Forward-and-reverse multidirectional turning: A novel material removal approach for improving energy efficiency, processing efficiency and quality

To address the issue of high energy consumption and low utilization rate in conventional turning, a concept of forward-and-reverse multidirectional turning (MDT) and the MDT approach are proposed to reduce energy consumption in idling and to improve processing efficiency and surface quality. The material removal performance of the MDT from aspects of energy consumption, processing efficiency, chip morphology and surface quality is discussed to understand its features and advantages compared with unidirectional turning (UDT). In three application scenarios, the processing efficiency is increased by 6.40%, 8.45%, and 7.76%, and energy consumption is reduced by 10.88%, 7.25%, and 9.52%, using the MDT, respectively. Additionally, the MDT has better control ability of the chip removal, benefitting for improving the processing stability. The surface quality of the workpiece processed by the MDT is generally better than that by UDT. This study provides a novel high performance processing approach for the machining,which contributes to promoting the efficient and high-quality development of mechanical manufacturing industry.