1. Compare orthogonal and oblique cutting?

Oblique is cutting or drilling at any angle not perpendicular or parallel to the work piece. For example if
you saw into a board at a 45 degree angle, that is a oblique angle
orthogonal cutting is cutting perpendicular to the work piece. For example if you have a 2x4 board on
a circular saw table and you pull the blade crosscut across the board.
Orthogonal cutting
1- Cutting tool travel in the direction perpendicular to the cutting edge.
2-The cutting edge clear either end of work piece.
3- Chip flows in the direction perpendicular to the cutting edge.
4-Two mutually perpendicular cutting forces act on the work piece.
Oblique cutting
1-cutting edge travels, making an angle with the normal of cutting edge.
2-The cutting edge may or may not clear either end of work piece.
3- Chip flows, making an angle with normal of cutting edge.
4-Three mutually perpendicular forces are involved.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120919144555AAYyEMa
Orthogonal Cutting: The cutting condition when chip is expected to flow along the orthogonal plane
is known as orthogonal cutting. Pure orthogonal cutting is orthogonal cutting when principle cutting
angle is 90 degree.

Oblique Cutting: When the chip does not flow on orthogonal plane i.e chip deviates from orthogonal
plane then it is called oblique cutting.

Basic Difference Between Orthogonal and Oblique Cutting: in oblique cutting

inclination angle (lamda) have some value but in orthogonal cutting there is no
lamda i.e lamda=zero.
Causes of orthogonal cutting:

Restricted cutting effect.

tool nose radius-ing.

inclination angle (Lamda not equal to zero).

http://advancemanufacturing.blogspot.com/2010/11/orthogonal-and-obliquecutting.html
2. Define Tool Life of a cutting tool:
Definition: The length of time that a cutting tool can function properly before it
begins to fail.
www.toolingu.com/definition-200120-86590-tool-life.html
Document
http://me.emu.edu.tr/me364/ME364_cutting_wear.pdf
Tool Wear and Tool Life
One or more of the following wear modes may occur:
i) flank
ii) notch
iii) crater
iv) edge rounding
v) edge chipping
vi) edge cracking
vii) catastrophic failure
There is no single universally accepted definition of tool life. The life needs to be
specified with regard to the process aims. A common way of quantifying the end
of a tool life is to put a limit on the maximum acceptable flank wear, VB or
VBmax. Typical figures are:
HSS tools, roughing 1.5 mm
HSS tools, finishing 0.75 mm
Carbide tools 0.7 mm
Ceramic tools 0.6 mm
Mathematically the tool life can be expressed in the following equation (the Taylor
equation):
vc Tn = C
where
vc cutting speed
T tool life
n and C constants
The constants n and C may be found for specific workpiece and tool material and
feed, f, either by experiment or from published data.
http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/mfrg315/cuttool1.htm