A predictive model of critical depth of cut for ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting of brittle materials

Ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting (UEVC) is attracting much attention in ultra-precision machining of brittle materials as it was found be able to increase the critical depth of cut (d_c) of brittle materials. However, there are few studies on the prediction of dc for UEVC of brittle materials. In this study, a predictive model was developed for the prediction of d_c in microgroove plunge-cutting with respect to several factors, including the distance from transient surface to target surface (DTSTS), the actual undeformed chip thickness (UCT), the critical UCT (t_c) and crack length (C_m). Experiments on plunge-cutting of KDP crystal were conducted. Results showed the predicted d_c matches well with the experimental ones.