Enhancing ductile regime ultra-precision diamond turning of curved zinc selenide (ZnSe) optics by using straight-nosed diamond tools with cutting-edge-slipping

Ultra-precision diamond turning is widely used in optical manufacturing. However, when only a fixed point at the cutting edge of a diamond tool is used in single point diamond turning, the tool may experience significant wear. Recently, straight-nosed diamond tools have gained popularity in cutting optics due to their ability to improve machined surface quality by reducing maximum undeformed chip thickness. This paper describes a novel cutting-edge-slipping (CES) method for ultra-precision diamond turning that employs a straight-nosed diamond tool to allow the cutting point to slip along the straight cutting edge. The results show that the CES method improves ductile machining of an optical material, Zinc Selenide (ZnSe), resulting in mirror-like and nearly crack-free curved surfaces, as well as a significant reduction in tool wear when compared to traditional ultra-precision diamond turning.