Investigation of the performance of carbide cutting tools with hard coatings in hard milling based on the response surface methodology

Machining of hard materials has become a great challenge for several decades. One of the problems in this machining process is early tool wear, and this affects the machinability of hard materials. In order to increase machinability, cutting tools are widely coated with nanostructured physical vapor deposition hard coatings. The main characteristics of such advanced hard coatings are high microhardness and toughness as well as good adhesion to the substrate. In this paper, the influence of hard coatings (nanolayer AlTiN/TiN, multilayer nanocomposite TiAlSiN/TiSiN/TiAlN, and commercially available TiN/TiAlN) and cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut) on cutting forces and surface roughness were investigated during face milling of AISI O2 cold work tool steel (～61 HRC). The experiments were conducted based on 3¹³ factorial design by response surface methodology, and response surface equations of cutting forces and surface roughness were obtained. In addition, the cutting forces obtained with the coated and uncoated tools were compared. The results showed that the interaction of coating type and depth of cut affects surface roughness. The hard coating type has no significant effect on cutting forces, while the cutting force F _z is approximately two times higher in the case of uncoated tool.     

Fabrication and cutting performance of cemented tungsten carbide micro-cutting tools

We have developed cemented tungsten carbide (CTC) micro-cutting tools of 3 μm diameter by electrical discharge machining (EDM). Microdrilling and micromilling were carried out using the developed tools, and their cutting performance was investigated. Cutting was performed in free-cutting brass plates. Ultrasonic oscillation was employed to lower the cutting resistance. As a result, holes and a slot of 3 μm depth were successfully fabricated using tools made of CTC with 0.6 μm grain size, indicating that successful cutting with 3 μm-diameter tools was accomplished for the first time. Furthermore, CTC with 90 nm grain size was used as a tool material to improve the tool breakage resistance and tool form accuracy. The drilling performance of tools made of this ultrafine-grain-sized CTC was also investigated and found to exhibit a considerably improved average tool life.     

Failure of cemented carbide tools in intermittent cutting

The nature and mode of cemented carbide tool failure has been examined by considering the effects of thermal and mechanical loads to which a tool is subjected during intermittent cutting. Interrupted cutting tests were performed on a lathe, using a specially designed slotted workpiece fixture and several grades of cemented carbides were used to machine mild steel. Experimental results indicate that the mechanism of tool failure changes with the cutting parameters; these must therefore be carefully chosen to optimise tool performance.     

Wear and performance of coated carbide and ceramic tools

The essential properties of modern high production cutting tools include high wear resistance, toughness, chemical stability at high temperature and under high sliding forces and a sufficiently high flow strength. It is difficult to achieve all these properties in a single tool material and techniques have been developed for coating a thin layer of a highly wear-resistant and friction-reducing material such as TiC, TiN, Ti(C,N), Al₂O₃ and Ti(C,N,O) onto a tough and strong substrate such as cemented carbides.The performance of such coated tools and their wear mechanisms were investigated.     

晶粒长大抑制剂对超细硬质合金刀具磨损性能的影响

对添加和不添加晶粒长大抑制剂的WC-10Co超细硬质合金刀具,分别进行了切削高温合金GH2132的刀具磨损试验,并对试验结果进行线性回归,建立了刀具寿命TL与切削速度v之间关系的经验公式,利用ZEISS连续变倍体视显微镜及显微摄影系统观察了刀具刃口和后刀面的磨损形貌,并对达到磨钝标准时的刀具后刀面磨损微区成分进行了电子探针能谱分析,探讨晶粒长大抑制剂对刀具磨损性能的影响机理。结果表明:晶粒长大抑制剂可以提高超细硬质合金刀具的耐磨性,不但使抗粘接磨损的能力得到提高,而且使抗磨料磨损、撕裂剥落和扩散磨损的能力也得到了提高。     

硬质合金刀具干切削TC4钛合金耐用度的研究

通过对YT15、YG8、YW2这3种牌号的硬质合金刀具干切削TC4钛合金的试验,分析了3种刀具的磨损形貌及特征,并研究了切削速度对刀具耐用度的影响,建立了刀具耐用度T与切削速度v之间的泰勒公式.结果表明,随切削速度增加YT15刀具耐用度降低最快,YG8刀具的耐用度次之,YW2刀具的耐用度降低最慢.     

Wear modelling in mild steel orthogonal cutting when using uncoated carbide tools

Wear prediction in machining has been recently studied by FEM although the use of numerical methods for such applications is still a very challenging research issue. In fact, wear phenomenon involves many aspects related to process mechanics which require a very accurate modelling. In other words, only a very punctual code set-up can help the researchers in order to obtain consistent results in FE analysis. The high relative velocity between chip and tool requires effective material models as well as friction modelling at the interface. Moreover the prediction of temperature distribution is another critical task; in the paper some different procedures are discussed. Subsequently a wear model is presented and calibrated in order to obtain a suitable tool to be implemented in a FE code with the aim to describe the wear evolution during the simulation process.A proper designed experimental campaign supplied some reference data for model set-up and verify in the practical application.All these aspects are carefully discussed in the paper.     

Design and simulation of thermal residual stresses of coatings on WC-Co cemented carbide cutting tool substrate

Large thermal residual stresses in coatings during the coating deposition process may easily lead to coating delamination of coated carbide tools in machining. In order to reduce the possibility of coating delamination during the tool failure process, a theoretical method was proposed and a numerical method was constructed for the coating design of WC-Co cemented carbide cutting tools. The thermal residual stresses of multi-layered coatings were analytically modeled based on equivalent parameters of coating properties, and the stress distribution of coatings are simulated by Finite element method (FEM). The theoretically calculated results and the FEM simulated results were verified and in good agreement with the experimental test results. The effects of coating thickness, tool substrate, coating type and interlayer were investigated by the proposed geometric and FEM model. Based on the evaluations of matchability of tool substrate and tool coatings, the basic principles of tool coating design were proposed. This provides theoretical basis for the selection and design of coatings of cutting tools in high-speed machining.

     

Wear mechanisms in coated carbide tools

Micrographic evidence is presented which shows the retention of thin, 5μm carbide coating even when the ‘crater’ depth far exceeds the original coating thickness. Whereas earlier authors have attributed this retention to chip smearing, the present authors have shown that cratering can occur by plastic deformation with the coating remaining almost intact. X-ray images from the electron microprobe analyser and from the energy dispersive X-ray analyser support the micrographic findings. Plastic deformation results in flank bulging which causes the coating to wear rapidly by abrasion: the substrate, however, is able to withstand further deterioration. Chip notching on the rake face and grooving wear on the clearance faces also cause removal locally. Severe grooving wear on the end cutting edge as a possible result of oxidation and catalytic action is highlighted     

Wear behavior of some cutting tool materials in hard turning of HSS

This study presents an assessment of the performance of four cutting tool in the machining of medium hardened HSS: polycrystalline c-BN (c-BN+TiN), TiN coated polycrystalline c-BN (c-BN+TiN), ceramic mixed alumina (Al₂O₃+TiC), and coated tungsten carbide (TiN coated over a multilayer coating (TiC/TiCN/Al₂O₃)). The Al₂O₃+TiC and the coated carbide tools can outperform both types of c-BN at high cutting speeds. Raman and SEM mapping revealed an alumina tribo-layer that protects the surface of the Al₂O₃+TiC cutting tool. The high chemical and thermal stability of Al₂O₃ tribo-films protects the tool substrate because it prevents the heat generated at the tool/chip interface from entering the tool core.     

Wear mechanisms of cutting tools in high-speed cutting processes

Contemporary cutting tools used for High Speed Cutting (HSC), made on the basis of micro-grained cemented carbides with multi-layer protective coating, allow for effective machining of hardened and tempered steels of hardness over 50 HRc. The characteristic wear of such tools is affected by the fact that the cutting speed is no longer the main influential factor on wear; the wear can also be the consequence of the high-speed tool movements in the feed direction. The paper presents some original research into the wear types, as well as the phenomena in the cutting zone and their relationships to the causes and main wear mechanisms (adhesion, abrasion and diffusion) for the tools used in HSC.     

Dynamic reliability sensitivity of cemented carbide cutting tool

Influence of geometric and cutting parameters of cemented carbide cutting tool on reliability of cutting tool has become more and more mature, yet influence of its physical and material parameters on reliability is still blank. In view of this, cutting test and fatigue crack growth test of YT05 cemented carbide cutting tool are conducted to measure such data as the original crack size, growth size, times of impact loading, number and time of cutting tool in failure, and stress distribution of cutting tool is also obtained by simulating cutting process of tools. Mathematical models on dynamic reliability and dynamic reliability sensitivity of cutting tool are derived respectively by taking machining time and times of impact loading into account, thus change rules of dynamic reliability sensitivity to physical and material parameters can be obtained. Theoretical and experimental results show that sensitive degree on each parameter of tools increases gradually with the increase of machining time and times of impact loading, especially for parameters such as fracture toughness, shape parameter, and cutting stress. This proposed model solves such problems as how to determine the most sensitive parameter and influence degree of physical parameters and material parameters to reliability, which is sensitivity, and can provide theoretical foundation for improving reliability of cutting tool system.     

纳米硬质合金刀具切削Al/SiCp复合材料实验

SiC颗粒具有较高的硬度,使Al/SiCp复合材料在切削时刀具磨损剧烈。纳米硬质合金具有较高的硬度、韧性及良好的抗磨损能力。制备了纳米硬质合金刀具WC-7Co,对Al/SiCp复合材料进行了切削实验,研究了纳米硬质合金刀具磨损机理和Al/SiCp复合材料的切屑去除机理,以及刀尖处后刀面磨损值。研究认为,纳米硬质合金刀具磨损的机理为SiC颗粒的微切削作用引起的磨料磨损,及SiC颗粒对刀尖刃口的高频、断续冲击引起的微崩刃及微破损,Al/SiCp复合材料的切削实质是断续切削;Al/SiCp复合材料去除机理为切屑的崩碎去除;纳米硬质合金后刀面磨损值较普通硬质合金小30%~50%。     

Processes involved in the wear of cemented carbide tools

Studies were made of the initial cratering wear and subsequent wear propagation of WC-(Ti, Ta, W)C-Co tools used to cut carbon steel. Using mechanically polished tools and short cutting times (1–11 s), microstructural and chemical changes involved in the initial wear process were identified and used as a basis for evaluating several wear models. Making use of iron-coated and diffusion-annealed tools, the wear propagation process was similarly evaluated in tests of up to 6 min duration.Microscopic examination shows that WC grains fracture intragranularly, consequently generating fine WC wear debris. Analysis of chip material reveals the size of WC wear debris to be an order of magnitude less than the original grain size. The (Ti, Ta, W)C wear debris size was found to be of the order of the original grain size. Adhesion seems to be the most likely mechanism of wear. Abrasive wear seems to be inconsistent with the observed similarity between results for inclusion-containing 52100 steel and 1045 steel relatively free of inclusions. Despite evidence of substantial diffusion, diffusional wear models seem inapplicable owing to the relative wear rates of coated and uncoated tools and to the absence of intergranular failure. Dissolution models seem inconsistent with the observed coexistence of the iron coating and the WC particles.     

Laboratory tests for performance evaluation of nanocomposite coatings for cutting tools

This paper reports a study on the most significant laboratory characterization tests for the performance assessment of innovative coatings for cutting tools, in order to obtain reliable forecasts over their machining behaviour.Ball-erosion tests, Rockwell C indentation, scratch test, ball-on-disc test at room temperature and at high-temperature, as well as nanoindentation and roughness measurements were applied to innovative nanocomposite coatings, and their results discussed and compared with the outcome of machining tests. The analysis of the results showed a good correlation between laboratory tests and cutting tests.