CNC: Temperature at the cutting tip – enough to light a cigarette ?
Tobacco and paper both ignite at a temperature of 250 degrees C.
The temperature at the cutting tip in turning is between 600 and 1200 degrees C, depending on the cutting speed. So yes, you can (theoretically speaking) light a cigarette at the cutting tip during machining. By the way, the temperature at the tip of a cigarette is 900 C during a puff, and 400 C between puffs.
We generally try and reduce the temperature at the cutting tip, so that the tool wear is less. I can think of only one case when we increase the temperature to fix a problem, and that’s when we encounter built up edge (BUE). BUE is caused by the semi-molten metal solidifying too fast, on the insert cutting edge itself, and fusing to it. The cutting speed must then be increased to raise the temperature so that metal solidifies after leaving the cutting tip. Here’s a more detailed explanation.
Pics. and text source: CADEM NCyclopedia multimedia CNC training software.
CAD/CAM software, CNC Program Simulation, CNC Training software
