Mean Flank Temperature Measurement in High Speed Dry Cutting of Magnesium Alloy

In high speed cutting, the mean flank temperature is not likely to be less than that on the rake face, that is, the cutting temperature, as the undeformed chip thickness is very thin and of the same order of cutting edge radius. To measure the flank mean temperature, it is critically important to mount the artificial thermocouple properly in the workpiece. A new thermocouple mounting arrangement is proposed. The mean flank temperatures in various cutting conditions were measured and the collected chips were examined under SEM to find the burn marks. It was found that below the mean flank temperature of 302°C, there were no burn marks on the chips. This indicates that the mean flank temperature can reasonably be used to predict the occurrence of fire in high speed cutting of magnesium alloys.