It was also shown, for a given tool and workpiece material combination, that the incremental cutting forces due to tool flank wear are solely a function of the amount of the wear and are independent of the cutting condition in which the tool wear was produced. Although the force model shows great promise for the prediction of the worn tool cutting forces, further validation of the force prediction capability for 3-D turning operation is needed. Also, to verify that the incremental cutting forces due to tool wear are independent of cutting conditions, a set of experiment will be designed and conducted, in which cutting forces at different cutting conditions with the same wear land width will be measured and the associated incremental forces will be compared. In order for a manufacturer to excel in the current competitive market, part quality and process productivity must be maximized. Tool wear can cause deleterious changes in part surface finish and affect both the dimensional and dynamic stability of the process.
Industry can use the model predictions to design optimal levels of operation.
If cutting forces were measured online, the amount of tool wear could be deduced online by comparing the measured forces to the model predictions and in detecting accelerated tool wear requiring tool change. The force predictions could also provide information about process outputs such as dimensional and dynamic stability and ensure that tool wear levels do not reach values that would cause unacceptable parts to be produced. Several member companies have already made contributions of both workpiece materials and process information. General Motors donated a large amount of material that was used for the worn tool tests described above. Hayes-Lemmerz has also contributed by providing information about the materials they use in the production of wheels and their material supplier has donated workpiece material.