In the nano/micro cutting process, the surface quality is heavily dependent on all the dynamic factors, including those from the material, tooling, process parameters, servo accuracy, mechanical structural stiffness, and non-linear factors as well. The machined surface is generated based on the tool profile and the real tool path combining with the various external and internal disturbances. To bridge the gap between the cutting process and the surface topography/texture generation, an integrated simulation-based approach is presented involving the dynamic cutting process, control/drive system, and the surface generation. The simulations take account of all the intricate aspects of the cutting process resulting in the surface topography and texture formation, such as material heterogeneity, regenerative chatter, built-up edge (BUE), tool wear, spindle runout, environmental vibration, tool interference, etc. Both the frequency ratio method and sampling theoremare used to interpret the surface topography and texture formation. The effects of non-linear factors on the surface generation are simulated and analysed through the power spectral density (PSD) and significance on surface texture. The relationships among cutting force, tool path, and surface profile are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the proposed systematic modelling approach is verified by cutting trials, which provide the coincident results of the surface topography and areal power spectral density (APSD)
