Computational modeling in mechanical micromachining – A review

The current efforts in mechanical micro-machining research and applications, especially for micro- turning operations, are surveyed and presented. Micromachining deals with creation of precise work pieces with dimensions in the range of a few nanometers to few millimeters by removing material using cutting tools with defined geometry. The motivation for micro-mechanical cutting comes from the translation of macro-machining domain knowledge to the micro-domain. There are lots of challenges and limitations to micro-machining and simple scaling cannot be used to model micro-machining operations. This review paper starts by reviewing the theory of micro machining, introduces the advantages associated with micro machining and elaborates some of the mathematical models available in the literature for prediction / optimization of various parameters in micromachining process. The available results that relate surface generation, cutting forces, tool wear and other issues in micro- machining are reviewed. Also the developments and future requirements in the field of micro manufacturing are considered.