Enter the tensile strength of the material, the cross-sectional area of the uncut chip, the number of teeth engaged with the workpiece, the engagement factor, and the cutting tool wear factor to determine the tangential cutting force.

Cutting Force Formula

The following equation is used to calculate the Cutting Force.

Ft = σ *A*Z*E*T
  • Where Ft is the tangential cutting force of the milling operation
  • σ  is the ultimate tensile strength of the material
  • A is the cross-sectional area of the uncut chip
  • Z is the number of engaged teeth with the workpiece
  • E is the engagement factor of the workpiece material
  • T is the cutting tool wear factor

To calculate the cutting force, multiply the ultimate tensile strength, cross-sectional area, number of engaged teeth, engagement factor, and cutting tool wear factor together.

What is a Cutting Force?

Definition:

A cutting force is defined as the total tangential force acting on a material during a cutting/milling operation.

How to Calculate Cutting Force?

Example Problem:

The following example outlines the steps and information needed to calculate Cutting Force.

Determine the values for the variables mentioned in the formula above. For this example, these are as follows:

  • σ  = 4,000
  • A = 2.5
  • Z = 2
  • E = 1.5
  • T = .45

Next, use the formula above to calculate the tangential cutting force.

Ft = σ *A*Z*E*T

Ft = 4000*2.5*2*1.5*.45

Ft = 13,500 N