Advancements in material removal mechanism and surface integrity of high speed metal cutting: a review

The research and application of high speed metal cutting (HSMC) is aimed at achieving higher productivity and improved surface quality. This paper reviews the advancements in HSMC with a focus on the material removal mechanism and machined surface integrity without considering the effect of cutting dynamics on the machining process. In addition, the variation of cutting force and cutting temperature as well as the tool wear behavior during HSMC are summarized. Through comparing with conventional machining (or called as normal speed machining), the advantages of HSMC are elaborated from the aspects of high material removal rate, good finished surface quality (except surface residual stress), low cutting force, and low cutting temperature. Meanwhile, the shortcomings of HSMC are presented from the aspects of high tool wear rate and tensile residual stress on finished surface. The variation of material dynamic properties at high cutting speeds is the underlying mechanism responsible for the transition of chip morphology and material removal mechanism. Less surface defects and lower surface roughness can be obtained at a specific range of high cutting speeds, which depends on the workpiece material and cutting conditions. The thorough review on pros and cons of HSMC can help to effectively utilize its advantages and circumvent its shortcomings. Furthermore, the challenges for advancing and future research directions of HSMC are highlighted. Particularly, to reveal the relationships among inherent attributes of workpiece materials, processing parameters during HSMC, and evolution of machined surface properties will be a potential breakthrough direction. Although the influence of cutting speed on the material removal mechanism and surface integrity has been studied extensively, it still requires more detailed investigations in the future with continuous increase in cutting speed and emergence of new engineering materials in industries.