Recent Developments in Chip Control Research and Applications

Summary During the 1990 CIRP General Assembly in Berlin a working group on Chip Control was formed within the STC -“Cutting”, with a view to evaluating and sharing the present knowledge on chip formation and chip control and promoting new research in this area. To date, about 40 researchers have made more than 60 contributions at six chip control working group meetings. Among these presentations, several contributions really provided fresh insights dealing with new and innovative research methods. The working group also provided a framework for international cooperative work, enabling exchange of information and coordinated research collaboration. The group placed a greater emphasis on the practical value of knowledge on chip control for industrial applications. This paper presents the major results of this cooperative work covering modeling of the chip formation process for chip flow; curl and breaking; means of chip breaking, including experimental as well as the knowledge-based systems approach; and a summary of future directions in research and applications.