Cutting Metal inside an Electron Microscope

[@WmSrite-pi8ck]

Wow. It's much less crystalline than I imagined. More like moving that clay you demonstrated on. Interesting how it pushes until the stress builds and then separates.

[@TheLtVoss]

Well aluminum and it alloys are known too be very ductile aka "gummy" steel would be a way better demonstrate for the cristals and well there size depends on the heat treatment and alloy

[@ZenithWest169]

Yeah that's exactly what I was thinking!

[@MrHvleeuwen]

ye it reminded me of this video about a certain geotechnical foundation failure kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZiuiGRmnqaSatk

[@WmSrite-pi8ck]

@@TheLtVoss Isn't mild steel more ductile than 6061? If I'm remembering the young's modulus graph I think mild steel goes from elastic to plastic later than 6061. But, I'd have to look to be sure. Copper is, counterintuitively, stronger than steel or AL. When we talk about material properties, we sometimes mix up the nomenclature in regular conversation.

[@Scyth3934]

That's just what I was gonna comment! I was amazed by how similar it looked to the clay!

[@kaisersj3225]

I gotta give a fat thumbs up just for the fact that you cut to the chase and showed us the actual footage within the first 30 seconds. Great content.

[@tomsellout9576]

This is honestly why I watched the whole thing. I got to see it right away and then wanted to know how he did it instead of skipping all the way to the end

[@SpaceGringos3D]

Got me to sub. Just for that fact!

[@RX120D]

That's the only reason I stuck around on this randomly recommended video. The footage hooked me and was immediately interesting. Turns out after seeing that I'd want to know more :shrug:

[@vladprykhodko5016]

Yup. The whole reason I watched the vid was once I saw the result I wanted to see how hard it was for him. Honest fucking shit. That’s what I want. You can tease me if you’re slowly introducing some theory, but if it’s a project I want a demo up front.

[@ChrisHarmon1]

This channel is so underrated it's sad. Absolutely amazing footage and something every machinist should watch.

[@psilocin6739]

I agree. I'm not a machinist but this channel has some of the most interesting topics

[@BreakingTaps]

🥰🥰🥰

[@kanan348]

Criminally underrated I would say . The topics and well as the actual videos are masterfully crafted . It is hands down one of my most favorite channels on this platform.

[@Trihannes]

I totally agree! I am doing a phd in materials engineering (Fatigue life prediction) and I still learn so much here!

[@The-KP]

@Breaking Taps obsession level resonates with mine, and my colleagues too. We sometimes discuss the latest BT video over lunch 😃😃😃

[@AppliedScience]

Really nice work! Every time someone wonders why the machined surface can't have a better finish, I'll refer them to this video. The process looks surgical from afar, but the tool is just ripping chunks off. I also really want stepper motors in my SEM!

[@larrybud]

How about a collaboration between you two guys? You have two of the most unique channels on YT.

[@christiancina5875]

This is not cutting at the intended speed either, that has a bug influence

[@larrybud]

@@christiancina5875 That's a great point. Every material has an optimum cutting speed.

[@NeonSphinx89]

Between the two of you, it'd be awesome to polish and etch a sample and see the cutter move through grains and boundaries. And definitely agree that steppers in the chamber would be a great time investment and open up a whole lot of ideas into the realm of practicality.

[@ogrelg4131]

при реальном резании в зоне деформации материала происходит сильное нагревание, которое радикально меняет картину. Чистота обработанной поверхности очень сильно зависит от режима резания. Чуть ли не больше чем от всего остального.

[@patrickmorse7549]

You could install your own electrical feed through on your SEM chamber. What would be really cool is if you could cut some steel that you first etch to display the grains and then show how the grains under the cut are modified by the cutting process.

[@charleslambert3368]

I think there are crystallographic techniques that let an SEM directly see the grain structure too.

[@MrFaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]

I am glad mr breaking taps decided to give the ol' elbow grease method a shot before drilling holes in his shiny new electron microscope. There is also the method of placing some mechanism between the limit switches and the carriage that gets crashed into when zeroing out the carriage, and using the compressing force to do an iterative action (like rotating a knob 1 degree or w/e)

[@Loebane]

My first thought was to use extremely high gearing and magnets on either side of the glass. Though maybe that would affect the beam...

[@patrickmorse7549]

I have also operated battery powered devices in vacuum... Best to seal the battery in its own "chamber" but some lithium batteries handle the vacuum ok, solid state batteries are best.

[@BreakingTaps]

I've thought about it, but my machine (a little desktop SEM) does some internal gymnastics to move the chamber into position. So it'd be a bit more complicated than repurposing a flanged port or something 😢 Definitely agree about cutting some steel that has been pre-etched! Would love to see the grain boundaries moving around!

[@DLS_MFG]

It’s wild how a video that cost you a month or two will be in the minds of thousands of machinist for the rest of our careers. I know you didn’t have time to get into the variety of material/rake but that gave a lot of perspective on what I’ve only been able to learn through experience

[@cliffontheroad]

any verbage you can share by making a video would be a good thiing. Ignore wanting to be fancy else you will leave us ignorant. :)

[@JohnDoeHZ]

Sometimes, a picture is worth a thousand hours... of professional experience.

[@jcims]

Small investment towards a bespoke vacuum-compatible remote-controlled 3-axis stage so you can do this kind of thing over and over. It's amazing. Who's doing this and sharing it with the public? Nobody.

[@BreakingTaps]

Thanks! 🥰🥰🥰 I'm chatting with the folks at Thermo, don't think I'll be able to get a free chamber but think I might be able to wrangle a discount. Appreciate the support!

[@computername]

I love how you showed the footage first, instead of trying to build "excitement". Just in case someone actually just wants to see what's stated in the video title, that is fantastic. Brief summary and right in. Love it!

[@hashemmi24]

In the first minute of the vid, I expected a vaccum actuator or some spring wound actuator, but never expected you to do it manually ! Thank you man!

[@BreakingTaps]

Hehe why do something efficiently when you can toil at it for hours by hand! 😂I only realized my mistake after an hour or two and saw how little the timelapse moved from the images I had collected. Whoops! :)

[@StraveTube]

Came here after Adam Savage mentioned this video in a recent interview on the Slow Mo Guys' 2nd channel, and WOW am I glad I did! This is mind-bending footage. Your setup & your process remind me of their descriptions of the earliest slow motion photographers, with their clever use of mechanical rigs to get the shots they wanted.

[@Timestamp_Guy]

you could build a self contained electrical system. A sort of "anti-vacuum" chamber, where you could put a couple of batteries and an Arduino Nano, inside a sealed box entirely within the vacuum chamber. It could either have a bluetooth/wifi to let you advance it on command, or just be pre-programmed to move it once every 30 seconds or something.

[@mduckernz]

Does it even necessarily have to be sealed? It shouldn’t really matter at low voltages right? Or it more outgassing from the PCB? If so, are there coatings which could be applied?

[@gerbil.]

@@mduckernz batteries in a vacuum chamber is not a good idea. the best methode would be a vacuum power passthrough port

[@equi-nox]

​@@gerbil.It might be viable to create a small vacuum tight battery box though, just passing 2 pins out... Easier than modifying the SEM or buying it...

[@Timestamp_Guy]

@@mduckernz I'd be primarily worried about the vapor pressure of the electrolyte bursting the cells open, or any capacitors, especially since batteries will warm up in use without any air cooling. Outgassing from the cells, or any capacitors, or the PCB itself potentially poisoning the vacuum would be a concern as well. I'm not sure how hard of a vacuum you need for electron microscopy. If it's able to pull down to pressure in just 5 minutes, about his time per frame, it can't be that hard of a vacuum (can take hours for super deep vacuum levels).

[@Timestamp_Guy]

@@equi-nox That was the essence of my original suggestion, yes. Though probably 3 wires out to drive a stepper motor

[@SamTehSquirrel]

Huge props for the lack of clickbait, showing the juicy video in full immediately, very respectable. Watching till the end

[@user26344]

If you haven’t done it already, would love to see a metal surface change as it’s polished from 80 grit up to mirror polish. It would be awesome to see the microscopic changes on the metal surface. And what a mirror polish looks like under SEM. Btw this is an awesome video! Never though it would look like mud being scraped off

[@BreakingTaps]

That's a good idea! I've looked at surface-ground finishes on the AFM before, but never a comprehensive comparison between different levels of grit. Would be neat to see!

[@user26344]

@@BreakingTaps hopefully it'll be worth the time like this video was 👍 seeing this was insane!

[@carlhitchon1009]

@@BreakingTaps You might be able to buy a surface finish gauge which is just a bunch of mounted samples.

[@zipp4everyone263]

Yeah, the material being cut looks more like clay being pushed off. Never thought a cut wasnt really a cut before i saw this.

[@unoriginalname4321]

​@@BreakingTapspolished and etched please Also, thorlabs has a number of vacuum compatible linear actuators like the 13 mm PIA13VF piezo inertial or 25mm Z825BV DC servo actuators

[@qwerty123443wifi]

Hi! Thermo employee here, actually working in the TEM department :) this channel is actually one of my inspirations of working where I do! Thank you for the effort you put into this channel, I always enjoy the videos Unfortunately I don't think I'll get permission to send you a sample holder haha

[@aimlessweasel]

Maybe just a loan? See if the marketing department would sponsor it... where else are you going to get this high production value and targeted advertising? $4k seems like a steal, especially since that's list price. Are there any factory seconds with only a few working pins? I bet your coworkers would be as interested in this video as you are.

[@larrybud]

Show this to your bosses!

[@gyrogearloose1345]

Please QWERTY, appeal to the boss! Must have motorized cutter action. Excellent marketing material for the company!

[@keithwins]

If the platform included this automation, Breaking Taps could maybe look at lots of materials, from ceramics and glasses through foams and... idk, but this could get interesting, maybe compression load tests and who knows what all?

[@pyrpoi]

Permission granted.

[@josuelservin]

This has to be the coolest animated micrography since Ben Krasnow did those wonderful videos with with the vinil record. I hope you can get one of those expansions for your machine, because the possibilities are just astounding!

[@BreakingTaps]

I really loved that video! He's done so many cool projects, but that's definitely high on my list of favorites!

[@aimlessweasel]

Came to say the same thing. Also, best use of googly eyes since Grady's tuned mass damper. Your channel is amazing.

[@ErikPelyukhno]

I love how you quickly set up the premise and immediately afterwards show the actual footage you captured. Super efficient

[@barksandbytes]

Great work on this. A saying I've heard a few times over the years is "A great machinist makes chips. A good part is just the by-product." Seeing that happen from a new perspective was really exciting for me. Only thing I think is missing from your explanation is that getting the heat out of the cut is almost as important is getting the material itself out of the way. Also. One of the cleanest transitions to an ad-read I've seen.

[@kestes292]

I have made my living as a machinist, 40 years now. Ive known about the importance of tool geometry but never seen it demonstrated like this. Excellent work, new subscriber, great video.

[@evzone84]

You have no idea how excited I was when I saw this video come up. I'm a hobbyists machinist and I always wanted to see this action in detail. Ama amazing job.

[@pauldavidson6321]

The cutting performance of the insert when running at speed is quite a lot different to the low speed shearing action you show in the stop action SEM sequence especially with negative inserts,they develop a stagnation zone with very high localized temps .

[@shannow95]

Yes indeed normally at speed there's a sort of small liquid ball that forms just as the tip. There's this just right little window for cutting speed, too slow it cracks and ploughs like this video too fast and the liquid ball just melts the rest and sticks to the carbide tip

[@joshyoung1440]

What does "stagnation zone" mean? Like where does the term come from? Is it a place where the blade essentially stops for a microsecond until the bit of metal in front of it melts and moves out of the way?

[@pauldavidson6321]

@@joshyoung1440 The blade. Never stops ,the material must flow over the raked cutting edge and become the chip or forced under the cutting edge and become the machined surface .the temperature at the stagnation point is 1200 deg C or higher depending on speeds,feed and materials, hope that helps

[@rickypoindexter9505]

Oh man all those hours for a 15 second clip. But what a BANGER of a clip. Love this channel.

[@maxmattes9851]

As a physicist working and modifying SEMs, I really like what you have done. I congratulate you for your patience in making this video.

[@AzaB2C]

Cutting edge stuff! Watching this raises so many material questions. Fascinating moving work. Cheers for sharing!

[@Reynsoon]

...oh u

[@AntonGrenmyr]

Just took a course in "production technology" for 10 weeks (basicly a course about this). You explained it way better in just 13 min. So interesting and pedagogical! Thank you!

[@joshyoung1440]

Technically pedagogy is one-on-one instruction and this is more didactic.

[@wouldntyaliktono]

This channel is some of the best science and engineering content on the web. Absolutely phenomenal.

[@shawnrhode]

It is absolutely amazing to me how you were able to manually advance the cutter and get everything back into a position close enough to make the photos into a video. Very impressive and definitely a ton of work.

[@TheSzalkowski]

Great video. My brain is having a hard time comparing how rough that cut looked to how smooth of a cut my lathe can make. Realizing the scale is vastly different but still that is eye opening.

[@CB27]

Tbf, the images concentrate more on the swarf coming off the material than the finished piece left behind. Perhaps that's why it's hard to visualise the finished smoothness?

[@hans3331000]

as an engineer i work with metals and we always talk about them like they're these rigid lattice structures that break and slip over each other. i thought this was easy to imagine until i saw this video. It's so weird how it behaves like clay, and i can't wrap my head around the fact that the deformations are actually metal atoms "slipping" over each other and the grains being crushed. I guess it just goes to show how insanely small atoms are. It's always good to get a real-life sense of how anything works, rather than just reading about it. Always appreciate these videos.

[@RandomKhaos]

Not going to lie, that was one of the most impressive videos I've watched on KZbin. Would never have guessed that's how aluminum would look while being cut. Was only my first video of yours I've seen, but subscribing so I can see more!

[@r0n5tea1th]

As of late I've become somewhat jaded with YOU TUBE due to my watching it A LOT. This video is without a doubt the coolest thing I've seen in some time.

[@arglebargle42]

This is absolutely entrancing! I've seen metal shear clips similar to this but never at such high quality! And excellent explanation with the clay model, I've thought the same thing about metal plasticity at small scales.

[@joaohenriqueschiavonmota422]

I never comment on youtube videos but this one was amazing!! One month before you upload this video I presented my undergraduate monograph, regarding exactly this theme, the orthogonal cutting, but with a macro looking to the process, measuring the forces involved to cut materials with different rake angles. I'm very glad to found a video spreading this theme in a very didactic way! Once again, congrats for the content!

[@ohp98]

Your content is amazing! I really enjoy the side of youtube that does research to an academia standard, really inspires me to join and do a bit of research in my own field and post it on youtube. Keep up the great work!

[@atomgonuclear]

I love this video. I am a Manufacturing Engineer and have used just about every carbide insert out there. The geometry and coating can make 100x difference in life. Its pretty wild

[@whyjnot420]

I agree, this is some of the coolest footage I have seen in some time. Considering some of the footage I have seen using detcord over the last couple of weeks, this is saying something. Also immensely satisfying. As it made me smile simply by watching it. I really love these videos you have been doing with the electron microscope. edit: I just realized that I need to add this to my list of awesome animation I have seen. As it is a really nice example of stop motion animation, done in way (inside the electron microscope) that you just don't really see. I am a giant fan of animation of all sorts, so I love seeing things like this.

[@evcarney]

I wanted something to show non-machinists how cutters work and the effects of rake angle. This video is great and simplifies it in a way anyone can understand. Great job! Thank you!

[@wiebewagemans8993]

Amazing footage! Thank you for spending all those hours capturing it. It's so mesmerizing and interesting and it triggers many questions for further tests.

[@MoonFlux]

I do not remember if you could use anything electrical or not inside one of these. But an idea is just to have a very tiny motor that is geared highly to slowly move it over time. That way it can slowly cut on its own and you take the pictures.

[@Hydrazine1000]

As a materials scientist and engineneer, I absolutely love the close-up cutting action you've managed to capture! One word of caution though! And that word is "galling" or, if I use two words, "cold welding". Your stop-motion capture allowed oxygen to get in contact with all metal surfaces in between each capture. This has an unseen benefit of letting the newly created aluminium (aluminum) surface react with air to self-seal itself with a natural oxide layer. This alumina layer will act as a barrier between direct metal-to-metal unlubricated sliding contact and prevent galling. Once you do the cutting and image capturing in an _uninterrupted_ hard vacuum you'll have a much higher chance of two metal surfaces cold-welding to each other because no protective oxide layer can be formed that would reduce the chance of galling to occur.

[@joshyoung1440]

Love the fact that someone else says alumina instead of aluminum oxide lol.

[@Hydrazine1000]

@@joshyoung1440 I think I'm missing your point. Aluminum oxide = alumina = Al2O3 = aluminium oxide = Aluminium(III) oxide. There are a few more names/designations, but they all refer to the same stuff.

[@ronliebermann]

This is one of the best videos that I’ve seen on KZbin. Smart, well organized, and interesting. There’s one detail you should add on your next video about chip formation: temperature. Cold metal responds to milling differently than room temperature metal, although not necessarily in an advantageous way. In fact, they make a vortex air separator which provides cold air for machining small parts. A nitrogen tank can also be used.

[@quirkyMakes]

without thinking about what it is that you are cutting it looks alot like what clay looks like when you run a scoop through it. its interesting that a metal acts like that

[@BreakingTaps]

Agreed! I really wasn't expecting it to end up looking so similar to the clay

[@defenestrated23]

Scooping ice cream is a machining operation, change my mind

[@TexasGTO]

Dang man. You put the point of the video right at the beginning and THEN going into detail? Instant like from me. Thanks!

[@Cr125stin]

This is awesome! I would love to see this again with other metals. I really appreciate the time you put into this project! Very neat. Thank you!

[@hootinouts]

Excellent presentation sir! I started out in tool and die making way back in 1977 and then moved into design; therefore, I have an immense appreciation for what you accomplished here. The single frame approach resulted in a nearly seamless video of the cutting action. I still keep my hand in machining at home as a hobby and prefer HSS to carbide.

[@TheChitownMachinist]

Long time follower and your stuff is always great, but this one hits! I have been wanting to do this for a long time! My day job as a machinist, I machine a lot or really crazy pure elemental metals and have always wanted to see the cutting action like this. Super good! Thank you for doin what you do!

[@BreakingTaps]

🥰 thanks!

[@HansLemurson]

Wow, it really is like clay! I've seen a blacksmith demonstrate techniques on some stiff clay, but this really drove home how it's the flexibility of metal that makes it metal.

[@SecularMentat]

Because of the greyscale image it definitely looks like you're just cutting clay in the SEM.

[@tristanwegner]

This electron microscopy video of cutting metal is high quality. I hope many students in Engineering, material science,fabrication,etc. get to see this.

[@opiwaran354]

Maybe this is a dumb question, but couldn't you just put a remote controlled motor in the chamber with a battery and advance the cut with that? Sounds kinda easier than a mechanical wind up drive

[@BreakingTaps]

Not dumb at all! Definitely considering it, although it's a little tricky since most batteries won't like the vacuum chamber either. So I'd probably need to make some kind of air-tight enclosure for the battery so it stays pressurized. Doable but there is relatively limited space, and I'm a bit concerned if my engineering wasn't good enough. I'm not sure what happens when batteries depressurize inside a vacuum chamber 😬

[@sealpiercing8476]

There are some design details that could make it a little more complicated but yes I think that's a great thought and it may be easier than spring drive.

[@watvannou]

@@BreakingTaps make a power passthrough ring that can act as a gasket on the lid? embed/glue in banana plug connectors(or any kind of connector you want) and you have an easy way to pass power through from the outside.

[@skylerlehmkuhl135]

@@BreakingTaps What sort of batteries do cubesats use? I wonder how difficult space-rated batteries are to get ones hands on.

[@SpeedofCheeseRacing]

Ive been a machinist for 40 years. That was so cool to see on that level. I have imagined what is happening at the shear point.

[@paranoiia8]

Holly damn this is awesome... PS. "HSS is not use anymore" me that just bought few hss bits... So... I need to return them now? XD

[@JamesChurchill3]

I'll take them off you if I must.

[@BreakingTaps]

Haha yeahhhh I knew that would probably draw some comments 😂 "Very broad generalization" he says, as he hides the recently-used HSS taps and drills 😇

[@TheJagjr4450]

Essentially broaching the surface, and WOW it acts much more like CLAY than I expected.

[@petertimowreef9085]

0:15 Sound editing under slow-mo footage has officially gone too far. Take a step back and think about it. You have wonderful footage. Did adding the sound of a body getting dragged across the floor of an abandoned factory hall really add anything to this content? Did it make it better it any way whatsoever?

[@Sammysapphira]

I strongly agree with this comment

[@solidstrike165]

​@@Sammysapphirame too

[@adfaklsdjf]

The "music video" production was really great.. I'm so glad you took the time to do that, I really enjoyed it. Congrats on the sponsorship :)

[@michaelcerkez3895]

I'm a machinist by trade as well as a former professor. I appreciate the videos you create regarding the cause and effects of machining. These are great teaching aids both for the practitioners as well as the educators. Carry on Sir my opinion is you've found a niche in this world that is desired.

[@twestgard2]

This merits its own channel, using every possible combination of cutter and material. And at varying speeds and depth.

[@xpndblhero5170]

When you zoomed out a little it made the carbide cutter look massive.... That's crazy and I really like the perspective of it.

[@pesterenan]

Dude, this video was awesome! Also you've improved a LOT from the first videos,, much more confortable in camera, and also the presentation was superb, as also the editing! Congrats!

[@ichbrauchmehrkaffee5785]

As an engineering student, I just love it when youtube projects like this go a little deeper under the surface (pun not intended). For my taste, too many channels just sort of scratch the surface and seem to be targeted towards "highschool kids" to get them excited about science and engineering - which in itself is perfectly fine - but I really appreciate videos and channels like this, that go a little further.

[@benmcreynolds8581]

Holy crap that was some of the most amazing footage. I've never seen footage like that in an electron microscope. You went above and beyond to make something very special. This channel is utterly amazing

[@33stefan33]

WOW, it is my daily job to turn and mill metal on CNC machines but these few was awesome!!!

[@NZHippie]

The plasticity of the Aluminium is amazing to see (especially after the modeling clay in the intro) as well as the sharing of the Aluminium...

[@tfatcher]

My dad was a welder by trade. But our cellar had a metal lathe, drill press and allsorts of machinist tools. But with my recent fascination with restoration channels, I have become fixated on metal working used in tool and equipment restoration. I wondered how one metal can cut another metal. I understood the concept of metal hardness, but this video illuminated the physical mechanics and science for me. THANK YOU!

[@nefariousyawn]

I have nothing to add, but I feel compelled to leave a comment in appreciation for how tedious and time consuming this excellent demonstration was. You packed a lot of good information into this short video.

[@MachinistSquare33]

Showing the importance of depth of cut was excellent. Ya gotta bite the material to actually get it to move and fold over itself. Great video. Been cutting chips for over 30 years now. 18 yrs with my own business. And always wanted to see the cutting action this way. Thank you, greatly appreciated

[@T22DUNN]

I am a welder who works primarily with aluminum I've probably spent at least 100 hours cutting aluminum with various methods this year and you found a way to make me not sick of looking at it fold over on itself

[@rylangrayston]

Thanks

[@digitalmunky]

I'm glad I wasn't the only one making the connection to the appearance of moving clay... It really is great to see it at that scale.

[@Kruspe2011]

This is So great! I am a self taught machinist, with a background in woodworking and I've found it hard to build a mental model of what goes on at the tool edge cutting metal - thinking of the metal as fluid, being pushed is really helpful as a way to get away from my mental model (and physical experience) of wood machining.

[@roger97338]

That fixture is a work of art all by itself.

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

I tell my machining students to think of metal as "enthusiastic clay" because of the way metal smudges around when making chips. This is a lovely demonstration.

[@liam_hurlburt]

I've taken several undergrad materials science classes and spent hundreds of hours in the machine shop, and I never felt like I had as intuitive an understanding of cutting action as I do now after seeing a 30 second video clip. Absolutely wild, very very cool, thanks!

[@user-tc2ky6fg2o]

As one who worked with both machine tools, actually cutting metal, and worked in a carbide cutting tool factory as a grinding machine operator, I have to say this is the most fascinating view of the cutting process. We could watch it before via microscope, and high-speed camera only, not sure if the R&D had this view (but let's assume because they had a 3D diffraction machine to see the grain structure in the carbide). In the footage, it is clearly visible that the cutting edge is not "sharp". After we grinded it was much sharper. The edge itself is purposely rounded with an abrasive brush or sand-blaster, all computer-controlled, for a specific time, blasting from a specific angle with the specific sand type. All are customized to the carbide grade, and targeted material by the cutter. The actual cutting speed (the feed rate, the advance of the cutter) matters a lot in real-world applications, especially for certain cutter geometries and materials, it's a BIG + that it was reproducible in SEM at zero speed as well! The biggest part of the R&D of the carbide tools is towards productivity, the higher removal rate of the material. Today's cutting speeds and feed rates are simply incomparable with the speeds from 30 years ago. In some applications, you just see (or hear) a jet of chips impacting the inside wall or glass of the machine tool, while you only hardly can follow the tool movement along the toolpath. There are some videos on YT where in Indian/Pakistan workshop they use a lathe to machine a shaft. Sometimes they do it at a very low cutting speed, sometimes painfully slow. They use high-speed tool material, not carbide. But it works! The tool just has to shear the material as seen here. The achievable speed and productivity depend mainly on the tool material, geometry, material, machine tool, stability, and experience. The ideal conditions are tested in carbide factories and communicated in the catalog and on the packaging of the tool. It is clearly visible and explained in the video, that the tool does not "cut" or magically rip apart the atoms (or whatever we thought about the word "cutting"), but it pushes away the material and actually shears. If the edge is worn, the conditions change a lot, and the tool must shear a bigger cross-section or push toward the wrong (non-ideal) direction. It works for a while until you have to change the cutter. It works better to use worn tools in carbon steel, but in stainless, it is worse. The tool has to push away the material a little bit (plastic deformation) before shearing in any material, but the stainless steel however tends to work-hardening when deformed, i.e. a bigger section of material will be harder which wears the tool further (the tool is made for the non-work-hardened material, not the hardened parts) Many experienced therefore difficulties in cutting or drilling stainless steel. The tip from a factory expert is just to use sharp tools in stainless. If you have a roughing and fine pass, keep your roughing tool sharp, and then you will have no problem with the fine pass, easier to keep the tolerances with less wear on the fine cutter.

[@Kerbezena]

How interesting that you're trained in molecular and cellular neuroscience and worked in software a lot. I started out getting an engineer's education at a high school of technology. Our specialization was electronics - technical computer science (it's hard to translate the original German title). I later worked as the tool manager in a machining company before I changed fields by studying molecular (micro) biology. This is the first video from this channel I ever saw but I'll for sure will share this video with my friends at the machining shop I used to work at.

[@andreschoen9180]

Fantastic stop frame animation ! Suggestions for future videos. 1. Pumice stone on BBQ plate. 2. Scrapper on wood making a 'Warf'. 3. Crystal file on finger nail. The type that is Laser engraved with a tiny flat top pyramids.

[@dennischristensen5892]

i did not know i needed to see this, i have done a whole lot of metalwork over the years and the ruggedness of chips from milling and lathe turning always made me think of what happened on a microscopic level.

[@Quecke_the_engraver]

As a hand engraver, this is absolutely stunning to see. Thank you.

[@squishy312]

It's crazy to see how much the metal behaves just like clay. There is a lot of aluminum in normal pottery clay, so it kind of makes sense. There is a ton of silicon too. Aluminum is a lot more malleable than people realize. Another cool thing that would be similar, is how sandpaper works with an electron microscope. It would be similar, but more chaotic. That video was well worth the hours you spent on this!

[@robertszempruch6540]

I appreciate that you synced the frame changes to the background music. Still love and await your videos! Stay awesome

[@yenko5196]

1:14 The main thing about HSS is that it doesn’t lost its temper until very high temperatures, hence the ability to cut at “high speed” even if the steel heats up.

[@argentpuck]

I don't even come from a STEM background (literature, instead), but have made a career in materials science. I am very impressed at the work you're doing here. I wish I could offer you use of my company's SEM, it would be easy to rig a cutter to our stage.

[@owenjones-wells9395]

As someone who inspects machined components for quality as a job, and has worked as a CNC turner, this was fascinating.

[@bigcat.3256]

So amazing! I’d love to see different types of materials and different rake angles! It’s wild how much the aluminum looks like clay, I thought it would be more crystalline.

[@gogmorgoaway]

Would be really interesting to see if there’s a difference between smooth cutting flow and the constant starting and stopping. It’s always seemed to me when doing super basic manual machining that the key to good surface finish is keeping the tool moving at a steady pace.

[@joegerkrep7727]

You said it yourself - a difference between “smooth” and “steady” vs abrupt start and stop I think it’s reasonable to assume it’s better to do things smooth and steady, atleast if we are talking about trying to create a good finish

[@thestigj-9635]

Found this from Adam Savage's comment about this with Gav on a 'Slo mo guys 2' recent video

[@macgrey400]

I am a young person who is starting a career soon. I see people that have these super unique hobbies funded to an extreme and, to be frank, it’s awesome. How did you acquire such fine tools and equipment to further explore your hobby?

[@matts3579]

The best part is at the microscopic level, it shows that although we see it as a perfectly smooth surface, it's actually riddled with imperfections.

[@ruben_meerman]

You absolute legend for having the idea and taking the time to do this!

[@occasionalshredder]

It's cool they represented carving so well in surf's up, they used seashells and the shavings curled up the shell before rolling over exactly like it did in this footage, good video man. Also a great movie

[@DevilesEye1088]

it blows my mind how much detail exists on such a small scale.

[@jasonjohnson1690]

Wow that was really cool and interesting. Thank you.

[@Thesaurcery4U2C]

The finest high detailed stop motion animation ever created. It's mesmerizing.

[@ericellenwood9606]

How interesting! Being able to see a cut at this depth makes it clear why cutter geometry and depth of cut are so important, as well as what the curl is showing us as the cut is made. I could see this video being used in trade school for introductory machinist classes.

[@brucewilliams6292]

This was very cool. I recently saw a Japanese video from the 50's and 60's showing cutting tools in action that was done with optical microscopy.

[@hutian2]

love this one! I had a master's degree in metal cutting theory and made some stationary ESM photos myself almost 40 years ago.

[@andreyillnips7550]

Incredible. I hope you take this further, I would love to see higher strength steels being cut and using the footage to explain why certain steels are tougher/harder to cut.

[@benaguilar1787]

Wow, this is amazing. I would LOVE to see this repeated with a piece of steel that has been polished and etched to reveal its grain structure.

[@shisir_nayak2377]

The amount of dedication and perseverance is wow.

[@davidgardener1152]

not even half way through the video and came here to say that these images are probably as revolutionary as the famous muybridge horse photo sequences. which have been referenced for over a century! I hope these bring u the same noteriety! thanks for putting in the 13hour stint to get these beautiful images!

[@mlentsch]

The metal looks like clay at that magnification. Excellent results. Thanks for taking the time to do this - it helps my brain😀