Experimental and numerical study of chip formation in orthogonal cutting of lead-free brass alloy

Lead is the key element to improve machinability of brass alloys. However, due to the poisonous nature of lead, component manufacturer companies are trying to eliminate or reduce the use of it in components made of brass used for pumping and drinking water systems. The chip formation process of this relatively new CW511L brass alloy needs to be better understood to resolve the problems observed during the machining process of this alloy. This present study contributes to addressing this issue by examining the effect of cutting speed on machining performance measures such as cutting forces, temperature and chip formation mechanism. The Johnson-Cook model was implemented to simulate the orthogonal cutting process. Cutting forces, cutting temperature and chip thickness under various cutting speeds and uncut chip thicknesses were predicted and compared with data obtained from orthogonal cutting tests. When the uncut chip thickness increased from 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm, a 77% increase in cutting force occurred, while the cutting force was predicted with an error of only 1% at a cutting speed of 60 m/min.