Cutting performance and wear mechanisms of Sialon–Si3N4 graded nano-composite ceramic cutting tools

Sialon–Si₃N₄ graded nano-composite ceramic tool materials were fabricated by using hot-pressing technique. The residual stresses in the surface layer of the graded ceramic tool materials were calculated by the indentation method. The cutting performance and wear mechanisms of the graded tools were investigated via turning of Inconel 718 alloy in comparison with common reference tools. The surface roughness of the finish hard turning of Inconel 718 and the microstructures of the chips were also examined. Worn and fractured surfaces of the cutting tools were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results showed that graded structure in Sialon–Si₃N₄ graded ceramic tool materials can induce residual compressive stresses in the surface layer during fabrication process. Tool lifetime of graded ceramic tool was higher than that of the common reference tool. The longer tool life of the graded nano-composite ceramic tool was attributed to its synergistic strengthening and toughening mechanisms induced by the optimum graded compositional structure of the tool and the addition of nano-sized particles. Wear mechanisms identified in the machining tests involved adhesive wear and abrasive wear. The mechanisms responsible for the higher tool life were determined to be the formation of compressive residual stress in the surface layer of the graded tools, which led to an increase in the resistance to fracture.     

Wear characteristics of ceramic cutting tools in machining steel

Some ceramic materials such as Al₂O₃ which have a high compressive strength, hardness and chemical stability came into use industrially in the middle of this century as powder metallurgy produced indexable cutting tool inserts. These early ceramic tools were inherently weak in tension, impact and dynamic loading owing to their low tensile strength, toughness and transverse rupture strength; because of this their application was limited to medium productivity operations and work materials of softer grades. However, the technology of ceramic cutting tools has made great strides in the last few years through substantial improvements in their strength, toughness and wear resistivity. These modern ceramic tools have found wide and economic applications in high production machining of both cast iron and steels.In this paper the constructional characteristics of some modern ceramic tools and their wear behaviour and overall performances in machining mild steel at both low and high speeds are presented. The comparative results obtained are reported and discussed.     

Evaluation of the Machinability of Nickel-Base,Inconel 718, Alloy with Nano-Ceramic Cutting Tools

The machinability of difficult-to-cut aerospace alloys can be enhanced by the rapid development of cutting tool materials that can withstand machining at high-speed conditions. The performance of nano-grain size ceramic tool materials were evaluated when machining nickel base, Inconel 718, in terms of tool life, tool failure modes and wear mechanisms as well as component forces generated under different roughing conditions. Comparison tests were carried out with commercially available ceramic tool materials of micron-grain composition.

The test results show that the micron grain size commercially available tool materials generally gave the longest tool life. The dominant failure mode is nose wear, while some of the nano-ceramic tools were rejected mainly due to chipping at the cutting edge. This suggests that physical properties and mechanical stability of the cutting edge of the ceramic tools influence their overall performance. It is also evident that chemical compositions of the tool materials played a significant role in their failure. The alumina base ceramics are more susceptible to premature fracture than the silicon nitride base ceramics with higher fracture toughness.     

Wear and Tribological Performance of Different Ceramic Tools in Dry High Speed Machining of Ni-Co-Cr Precipitation Hardenable Aerospace Superalloy

Tool wear is an important machinability criterion. To reduce total machining costs, this study demonstrates the wear and tribological performance of four ceramic tools in dry high-speed turning of Ni-Co-Cr precipitation hardenable superalloy (Inconel 100). Wear of the tool materials and the structural and phase transformations at the tool–chip interface were investigated. Results obtained reveal that SiAlON ceramic outperformed other ceramic tool materials at different cutting speeds due to the formation of a large amount of mullite tribofilms on the tool face, which serve as a thermal barrier layer. Alumina ceramic with the addition of ZrO₂ can be recommended for machining Inconel 100 at speeds above 150 m/min due to its ability to form thermal barrier ZrO₂ tribofilms, which decrease the coefficient of friction at the tool–chip interface. Mixed alumina and an alumina matrix reinforced with SiC_w were found to be unsuitable for machining age-hardened Inconel 100 superalloy.     

Development and machinability evaluation of MgO doped Y-ZTA ceramic inserts for high-speed machining of steel

ABSTRACT

In current high productivity manufacturing era, it is necessary to develop non-conventional newer tool materials. Here, an attempt has been made for developing MgO doped zirconia-toughened alumina (Mg-ZTA) using powder metallurgy process route. The 3 mol% yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) (10 wt%), alumina (Al₂O₃) (90 wt%) with varying percentage of magnesium oxide (MgO) (0–1 wt%) are mixed to study the phase transformation and uniaxially pressed into square inserts with 0.8 mm nose radius and sintered at 1,600ºC for 1 h in pressure less condition. The maximum hardness of 17.04 GPa, fracture toughness of 5.09 MPa m^1/2 and flexural strength of 502 MPa, respectively, has been reached at 0.6 wt% of MgO due to more metastable tetragonal phase. The performance of the insert has been evaluated by machining AISI 4340 steel (radius 75 mm) in lathe. The performance with respect to flank wear, cutting force and surface roughness is quite impressive at different cutting speed even after 20 min of machining. It can be inferred that MgO doped ZTA insert can be used for medium to high-speed machining in current manufacturing scenario and is very promising to replace carbide or coated carbide inserts in coming days.     

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.

     

铝合金7050-T7451直角切削表面的残余应力研究

采用单因素直角切削试验,对硬质合金刀具切削铝合金7050-T7451加工过程中形成的已加工表面残余应力进行了研究。使用X射线衍射应力测试技术对残余应力进行测量,得到了不同切削参数对应的残余应力值。通过考虑刃口半径的存在,阐述了已加工表面残余拉应力和压应力的产生机理,同时分析了切削速度、切削深度等参数对残余应力值的影响规律。     

Wear behaviour of alumina based ceramic cutting tools on machining steels

The advanced ceramic cutting tools have very good wear resistance, high refractoriness, good mechanical strength and hot hardness. Alumina based ceramic cutting tools have very high abrasion resistance and hot hardness. Chemically they are more stable than high-speed steels and carbides, thus having less tendency to adhere to metals during machining and less tendency to form built-up edge. This results in good surface finish and dimensional accuracy in machining steels. In this paper wear behaviour of alumina based ceramic cutting tools is investigated. The machining tests were conducted using SiC whisker reinforced alumina ceramic cutting tool and Ti[C,N] mixed alumina ceramic cutting tool on martensitic stainless steel-grade 410 and EN 24 steel work pieces. Flank wear in Ti[C,N] mixed alumina ceramic cutting tool is lower than that of the SiC whisker reinforced alumina cutting tool. SiC whisker reinforced alumina cutting tool exhibits poor crater wear resistance while machining. Notch wear in SiC whisker reinforced alumina cutting tool is lower than that of the Ti[C,N] mixed alumina ceramic cutting tool. The flank wear, crater wear and notch wear are higher on machining martensitic stainless steel than on machining hardened steel. In summary Ti[C,N] mixed alumina cutting tool performs better than SiC whisker reinforced alumina cutting tool on machining martensitic stainless steel.     

现代刀具材料系列讲座(十) 超硬刀具材料——金刚石与立方氮化硼

介绍了超硬刀具材料(金刚石与立方氮化硼)在加工不同工件材料时的切削数据。工件材料包括铜、铝合金和一些难加工材料。文中列出较多的试验数据和曲线,阐述了超硬刀具的切削性能和切削机理。     

现代刀具材料系列讲座（十一）超硬刀具材料—金则石与立方氮化硼

介绍了超硬刀具材料（金刚石与立方氮化硼）在加工不同工件材料时的切削数据。工件材料包括各种难加工材料与有色金属。文中列出较多的试验数据和曲线,阐述了超硬刀具的切削性能和切削机理。     

Progressive tool failure in high-speed dry milling of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with coated carbide tools

This paper presents a detailed analysis of tool failure progression through an experimental study of high speed milling of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with CVD (Ti(C, N)-Al₂O₃)-coated carbide tools. The progressive tool failure characteristics under a variety of different cutting conditions were investigated. Cutting forces components and transient infrared temperature during the machining processes have been measured along with corresponding progressive tool wear when milling using coated carbide inserts under dry machining conditions. Optical microscope and scanning electron microscopic analysis results clearly show the different dominant wear regions at different stages of machining with coated carbide tools. The experimental results demonstrate that the cutting forces and the cutting temperature produced during the machining process showed an increasing trend with the tool failure progression, which in turns accelerated the tool wear progression and caused the change of the tool failure mechanisms. Furthermore, the progressive tool failure mechanisms were analyzed qualitatively. The cutting speed was correlated with progressive tool failure mechanisms, and the different conditions of friction and normal stresses caused by different cutting force and cutting temperature under different cutting speeds resulted in the varieties of progressive tool failure mechanisms.     

On the Dry Machining of Steel Surfaces Using Superhard Tools

Coolant for cutting and grinding not only increases the production costs, but also damages the environment and health of the employees. Therefore, attention should be directed towards machining processes, where the use of coolant can be reduced significantly or even stopped. Analysis of the cutting processes and the tool materials throws light on the area where wet, moist, or dry machining are applicable. Dry machining with CBN tools, so called hard turning, performed on hardened steels has produced very favourable results, which are applicable in industry. The characteristics of the surface integrity with dry machining are more favourable than with grinding and the operation costs are reduced. In hard turning, the compressive residual stress field developed, in contrast to the tensile stresses developed in grinding, increases the fatigue life of the machined components. RID=" ID=" <E5>Correspondence and offprint requests to</E5>: Professor A. G. Mamalis, Manufacturing Technology Division, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Athens, 42, 28th October Avenue, 106 82 Athens, Greece. E-mail: mamalis&commat;central.ntua.gr     

MACHINING PARAMETERS OPTIMIZATION FOR ALUMINA BASED CERAMIC CUTTING TOOLS USING GENETIC ALGORITHM

Alumina-based ceramic cutting tools can be operated at higher cutting speeds than carbide and cermet tools. This results in increased metal removal rates and productivity. While the initial cost of alumina based ceramic inserts is generally higher than carbide or cermet inserts, the cost per part machined is often lower. Production cost is the main concern of the industry and it has to be optimised to fully utilize the advantages of ceramic cutting tools. In this study, optimization of machining parameters on machining S.G. iron (ASTM A536 60-40-18) using alumina based ceramic cutting tools is presented. Before doing the optimization work, experimental machining study is carried out using Ti [C,N] mixed alumina ceramic cutting tool (CC 650) and Zirconia toughened alumina ceramic cutting tool (Widialox G) to get actual input values to the optimization problem, so that the optimized results will be realistic. The optimum machining parameters are found out using Genetic algorithm and it is found that Widialox G tool is able to machine at lower unit production cost than CC 650 tool. The various costs affecting the unit production cost are also discussed.     

MACHINING PARAMETERS OPTIMIZATION FOR ALUMINA BASED CERAMIC CUTTING TOOLS USING GENETIC ALGORITHM

Alumina-based ceramic cutting tools can be operated at higher cutting speeds than carbide and cermet tools. This results in increased metal removal rates and productivity. While the initial cost of alumina based ceramic inserts is generally higher than carbide or cermet inserts, the cost per part machined is often lower. Production cost is the main concern of the industry and it has to be optimised to fully utilize the advantages of ceramic cutting tools. In this study, optimization of machining parameters on machining S.G. iron (ASTM A536 60-40-18) using alumina based ceramic cutting tools is presented. Before doing the optimization work, experimental machining study is carried out using Ti [C,N] mixed alumina ceramic cutting tool (CC 650) and Zirconia toughened alumina ceramic cutting tool (Widialox G) to get actual input values to the optimization problem, so that the optimized results will be realistic. The optimum machining parameters are found out using Genetic algorithm and it is found that Widialox G tool is able to machine at lower unit production cost than CC 650 tool. The various costs affecting the unit production cost are also discussed.     

不同晶型纳米氧化锆增韧氧化铝基陶瓷刀具材料研究

利用不同晶型纳米氧化锆的相变增韧和纳米颗粒的增韧作用来提高氧化铝基体的综合力学性能。研制成功了纳米ZrO2增韧氧化铝基陶瓷刀具材料A15Zc和A20Z(c+m),在其最佳烧结工艺条件下,A15Zc和A20Z(c+m)材料的抗弯强度、断裂韧度和维氏硬度分别为812.83MPa、5.5MPa.m1/2、16.68GPa和869.48MPa、5.85MPa.m1/2、16.09GPa。刀具的主要增韧机理是相变增韧、裂纹偏转、裂纹弯曲和纳米颗粒的桥连等。     

Optimization of cutting tool properties through the development of alumina cermet

As a means of optimizing the wear resistance and the toughness of cutting tools, alumina cermet tools have been developed, characterized and tested at high cutting speeds. These tools combine the chemical stability afforded by metal oxides and the toughness imparted by metal binders. Alumina is bound to nickel through zirconia by reacting alumina with a Ni-Zr alloy. The wear properties of these tools were characterized by cutting heattreated AISI 4340 steel at speeds ranging from 3 to 15.2 m s^?1, feed rates of 0.13 – 0.28 mm rev^?1 and depths of cut of 1.27 – 2.54 mm. Tests indicate that its wear resistance is comparable with that of pure alumina tools but that its toughness is greater.     

ANALYTICAL MODELING OF THE EFFECT OF THE TOOL FLANK WEAR WIDTH ON THE RESIDUAL STRESS DISTRIBUTION

Tool flank wear has significant effects on the cutting process, as it affects cutting forces, temperature and residual stresses. In this article, analytical models are developed to predict the cutting temperature and residual stresses in the orthogonal machining of a worn tool. In these models, measured forces, cutting conditions, tool geometry, and material properties are used as inputs. Stresses resulting from thermal stresses, fresh tool stresses and stresses due to tool flank wear are used in this analytical elasto-plastic model, and the residual stresses are determined by a relaxation procedure. The analytical model is verified experimentally with X-ray diffraction measurements. With the analytical model presented here, accurate residual stress profiles in worn tools are shown, while the computational time is significantly reduced from days, typical for finite-element method (FEM) models, to seconds.     

Dispatching rules for unrelated parallel machine scheduling with release dates

A simplified procedure is proposed to predict the surface integrity of complex-shape parts generated by ball-end finishing milling. Along a complex cutting path, the tool inclination may vary within a large range. A geometrical study is performed to predict the effect of the tool inclination (lead angle) on the micro-geometry of the machined surface and on the effective cutting speed. This geometrical study brings out a range of values of the lead angle for which the machined surface is damaged by cutting pull-outs. This geometrical study also brings out a range of values of the lead angle for which the effective cutting speed is null. This case corresponds to extreme values of the cutting forces and to high compressive residual stresses. These predictions are verified for a selection of tool inclinations and other cutting parameters such as cutting speed, feed per tooth and cusp height. These machining tests are performed on a high-strength bainitic steel. The experimental campaign includes milling tests with cutting forces measurements, 2-D optical micro-geometry measurements and X-ray diffraction measurements.     

精细陶瓷刀具切削性能的研究

了解陶瓷刀具切削性能，做到正确合理选用，对提高加工质量，降低刀具费用意义重大。本文在对多种商品陶瓷发具切削实验的基础上，讨论了精细陶瓷刀具的切削性能及其应用范围。     

Study of HPHT single crystal diamond as precision cutting tool material

High pressure high temperature (HPHT) synthetic diamond is rapidly replacing natural diamond in precision machining industry due to its consistency in quality and cost. It is believed by some manufacturers that HPHT diamond cutting tool is virtually free of impurities, inclusions and cracks. This paper is to analyze defects inside HPHT diamond crystal by density test, optical microscopy, SEM, Raman, and XRD. Results show that HPHT diamond is relatively clean, with less chemical elements inside in comparison with natural diamond. However, there are cracks, pit holes, and bubbles in/on the crystal, some tracing amount of cementite (Fe₃C), γ-Fe, and nickel based carbides also exist in the HPHT diamond crystal, causing less accurate cutting tool edge and surface integrity. Residual stresses in HPHT diamond are compressive but high in value, may lead to cutting tool brittleness and micro-chipping, which is a common reason for diamond tool failing in precision machining.