This paper is devoted to studying an acoustic emission (AE) response to the type of low speed chip formation in cutting ductile metals with the use of a purpose built rig. The workpiece surface patterns obtained after both continuous and discontinuous chip separation have been analyzed together with the AE single frame amplitude and frequency-domain parameters. It was found that the median frequency time-dependence shows a drop in case of a discontinuous chip separation. This result has been discussed with the involvement of strain distribution maps and fracture modes responsible for the type of chip formation.
