Temperature of cutting is a very important indicator of the cutting process. High specific pressures and high temperatures in the narrow cutting zone result in a drop of hardness of the tool material, the intensification of the abrasion and deformation of the cutting elements, losing the cutting abilities, and finally the failure of the cutting tool. The aim of this paper is to calculate the temperature fields using the existing numerical models for the simulation of thermodynamic processes on the wedge of the cutting tool (based on the finite element method). A special accent is given to the numerical calculation of temperatures in the conditions of continuous and discontinuous turning for specific cutting conditions (processing regime, tool geometry and thermo-mechanical characteristics of the tool materials and workpiece materials) using different simulation models. The Third Wave AdvantEdge software package was used for the simulation of orthogonal turning, and some of the results of the calculations of the temperature fields were compared with the results of experimental measurements.