微波等离子体刻蚀处理对金刚石薄膜涂层刀具附着力和切削性能的影响

用HFCVD法在硬质合金（YG6）刀具衬底上沉积金刚石薄膜,用氢微波等离子体刻蚀的方法对衬底进行表面预处理,研究了该预处理技术对WC硬质合金衬底表面成分的影响,进一步探讨了所沉积金刚石薄膜的表面形貌和附着力,并通过难加工材料实际切削试验。研究了所制备的金刚石薄膜涂层刀具的切削性能。试验结果表明,Ar-H2微波等离子体刻蚀脱碳处理是提高金刚石薄膜附着力和改善涂层刀具切削性能的有效预处理方法。     

Development of diamond coated tool and its performance in machining Al-11% Si alloy

An attempt has been made to deposit CVD diamond coating on conventional carbide tool using hot filament CVD process. ISO grade K10 turning inserts with SPGN 120308 geometry were used to deposit diamond coating. This diamond coating well covering the rake surface, cutting edges and flank surfaces could be successfully deposited. The coatings were characterized by SEM, XRD and Raman spectroscopy for coating quality, morphology etc. Performance of diamond coated tool relative to that of uncoated carbide tool was evaluated in turning Al-11% Si alloy under dry environment. The diamond coated tool outperformed the uncoated carbide tool which severely suffered from sizeable built-up edge formation leading not only to escalation of cutting forces but also poorer surface finish. In contrast, the diamond coated tool, owing to chemical inertness of diamond coating towards the work material, did not show any trace of edge built-up even in dry environment and could maintain low level of cutting forces and remarkably improved surface finish. It has been further revealed that success of the diamond coated tool depends primarily on adhesion of the diamond coating with the carbide substrate and this is strongly influenced by the pre-treatment of the carbide substrate surface before coating.     

Adhesion of diamond coatings on cemented carbides

Precise quantification of the adhesion of diamond coatings on cemented carbide (WC-Co) inserts is important for industrial applications. Adhesion is strongly influenced by the surface roughness, surface reactivity, catalytic effect of Co during diamond chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and by stresses developed in the film and at the bonding interface.

In this work we investigated the adhesion of diamond coatings on WC-Co by using Rockwell-C indentation. Various surface modifications were studied: Co leaching; replacement of Co by Cu; WC-Co decarburization and deposition of Ti intermediate layer prior to diamond CVD. Turning tests with diamond coated inserts for machining of Al alloy were carried out.     

Chemically vapour deposited diamond coatings on cemented tungsten carbides: Substrate pretreatments, adhesion and cutting performance

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of diamond films onto Co-cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) tools and wear parts presents several problems due to interfacial graphitization induced by the binder phase and thermal expansion mismatch of diamond and WC-Co. Methods used to improve diamond film adhesion include substrate-modification processes that create a three-dimensional compositionally graded interface. This paper reviews substrate pretreatments and adhesion issues of chemically vapour deposited diamond films on WC-Co. The combined effect of pretreatments and substrate microstructure on the adhesive toughness and wear rate of CVD diamond in dry machining of highly abrasive materials was analyzed. The role of diamond film surface morphology on chip evacuation in dry milling of ceramics was also investigated by comparing feed forces of coated and uncoated mills. The overall tribological performance of diamond coated mills depended on coating microstructure and smoothness. The use of smother films did allow to reduce cutting forces by facilitating chip evacuation.     

Microstructural control of boundary region between CVD diamond film and cemented carbide substrate

Effects of the composition, texture and pretreatment of cemented carbide substrates on the microstructure of the boundary region between CVD diamond film and the substrate were investigated using a microwave plasma CVD in the CO-H₂ system. Optimum CVD conditions for a uniform coating on to the edge part of cutting insert were: microwave power, 550 W; total pressure, 30 Torr; total flow rate, 200 ml/min; CO concentration, 5–20 vol%; treatment time, 3–5 h. An adherent and tough diamond coating was prepared by initial coating at lower CO concentrations and by subsequent coating at higher CO concentrations. A cemented carbide substrate in the binary WC-Co system which comprised fine-grained tungsten carbide and low content of cobalt was suited for preparation of adherent diamond coating. De-cobaltization pretreatment of the substrate surface in acid solution followed by an ultrasonic microflawing treatment enhanced the nucleation density and adherence of diamond film to the substrate. The rotation of substrate was found to be effective for increasing the uniformity and decreasing the grain size of diamond film.     

Machining of high performance workpiece materials with CBN coated cutting tools

The machining of high performance workpiece materials requires significantly harder cutting materials. In hard machining, the early tool wear occurs due to high process forces and temperatures. The hardest known material is the diamond, but steel materials cannot be machined with diamond tools because of the reactivity of iron with carbon. Cubic boron nitride (cBN) is the second hardest of all known materials. The supply of such PcBN indexable inserts, which are only geometrically simple and available, requires several work procedures and is cost-intensive. The development of a cBN coating for cutting tools, combine the advantages of a thin film system and of cBN. Flexible cemented carbide tools, in respect to the geometry can be coated. The cBN films with a thickness of up to 2 µm on cemented carbide substrates show excellent mechanical and physical properties. This paper describes the results of the machining of various workpiece materials in turning and milling operations regarding the tool life, resultant cutting force components and workpiece surface roughness. In turning tests of Inconel 718 and milling tests of chrome steel the high potential of cBN coatings for dry machining was proven. The results of the experiments were compared with common used tool coatings for the hard machining. Additionally, the wear mechanisms adhesion, abrasion, surface fatigue and tribo-oxidation were researched in model wear experiments.     

Adhesion improvement of diamond films on cemented carbides with copper implant layer

The deposition of diamond films on cemented carbides is strongly influenced by the catalytic effect of cobalt under typical deposition conditions. Decreasing the content of Co on the surface of the cemented carbide is often used for the diamond film deposition. But the leaching of Co from the WC-Co substrate leads to a mechanical weak surface, often causing poor adhesion. In this paper we adopt a copper implant layer to improve the mechanical properties of the Co leached substrate. The copper implant layer is prepared with vaporization. The diamond films are grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition from the CH₄/H₂ gas mixture. The morphology and the quality of the diamond films have been characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. A Rockwell apparatus has evaluated the adhesion of the diamond on the substrate. The results indicate that the diamond films have good adhesion to the cemented carbide substrate due to the recovery of the mechanical properties of the Co depleted substrate after the copper implantation and less graphite formation between the substrate and the diamond film.     

Machining of Hypereutectic Al-Si Alloy with CVD Diamond Coated Si4N4. Inserts

Due to its excellent mechanical properties, diamond can be used for many applications in mechanical engineering. With the help of the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) method it is possible to deposit polycrystalline diamond films on different substrate materials of nearly any shape and surface. So diamond cutting tools with complex geometry are now possible. In this investigation diamond coatings deposited by microwave plasma CVD (MW-PACVD) on Si₃N₄ inserts were used for turning experiments. By means of changes in the CH₄/H₂ gas ratio two different types of film morphology were generated, one rather highly faceted and the other one fine-grained ballas-type surface microstructure. The cutting performance of the CVD diamond coated triangular silicon nitride inserts was analyzed for continuous dry turning of the hypereutectic AISi 17Cu4Mg alloy with different cutting speeds. During the experiments no wear of the diamond films could be detected; nevertheless, the adhesion to the Si₃N₄ substrate has still to be improved. The results of the cutting tests gave valuable information for favorable geometry and clamping devices of cutting tools coated with CVD diamond and for suitable machining parameters.     

WC-Co硬质合金基体上高附着力金刚石薄膜的制备

采用微波等离子体化学气相沉积(CVD)法在WC-Co硬质合金基体上制备金刚石膜, 研究了TiN_x中间层的引入对金刚石薄膜质量及其附着性能的影响. 结果表明, 在酸浸蚀脱钴处理的基础上, 通过预沉积氮含量呈梯度变化的TiN_x中间过渡层, 可在硬质合金基体上制备出高质量的金刚石薄膜; 压痕法测试其临界载荷达1000N.     

Diamond deposition onto WC-6%Co cutting tool material: coating structure and interfacial bond strength

Diamond coatings were grown on WC-6%Co cutting tool material. Measurements were carried out to investigate the effects of diamond seeding of the substrate before deposition, removal of cobalt from the substrate before deposition, and boron incorporation into the coating during growth on the growth rate, morphology and structure of the coating, and coating-substrate edhesion. Diamond seeding of the substrate resulted in a higher growth rate and diamond fraction of the coating relative to a polished and unseeded surface. Etching of cobalt from the substrate resulted in a higher growth rate, diamond fraction and adhesion strength relative to the unetched surface. Introduction of methanol into the gas phase led to a lower growth rate, diamond fraction and adhesion strength relative to the case when no methanol was injected. Introduction of boron oxide (B₂O₃) along with methanol into the gas phase did not affect the growth rate but increased both the diamond fraction and adhesion strength relative to the case when only methanol was added. It is believed that adhesion failure occurs at the diamond-substrate interface, possibly within a soft nanocrystalline graphite transition layer.     

The nature of stresses in hot-filament chemical vapour deposited diamond thin films on WC substrates

The nature of film stresses in hot-filament chemical vapour deposited (HFCVD) diamond thin films on tungsten carbide substrates, is reported. Commercial WC substrates were subjected to various surface treatments. Subsequently, they were coated with a diamond film and examined for stresses using X-ray diffraction. All but one of the stress measurements indicated various levels of compressive stresses in the film and at the film–substrate interface. These stresses are compared with those obtained by other researchers. Intrinsic film stresses were also computed for diamond films and found to be tensile. WC drills, of 0.125 in. diameter, were also diamond coated and the stress levels measured along drill flanks and flutes. Significant variations were found in these stresses, and the results were analysed from a film–substrate adhesion perspective.     

金刚石薄膜涂层硬质合金刀具的界面表征

采用SEM对金刚石薄膜涂层硬质合金刀具的金刚石薄膜表面、背面及金刚石薄膜剥落后的硬质合金刀片表面的典型形貌进行了观察,并采用TEM对金刚石薄膜／硬质合金刀片横截面的微观组织进行了研究,还采用FT—Raman光谱法对金刚石薄膜表面及金刚石薄膜剥落后的硬质合金刀片表面的微观结构进行了表征．结果表明：经适当的化学侵蚀脱钻和等离子体刻蚀脱碳预处理后,金刚石薄膜涂层硬质合金刀具的界面通常存在薄的（数十nm）石墨碳层;局部区域见到金刚石粒子直接生长在WC颗粒上,金刚石膜／基横截面的典型组织层次为：金刚石薄膜／薄的石墨碳层／细小的WC层／残留的脱碳层（η相＋W相）／原始的硬质合金基体．     

Diamond films deposited on WC-Co substrates by use of barrier interlayers and nano-grained diamond seeds

Results on the structure, composition and properties of diamond films deposited onto WC-Co cemented carbides via special multilayer barrier interlayers preliminary seeded by nano-grained diamond particles are presented. The barrier interlayers comprise a layer adjacent to the substrate, which completely prevents substrate decarburization and Co diffusion from the substrate, and a diamond-bonding layer needed to obtain an enhanced adhesion of the PACVD diamond coating. Preliminary seeding the barrier interlayers with nano-grain diamond particles by use of a laser ablation technique allows a fine-grained, uniform and highly adherent diamond coating of high quality to be deposited by use of a conventional PACVD technique. Results on the nature of the interaction between the diamond nano-grained seeds and barrier interlayer are also presented.     

等离子体刻蚀处理对金刚石膜粘附性能的影响

采用直流等离子体射流ＣＶＤ法在ＹＧ８质合金基体上成功地合成了多晶金刚薄膜。通常基体表面经金刚石磨盘研磨、稀硝酸化学侵蚀脱钴预处理后，沉积的金刚石薄膜的的粘附性能仍不理想。本文首次采用原位的Ａｒ－Ｈ２等离子体射流对基体表面进行适当的轰击、刻蚀处理，显著粗化了基体表面，并使基体表面显微组织和化学成分发生重大变化，并且在合适的沉积工艺条件下，沉积的金刚石膜的粘附性能显著提高。借助ＸＲＤ、ＳＥＥＭ、ＴＥＭ     

Influence of WC-Co substrate pretreatment on diamond film deposition by laser-assisted combustion synthesis

The quality of diamond films deposited on cemented tungsten carbide substrates (WC-Co) is limited by the presence of the cobalt binder. The cobalt in the WC-Co substrates enhances the formation of nondiamond carbon on the substrate surface, resulting in a poor film adhesion and a low diamond quality. In this study, we investigated pretreatments of WC-Co substrates in three different approaches, namely, chemical etching, laser etching, and laser etching followed by acid treatment. The laser produces a periodic surface pattern, thus increasing the roughness and releasing the stress at the interfaces between the substrate and the grown diamond film. Effects of these pretreatments have been analyzed in terms of microstructure and cobalt content. Raman spectroscopy was conducted to characterize both the diamond quality and compressive residual stress in the films.     

Chemical vapour deposition of microdrill cutting edges for micro- and nanotechnology applications

Conventional cemented tungsten carbide-cobalt (WC-Co) microdrills generally have a low cutting efficiency and short lifetime mainly because they operate at very high cutting speeds. Since it is relatively expensive to make microtools it is highly desirable to improve their lifetime and in-service performance. Microtools used to make microelectronic and mechanical systems (M.E.M.S) devices with sharp cutting edges, such as milling or drilling tools need protective coating in order to extend life and improve performance. One method of achieving this objective is to use a suitable surface engineering technology to deposit a hard wear resistant coating, such as diamond. Diamond has excellent mechanical properties, such as ultra-high hardness and a low friction coefficient. One of the most promising surface treatment technologies for depositing diamond onto complex shaped components is chemical vapour deposition (CVD). However, CVD of diamond coatings onto the cemented WC-Co tool has proved to be problematic. Binder materials such as cobalt can suppress diamond nucleation resulting in poor adhesion between the coating and substrate. In this paper the effects of pre-treated substrate material on the coating structure are reported. The morphology and the crystallinity of the as-grown films was characterised by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Raman spectroscopy was used to assess the carbon-phase purity and give an indication of the stress levels in the as-grown polycrystalline diamond films. The diamond coated tools have potential applications in micro- and nanomachining of micro- and nano-sized components used in M.E.MS.     

Adhesion Enhancement of Diamond Films on Various Substrates by Carbide Interlayer

Diamond films were prepared on various substrates by a combustion flame technique using an oxyacetylene torch. During the deposition, a carbide interlayer was formed between the surface of the substrate and deposited diamond. The hard interlayers were seen on the molybdenum, tungsten as well as silicon substrates. The adhesion of diamond on the molybdenum substrate was improved with increase in the hardness of the carbide layer. This result strongly supports the premise that the carbide interlayer and/or carbon diffused layer enhances the adhesion of diamond to substrates.     

Interfacial structure, residual stress and adhesion of diamond coatings deposited on titanium

The interfacial structures of diamond coatings deposited on pure titanium substrate were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. Results showed that beneath the diamond coating, there was one titanium carbide and hydride interlayer, followed by a heat-affected and carbon/hydrogen diffused Ti layer. Residual stress in the diamond coating and TiC interlayer under different process parameters were measured using Raman and X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods. Diamond coatings showed large compressive stress on the order of a few giga Pascal. XRD analysis also showed the presence of compressive stress in the TiC interlayer and tensile stress in the Ti substrate. With increasing deposition duration, or decreasing plasma power and concentration of CH₄ in gas mixture, the compressive residual stress in the diamond coating decreased. The large residual stress in the diamond coating resulted in poor adhesion of the coatings to substrate, but adhesion was also related to other factors, such as the thickness and nature of the TiC interlayer, etc. A graded interlayer design was proposed to lower the thermal stress, modify the interfacial structure and improve the adhesion strength.     

Machining and morphological evaluation of diamond coated tungsten carbide drills

This paper reports the results of drilling tests on various workpiece materials using diamond coated tungsten carbide drills. The performance of the coated drills were compared with uncoated control drills. Hot filament chemical vapor deposition was used for coating the pre-treated drills and film coating morphology and stress characteristics were studied prior to drilling. Forces and torques were measured during drilling and the results indicate catastrophic failure and short tool-life of the coated drills for all workpiece materials. Drill failure reasons are attributed to crystal clustering and point loading of the cutting edges. Further research issues are also identified.     

加工7075航空铝合金用金刚石涂层刀具的制备及其切削性能

采用热丝化学气相沉积(HFCVD)技术在WC-Co8%硬质合金刀具表面制备金刚石涂层,调节甲烷浓度等沉积工艺制备了单层金刚石涂层刀具和微米金刚石涂层(1.2 μm)、纳米金刚石涂层(200 nm)交替多层金刚石涂层刀具。以7075航空铝合金作为切削工件,在无润滑干切条件下测试了单层金刚石涂层刀具和多层金刚石涂层刀具的切削性能。实验结果表明,切削2 h后单层金刚石涂层刀具涂层脱落宽度达到35 μm,刀刃钝化;有多层金刚石涂层刀具的刃型保持完整,涂层无脱落。对单层金刚石涂层和多层金刚石涂层平面样品进行了洛氏压痕实验。结果表明,多层金刚石涂层的脱落面积约为单层金刚石涂层脱落面积的1/5到1/10,进一步说明多层金刚石涂层有更强的抵抗裂纹产生的能力。这些结果表明,金刚石多层结构能提高涂层与基体的界面结合力,延长金刚石涂层刀具的使用寿命。