Influence of Cutting Compound on Critical Cut Depth of Glass BK7

In diamond cutting of optical glasses, the magnitude of critical depth of cut for brittle-ductile transition is an important factor affecting the machinability of the work material in terms of production rate and surface quality. In this work, scratching tests with increasing depths of cut were conducted on glass BK7 to evaluate the influence of the cutting fluid properties on the critical depth of cut. Boric acid solutions of different concentrations were selected as cutting fluids in the tests. The resulting scratches were examined utilizing a white light interferometer and the values of the critical depth of cut were determined based on the observations of the micro-morphology of the scratch surfaces produced. Experimental results indicated that compared with the process without cutting fluid action, the critical depth of cut in diamond cutting of glass BK7 can be increased by using boric acid solution as the cutting fluid.