Empirical Modeling of Direct Electric Current Effect on Machining Cutting Force

Metallic materials can be made more ductile and be formed at lower forces through the application of electrical current during deformation, termed Electrically-Assisted Forming (EAF). The current provides a degree of resistive heating, but also facilitates deformation by direct electrical mechanisms (termed the electroplastic effect). It is envisioned that this approach, currently applied to bulk/sheet deformation, could also be used to reduce the flow stress in the deformation zone of the machining shear plane. The objective of this work is to study and model the effect of electric current on forces in machining in order to relate the force reduction to the current level and machining process parameters. To perform this, skiving tests and orthogonal machining tests are performed with varying electrical conditions. It is shown that application of electric current does reduce machining force by up to 60% under certain conditions.