CUTTING TOOL MATERIALS

& CUTTING FLUIDS

Chapter 21

TOPICS :

Introduction
Carbon and medium
alloy steels
High speed steels
Cast-cobalt alloys
Carbides
Coated tools
Alumna-based
ceramics

Cubic Boron Nitride

Silicon Nitride
based ceramics
Diamond
Whisker-reinforced
tool materials
Cutting-Tool
Reconditioning
Cutting fluids

Introduction:
Characteristics of cutting tool :

Hardness (Elevated temperatures)

Toughness (Impact forces on tool in
interrupted operations)
Wear resistance (tool life to be considered)
Chemical stability or inertness (to avoid
adverse reactions)

Cutting tool materials

Carbon & medium alloy steels

High speed steels
Cast-cobalt alloys
Carbides
Coated tools
Alumina-based ceramics
Cubic boron nitride
Silicon-nitride-base ceramics
Diamond
Whisker-reinforced materials

Carbon and Medium alloy steels :

Oldest of tool materials

Used for drills taps,broaches ,reamers
Inexpensive ,easily shaped ,sharpened
No sufficient hardness and wear resistance
Limited to low cutting speed operation

High speed steels (HSS)

Hardened to various depths

Good wear resistance
Relatively
Suitable for high positive rake angle tools

Two basic types of HSS

Molybdenum ( M-series)
Tungsten ( T-series)
M-series - Contains 10% molybdenum, chromium, vanadium,
tungsten, cobalt
Higher, abrasion resistance
H.S.S. are majorly made of M-series
T-series - 12 % - 18 % tungsten, chromium, vanadium &
cobalt
undergoes less distortion during heat treating

H.S.S.

Coated for better performance

available in wrought ,cast & sintered

(Powder metallurgy)

Subjected to surface treatments such as casehardening for improved hardness and wear
resistance or steam treatment at elevated
temperatures
High speed steels account for largest tonnage

Cast-Cobalt alloys

Commonly known as stellite tools

Composition ranges 38% - 53 % cobalt
30%- 33% chromium
10%-20%tungsten
Good wear resistance ( higher hardness)
Less tough than high-speed steels and sensitive to
impact forces
Less suitable than high-speed steels for interrupted
cutting operations
Continuous roughing cuts relatively high g=feeds
& speeds
Finishing cuts are at lower feed and depth of cut

Carbides :
3-groups of materials

Alloy steels
High speed steels
Cast alloys
These carbides are also known as cemented or
sintered carbides
High elastic modulus,thermal conductivity
Low thermal expansion

2-groups of carbides used for machining operations

tungsten carbide
titanium carbide

Tungsten Carbide

Composite material consisting of tungsten-carbide particles bonded

together

Alternate name is cemented carbides

Manufactured with powder metallurgy techniques

Particles 1-5 Mum in size are pressed & sintered to desired shape

Amount of cobalt present affects properties of carbide tools

As cobalt content increases strength hardness & wear resistance

increases

Titanium carbide

Titanium carbide has higher wear resistance

than tungsten carbide
Nickel-Molybdenum alloy as matrix Tic
suitable for machining hard materials
Steels & cast irons
Speeds higher than those for tungsten
carbide

Inserts

Inserts

Individual cutting tool with severed cutting points

Clamped on tool shanks with locking mechanisms
Inserts also brazed to the tools
Clamping is preferred method for securing an insert
Carbide Inserts available in various shapes-Square,
Triangle, Diamond and round
Strength depends on the shape
Inserts honed, chamfered or produced with negative
land to improve edge strength

Insert
Attachment
Fig : Methods of
attaching inserts to
toolholders : (a)
Clamping and (b)
Wing lockpins. (c)
Examples of inserts
attached to
toolholders with
threadless lockpins,
which are secured
with side screws.

Edge
Strength

Fig : Relative edge

strength and
tendency for
chipping and
breaking of inserts
with various
shapes. Strength
refers to the cutting
edge shown by the
included angles.

Fig : edge preparation of

inserts to improve
edge strength.

Chip breakers:
Purpose :
Eliminating long chips
Controlling chip flow during machining
Reducing vibration & heat generated
Selection depends on feed and depth
of cut
Work piece material,type of chip
produced during cutting

Coated tools :
-

High strength and toughness but generally

abrasive and chemically reactive with tool
materials

Unique Properties :
Lower Friction
High resistance to cracks and wear
High Cutting speeds and low time & costs
Longer tool life

Coating materials

Titanium nitride (TiN)

Titanium carbide (Tic)
Titanium Carbonitride (TicN)
Aluminum oxide (Al2O3)thickness range 2-15 m (80600Mu.in)

Techniques used :

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD)

Plasma assisted CVD

Physical-vapor deposition(PVD)

Medium temperature chemical- vapor

deposition(MTCVD)

Properties for Group of

Materials

Fig : Ranges of properties

for various groups of
tool materials.

Cutting tool Characteristics for coating :

High hardness
Chemical stability
Low thermal conductivity
Good bonding
Little or no Porosity

Titanium nitride (TiN) coating :

Low friction coefficients

High hardness
Resistance to high temperatures
Good adhesion to substrate
High life of high speed-steel tools

Titanium carbide (TiC) coating:

Titanium carbide coatings on tungsten-carbide inserts have high flank

wear resistance.

Ceramics :

Low thermal conductivity ,resistance ,high temperature

Resistance to flank wear and crater wear
Ceramics are suitable materials for tools
Al2O3 (most commonly used)

Multi Phase Coatings :

First layer Should bond well with substrate

Outer layer Resist wear and have low thermal conductivity
Intermediate layer Bond well & compatible with both
layers
Coatings of alternating multipurpose layers are also formed.

Multiphase Coatings

Fig : Multiphase coatings on a

tungsten-carbide
substrate. Three
alternating layers of
aluminum oxide are
separated by very thin
layers of titanium nitride.
Inserts with as many as
thirteen layers of coatings
have been made. Coating
thick nesses are typically
in the range of 2 to 10
m.

Diamond Coated tools :

Use of Polycrystalline diamond as a coating

Difficult to adhere diamond film to substrate
Thin-film diamond coated inserts now
commercially available
Thin films deposited on substrate with PVD & CVD
techniques
Thick films obtained by growing large sheet of
pure diamond
Diamond coated tools particularly effective in
machining non-ferrous and abrasive materials

New Coating materials :

Titanium carbo nitride (TiCN)

Titanium Aluminum Nitride(TiAlN)
Chromium Based coatings
Chromium carbide
Zirconium Nitride (ZrN)
Hafnium nitride (HfN)
Recent developments gives nano coating & composite coating

Ion Implementation :

Ions placed into the surface of cutting tool

No change in the dimensions of tool
Nitrogen-ion Implanted carbide tools used for alloy steels & stainless
steels
Xeon ion implantation of tools as under development

Alumina-Based ceramics:

Cold-Pressed Into insert shapes under high pressure and

sintered at high temperature
High Abrasion resistance and hot hardness
Chemically stable than high speed steels & carbides
So less tendency to adhere to metals
Good surface finish obtained in cutting cast iron and steels
Negative rake-angle preferred to avoid chipping due to poor
tensile strength

Cermets, Black or Hot- Pressed :

70% aluminum oxide & 30 % titanium carbide

cermets(ceramics & metal)
Cermets contain molybdenum carbide, niobium carbide and
tantalum carbide.

Cubic boron Nitride ( CBN ) :

Made by bonding ( 0.5-1.0 mm ( 0.02-0.04-in)

Layer of poly crystalline cubic boron nitride to a carbide substrate by sintering under
pressure
While carbide provides shock resistance CBN layer provides high resistance and
cutting edge strength
Cubic boron nitride tools are made in small sizes without substrate

Fig : (a) Construction of a polycrystalline cubic boron nitride or a diamond layer on a tungsten-carbide insert. (b) Inserts with polycrystalline
cubic boron nitride tips (top row) and solid polycrystalline CBN inserts (bottom row).

Silicon-Nitride based ceramics (SiN)

They consists various addition of Aluminum Oxide ythrium oxide,

titanium carbide
SiN have toughness, hot hardened & good thermal shock
resistance

SiN base material is Silicon

High thermal & shock resistance

Recommended for machining cast iron and nickel based super

alloys at intermediate cutting speeds

Diamond :

Hardest known substance

Low friction, high wear resistance
Ability to maintain sharp cutting edge
Single crystal diamond of various carats used for
special applications
Machining copperfront precision optical
mirrors for ( SDI)
Diamond is brittle , tool shape & sharpened is
important
Low rake angle used for string cutting edge

Polycrystalline-Diamond ( PCD ) Tools:

Used for wire drawing of fine wires

Small synthesis crystal fused by high pressure and
temperature
Bonded to a carbide substrate
Diamond tools can be used fir any speed
Suitable for light un-interrupted finishing cuts
To avoid tool fracture single crystal diamond is to
be re-sharpened as it becomes dull
Also used as an abrasive in grinding and polishing
operations

Whisker reinforced & Nanocrystalline tool

materials
New tool materials with enhanced properties :

High fracture toughness

Resistance to thermal shock
Cutting edge strength
Hot hardness

Whiskers used as reinforcing fibers :

Examples: Silicon-nitride base tools reinforced

with silicon-carbide( Sic)
Aluminum oxide based tools reinforced with
silicon-carbide with ferrous metals makes Sicreinforced tools
Progress in nanomaterial has lead to the
development of cutting tools
Made of fine grained structures as (micro grain)
carbides

Cutting-Tool
Reconditioning

When tools get worned, they are reconditioned for

further use
Reconditioning also involves recoating used tools with
titanium nitride

Cutting Fluids: (Lubricants + Coolants)

Used in machining as well as abrasive machining processes
Reduces friction wear
Reduce forces and energy consumption
Cools the cutting zone
Wash away the chips
Protect Machined surfaces from environmental corrosion

Application of Cutting
Fluids

Fig : Schematic illustration of

proper methods of
applying cutting fluids in
various machining
operations: (a)turning,
(b)milling, (c)thread
grinding, and (d)drilling

THE END