A Review on Self-propelled Rotary Tools: A Comparative with Fixed-Tool Machining, Modeling, Design, and Developments

Enhancing the machinability of hard-to-cut materials, like superalloys and hardened steels, is essential. A non-conventional rotary tool has shown high potential when machining difficult-to-cut and hardened materials in terms of extended tool life. A self-propelled rotary tool (SPRT) exemplifies a successful implementation of a rotary tool, in which a round insert is attached to the tool holder to add rotational motion to the cutting insert (rotating about its axis) during the turning process. This review presents experimental and theoretical studies on rotary cutting tools, especially SPRT, for their extensive use in the metalworking sector. To properly acknowledge the numerous researchers’ contributions, this work provides an extensive literature review on machining utilizing SPRT. This study is divided into different sections. An introduction, working principle, importance, and applications of a rotary tool for various machining processes are discussed in Sect. 1. Section 2 presents’ developments in rotary tools for machining, considering their tool design and geometry, process parameters, and the material machined. Section 3 discusses the machining performance of rotary tools, considering the effects of cutting parameters, tool geometry, and cooling techniques. Section 4 presents mathematical and numerical modeling attempts to predict machining performance using rotary tools. Then, challenges and future scope when using rotary tools are discussed, and finally, conclusions are presented.