Research on the orthogonal cutting performance of polyethylene-based wood-plastic composite based on principal component analysis

In order to study the interaction between various cutting factors and obtain excellent machined quality in orthogonal cutting of polyethylene-based wood-plastic composites, this paper compared the cutting mechanism of WPC with the classical wood cutting mechanism and applied the principal component analysis method to model the cutting results to carry out a comprehensive analysis. The results showed that the cutting temperature was influenced by the cutting force, rake angle, and squeezing when the chip was removed. The cutting mechanism of the wood-plastic composite was quite different from that of wood; the chip shape of WPC was mainly segmental chip; the chip was torn and broken like a cantilever beam by the tool. The machined surface damage of WPC was similar to the wood cutting direction of 0–90. When chips form, they often drive the destruction of parts of the material below the cutting layer, thus creating pits on the machined surface. During rough machining of the wood-plastic composite material, the rake angle should be less than 20°. When finishing wood-plastic composite material, a larger rake angle would be better. The established principle component analysis model can comprehensively evaluate the cutting of wood-plastic composite materials and plays a significant role in the coupling analysis of multiple factors, the classification of influencing factors, and the comprehensive ranking of cutting quality.