Measurement of Transient Tool Internal Temperature Fields by Novel Micro Thin Film Sensors Embedded in Polycrystalline Cubic Boron Nitride Cutting Inserts

Monitoring and control of thermomechanical phenomena in tooling are imperative for advancing fundamental understanding, enhancing reliability, and improving workpiece quality in material removal processes. Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) tools are being used heavily in numerous machining processes, e.g., machining of hardened low carbon steel and superalloys. These processes are very sensitive to variations in local cutting conditions at, or close to, the tool-workpiece interface, but lack a thorough understanding of fundamental transient thermo-mechanical phenomena present. As a result, abrupt catastrophic tool failures and degraded machined surfaces frequently occur. Existing sensors are not suitable for process control and monitoring, as they are either destructively embedded and/or do not possess the necessary spatial and temporal resolution to provide relevant data during machining.;This research presents a novel approach for obtaining thermomechanical data from the close vicinity (i.e., 10s of micrometers) of the tool-workpiece interface. Arrays of micro thin film thermocouples with junction size 5 x 5 mum were fabricated by standard microfabrication methods and have been successfully embedded into PCBN using diffusion bonding. Electron microscopy and X-ray spectroscopy were employed to examine material interactions at the bonding interface and to determine optimal bonding parameters. Static and dynamic sensor performances have been characterized. The sensors exhibit excellent linearity up to 1300 °C, fast rise time of 150 ns, and possess good sensitivity.;The inserts instrumented with embedded thin film C-type thermocouples were successfully applied to measure internal tool temperatures as close as 70 mum to the cutting edge while machining aluminum and hardened steel workpieces at industrially relevant cutting parameters. Acquired temperature data follow theoretical trends very well. Correlations between temperature and cutting parameters have been established. The embedded micro thin film sensor array provided unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution as well as high accuracy for micro-scale transient tool-internal temperature field measurements. Tool internal temperature maps were generated. In the frequency domain, obtained thermal data indicated the onset of machining chatter earlier than conventional force measurement method. This work also discusses how the embedded sensor array's high spatial resolution provides means to shed lights on the mechanisms of chip-formation and chip segmentation.