The cutting heat dissipation in chips, workpiece, tool and surroundings during the high-speed machining of carbon steel is quantitatively investigated based on the calorimetric method. Water is used as the medium to absorb the cutting heat; a self-designed container suitable for the high-speed lathe is used to collect the chips, and two other containers are adopted to absorb the cutting heat dissipated in the workpiece and tool, respectively. The temperature variations of the water, chips, workpiece, tool and surroundings during the closed high-speed machining are then measured. Thus, the cutting heat dissipated in each component of the cutting system, total cutting heat and heat flux are calculated. Moreover, the power resulting from the main cutting force is obtained according to the measured cutting force and predetermined cutting speed. The accuracy of cutting heat measurement by the calorimetric method is finally evaluated by comparing the total cutting heat flux with the power resulting from the main cutting force. Generation and dissipation of cutting heatThe cutting temperature resulting from cutting heat has a direct influence on the wear and service life of tools and it also significantly affects machining precision and the machined surface quality of work pieces. Therefore, researches on the generation and dissipation of cutting heat and the distribution of cutting temperature have been an important aspect of metal machining [1-2].Since the cutting speed vs cutting temperature kurtosis curve was put forward by Carl Salomon, a Germany scholar, in the 1930s, the researchers' interest in high-speed machining [3] has been inspired all over the world. In recent decades, particularly the last decade, high-speed machine tool and cutting tool technologies have achieved a rapid development. However, so far, there are few researches on cutting heat, especially with regard to high-speed machining, the reports on the quantitative analysis of cutting heat and its dissipation are seldom found. Schmidt and Roubik investigated and reported the drilling heat of magnesium alloy and aluminum alloy in 1949 and 1954, respectively [4]; scholars from the former Soviet Union researched cutting heat dissipation ratio with low speed turning in 1954 and concluded that 50%-86% of the total cutting heat was taken away by the chips, 40%-10% transferred into the cutter, 9%-3% into the workpiece, and about 1% eradiated into the surroundings [5]; Masatoshi and Atsuo of Japan researched the cutting heat dissipation of medium carbon steel and aluminum milling with a cutting speed of 100 m/min-400 m/min, and found that the chips took most of the cutting heat away when the cutting speed was higher [6]; The Engineering Research Center of Ohio State University researched the generation and dissipation of cutting heat with high-speed machining by analog simulation, and the result was that approximately 95% of the cutting heat was taken away by the chips, and about 2% and 3% transferred into the workpiece and the cutter, respectively [7]. Th...

Cutting heat dissipation in high speed milling of medium carbon steel was experimentally investigated based on calorimetric method under the cooling conditions of hard cutting, applying compressed air or water. Special containers holding water medium were designed to collect cutting heat in chips, workpiece and tool respectively, and the heat distribution ratio in these components was calculated in terms of the temperature varieties of each component. The results were compared with the cutting power which came from the cutting forces measured.