After applying high-frequency vibration of micro-displacement to the tool of the common turning method, it has a significant positive effect on improving the machinability of the machined material, but the high-frequency vibration amplitude will make the tool produce a serious plowing effect and impact effect; it will not only shorten the tool life but also affect the processing force and surface roughness. As one of the main factors affecting the plowing effect of three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning, the contribution of tool geometry to the machining performance of three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning was investigated. It is considered that the tool nose radius, tool sharp angle, and clearance angle all have an influence on the processing force and surface roughness, and among them, the effect trend of the tool clearance angle on the two is obviously different from the tool nose radius and sharp angle. As one of the main factors affecting the impact effect of three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning, the effect trend of workpiece geometry (length-diameter ratio) on the processing force and surface roughness formed by three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning was determined. It is found that the processing force fluctuates greatly when the three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning is used to process workpieces with large length-diameter ratios, and the average processing force and surface roughness also tend to increase. The study also found that under the same cutting conditions, the machining performance and machining system stability of three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning are better than common turning. However, the influence of the workpiece geometry on the surface roughness and processing force of three-drive ultrasonic elliptical vibration-assisted turning is more significant than that of common turning. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag London Ltd., part of Springer Nature.