Understanding the chip formation process and the loads that the tools are subjected to in intermittent cutting operations of stainless steel are of importance in order to increase the span of the tool life. Examples of improvements that would follow an increased tool life are reduced use of materials, decreased energy consumption, increased productivities and increased quality of the finished product.A study has been carried out to increase the understanding of chip formation process and what conditions the cutting tool is exposed to in metal cutting in the stainless steel 316L under intermittent conditions. Wear and wear rates of the cutting tools used in these conditions are determined by mechanical and thermal fatigue caused by the stress and temperature cycles. A number of different substrates with varying carbide grain size and cobalt content were included to find the beneficial properties of the cemented carbide. The study includes both practical cutting tests and simulations done in AdvantEdge with varying feed and cutting speed.A preliminary version of a power law based temperature dependent model including damage evolution has been proposed. The model was able to predict chip segmentation but failed to capture the non-linear relation between segmentation parameters and cutting speed.Simulations showed that the tool exit generates tensile stresses in the rake face of the tool which may result in fracture of the cutting edge. These stresses are caused by the footing phenomena that alter the chip formation momentarily during the tool exit.Tests also showed that it is difficult to predict tool life in milling operations of the stainless steel 316L. Chipping proved to be a dominant wear mechanism of the cemented carbide. Tough substrates with a coarse grain size and high cobalt content proved to be beneficial in terms of wear rates and tool life.