On the relations between the specific cutting energy and surface generation in micro-milling of maraging steel

Specific cutting energy is an important parameter to evaluate the cutting effectiveness and a focus of research in the micro-cutting. However, the relation between the specific cutting energy and surface generation is still not completely understood. In this study, experiments were carried out to research the relations between the specific cutting energy and chip morphology and surface integrity in micro-milling of maraging steel. A new method was proposed to calculate the effective energy and the non-effective energy by the criterion of whether it contributed to chip formation. The experimental results showed that the chips became more segmented with the decreased proportion of the effective energy, while the increased proportion of the non-effective energy deteriorated the surface finish and contributed to the formation of the plastic deformation layer. Then, by assessing the trade-offs between the surface roughness and the specific cutting energy, the selections of the cutting parameters were suggested to achieve a precision surface finish with relatively low specific cutting energy and high energy efficiency.