Investigation of Tool Life & Surface Roughness During Single Point Diamond Turning of Silicon.

In the present study investigation was done to analyze the tool life by analyzing the change in surface roughness with time during machining of silicon (infrared crystal) at optimized parameters with a single crystal diamond tool. Silicon has low mass density, low cost & low coefficient of thermal expansion. Due to these properties it is used in microelectro, micro-mechanical & weight sensitive infrared applications where surface roughness is a major criteria for the acceptance of the fabricated part. A contact type mechanical profilometer was used to measure the surface roughness of silicon.