When the cutter comes in contact with the material, the speed of a cutter suddenly drops due to the hardness of the material. This causes various problems such as the reduction in the tool life, more power consumption and so on. The objective is to control the speed of the cutter depending on the hardness of the material. So, to overcome the above problem, a semi-automated speed controlling device for machine tools was designed to vary the speed of the cutter with a constant feed rate of the job depending on the hardness and strength of the material. This prototype is concerned with the machining of different types of wood. It consists of a 1 HP variable speed DC motor, Tachogenerator, 8’’ tungsten carbide tip cutter, and a motor for the automatic feeding mechanism. The project is concerned with the study of existing methods of machining, finding alternate techniques for the speed control, pilot study of a new machine, cost analysis and designing the prototype. Finally, the field testing was done keeping the few constraints in view. After testing, it was observed that the power utilization in the designed machine reduced by about 42%. Tool life would also be increased and the property of the material (job) would not be hindered due to the heat generated between the job and the cutting tool. It is the effective implementation of the semi-automatic machine for cutting which would give enormous benefits in the field of power utilization and tool life. A few modifications like Proportionate Integrate Delivery (PID) system technology are also required for the better use of the machine tool in cutting.

The rapid developments in the field of machine tool technology have given an impetus to the modern manufacturing technology to develop, modify and cover newer technological processes with a view to achieving results that are far beyond the scope of existing conventional or traditional manufacturing processes. With the development in the field of materials, it has become essential to develop cutting tool materials and processes which can safely and conveniently machine such new materials for sustained productivity, high accuracy and versatility at automation. The problems faced by the conventional machining processes are the fluctuation of speed when the material comes in contact with the cutting tool. This may lead to several problems such as tool life reduction, more power consumption and so on. So the problem here is to find whether the speed changes depending on the hardness of the material and also concerned with finding whether the speed corresponding to its hardness data could be fed into the semi-automatic microcontroller chip. The preliminary test has been done on wood.

Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense, it is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees. In a living tree, it conducts water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves. People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a construction material for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks, paper etc.

Physical properties are the quantitative characteristics of wood and its behavior to external influences other than applied forces. Included here are directional properties, moisture content, dimensional stability, thermal and pyrolytic (fire) properties, density and electrical, chemical and decay resistance. Familiarity with physical properties is important because they can significantly influence the performance and strength of wood used in structural applications. Mechanical properties are the characteristics of a material in response to externally applied forces. The main properties considered here are Elastic Properties and Strength Properties.

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