RAM) was conducted to evaluate its applicability to the polishing of aluminum alloy. Qualitative analysis with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to estimate the chemical reaction induced on Al surfaces immersed in various solutions. Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICPS) was used for quantitative analysis of the amounts of oxidized/dissolved Al, Mg, and Fe. The following conclusions were obtained by investigation of the aluminum alloy polishing process. Aluminum does not dissolve in TiO₂-H₂O solution, whereas a small amount of Al dissolved into cathilon-H₂O solution. Although only a small amount of Al dissolved in TiO₂-cathilon-H₂O solution in the absence of UV irradiation, the amount of Al dissolved increased slightly under UV irradiation with the formation of oxide, nitrogen oxide, and nitride on the Al surface. In addition, a small amount of aluminum chloride dissolved in TiO₂-cathilon-H₂O solution. An Al alloy (A5052) surface was made flat by polishing with TiO₂-cathilon-H₂O slurry under UV irradiation.

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This paper deals with finish cutting of the thermally affected layer on cemented carbide using a diamond tool for efficient machining of the carbide mold with high accuracy and good surface without polishing. Cutting experiments were carried out using a PCD tool and an ultra-precision cutting machine. The effects of the thermally affected layer on the surface roughness and tool wear were investigated. The results indicated that the tool wear and surface roughness decreased when cutting the mixture of the affected layer and matrix with large cut depth. Furthermore, the tool wear using a single-crystal diamond tool was less than that with the PCD tool.

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