Calculations of the effect of material anisotropy on microcutting processes

Abstract The depth of cut used in a microcutting process is comparable with the size of crystal grains; therefore, those polycrystal materials that could be regarded as homogeneous in conventional machining must be treated as heterogeneous. This article analyzes the relation between the crystallographic characteristics of a material with the microcutting process using the finite element method. The effects of crystal orientation and grain boundaries on the cutting process can be predicted, and the results were experimentally verified.