Experimental and numerical investigations and optimisation of grain-oriented silicon steel mechanical cutting process

The process of mechanical cutting of magnetic materials has many advantages in the form of high efficiency with reduced process costs in relation to other cutting technologies; no thermal stresses in the material, which significantly deteriorate the magnetic properties; or the possibility of shaping materials taking into account long cutting lines. In industrial practice, it is very difficult to ensure appropriate conditions for the cutting process and its proper control. Currently, there are no data on the selection of technological parameters of the mechanical shear slitting process of grain-oriented silicon steel in terms of the obtained cutting surface quality and the obtained magnetic properties of the workpiece. The article presents the possibilities of forecasting the characteristic features of the cut edge and selected magnetic properties of grain-oriented silicon steel. For this purpose, proprietary numerical models using FEA (Finite Element Analysis) were used. Then, experimental studies were carried out, and the optimisation task was developed. The developed results enable the correct selection of technological parameters of the process, ensuring the appropriate quality of the cut edge of steel and minimal interference with the magnetic properties.