Ultaprecision Diamond Cutting of Hardened Steel by Applying Elliptical Vibration Cutting

Abstract Elliptical vibration cutting, which has been proposed by the authors, is applied to ultraprecision diamond cutting of hardened steel in the present research. Since steel cannot be cut by the ordinary cutting method with a diamond cutting tool due to excessive tool wear, performance of the elliptical vibration cutting is examined in comparison with the conventional vibration cutting. The experimental results show that the proposed method has superior performance, i.e. low cutting force, high quality surface finish and long tool life. Based on these advantages, the elliptical vibration cutting is successfully applied to ultraprecision cutting of hardened steel, such as ultraprecision turning of a spherical die and a flexible micro structure, and ultraprecision micro grooving.