The Effect of Thermal Treatment of Birch Wood on the Cutting Power of Plain Milling

This article deals with cutting power during the plane milling of thermally treated and untreated silver birch (Betula pendula Roth.) wood. Thermal treatment was carried out at various temperatures of 160, 180, 210, and 240 °C. The cutting power was measured under various milling conditions, such as rake angle of tool (10°, 15°, 20°, 25°, and 30°), cutting speed (20, 40, and 60 m/s), and feed speed (4, 8, and 11 m/min). Thermal treatment had no clear impact on the cutting power. Treated wood at 160 and 180 °C had lower values of cutting power in comparison with untreated wood, while the opposite trend was observed at 210 and 240 °C. The results show that with increasing speed feed, there is an increase in cutting power, while the opposite effect was achieved by changing the cutting speed. The optimum values of cutting power were achieved at a 10° angle and a thermal treatment of 160 °C