Comparison between constant force and constant rate of feed in materialographic cut-off machines: Surface quality in relation to cutting speed, force, and rate of feed

With the precision cutting of materialographic samples, it is of the utmost importance that the cut surface exhibits as little deformation as possible. A number of factors influence the quality of the cut surface: type of cut-off wheel, rate of feed (mm/s), force (N), and specific pressure in the cut (N/mm2). In this study, cutting tests were carried out and two cutting principles, constant force and constant rate of feed, were compared. The resultant cut surfaces were examined using both light optical microscopy and atomic force microscopy, with the corresponding surface roughness measured on a profile meter. This study shows that when cutting workpieces of varying shape, the most uniform surface is obtained by using a constant rate of feed. Also, a constant rate of feed, combined with a high cutting speed, will produce surfaces with the least and most uniform deformation.