An Investigation into the Effect of Electro-Contact Heating in the Machining of Low-Rigidity Thin-Walled Micro-Machine Parts

Low-rigidity thin-walled parts are components of many machines and devices, including high precision electric micro-machines used in control and tracking systems. Unfortunately, traditional machining methods used for machining such types of parts cause a significant reduction in efficiency and in many cases do not allow obtaining the required accuracy parameters. Moreover, they also fail to meet modern automation requirements and are uneconomical and inefficient. Therefore, the aim of provided studies was to investigate the dependency of cutting forces on cutting parameters and flank wear, as well as changes in cutting forces induced by changes in heating current density and machining parameters during the turning of thin-walled parts. The tests were carried out on a specially designed and constructed turning test stand for measuring cutting forces and temperature at specific cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut values. As part of the experiments, the effect of cutting parameters and flank wear on cutting forces, and the effect of heating current density and turning parameters on changes in cutting forces were analyzed. Moreover, the effect of cutting parameters (depth of cut, feed rate, and cutting speed) on temperature has been determined. Additionally, a system for controlling electro-contact heating and investigated the relationship between changes in cutting forces and machining time in the operations of turning micro-machine casings with and without the use of the control system was developed. The obtained results show that the application of an electro-contact heating control system allows to machine conical parts and semi-finished products at lower cutting forces and it leads to an increase in the deformation of the thin-walled casings caused by runout of the workpiece.