Numerical Simulation of Sequential orthogonal cutting of Aluminium 6061 Alloy

Research in the area of machining has never reached a saturation point. Machining is a very complex process and the researchers have been trying to understand the machining process at various levels. The present work deals with the development of a finite element model to study the sequential orthogonal cutting process. The work is carried out on Al 6061 alloy. Thermo-mechanical model was developed using a commercially available Finite Element software. In the past very few works have been carried out to study the sequential cutting process. The force variation during the first and the second pass was studied herewith. Apart from the force variation the Von Mises stress distribution and the chip formation during the different passes have been studied. The developed model is capable of predicting the residual stresses, temperature variation, equivalent plastic strain distribution etc. It is observed that the forces that are generated during the second pass was higher than the forces that were generated during the first pass. The force variation was studied for different cutting speeds, keeping the width of cut and the feed constant. (paper)