Evaluation of machining performance of MMC with PCBN and PCD tools Grosu Mihaela1, a

Splaiul Independentei,nr.290,bl P21,ap 029,sector 6 Mihaela_miji2007@yahoo.com

Abstract This paper reports on experiments carried out to study the performance of various type of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutting tools during machining of aluminium alloy reinforced by silicon carbide metal matrix composite (Al-SiC MMC). While different wear modes were observed on the surfaces of the cutting tools, the surface finish was found to be governed by the notch wear formed on the flank face and the transfer of work material onto the workpiece. During machining, the PCBN tools were subjected to intergranular fracture, and the amount of work material adhering onto the tool and the workpiece increased significantly with cutting speed. While it was found that the use of coolant could result in a marked reduction in the amount of work material on the machined workpieces, it could also cause an increase in the severity of abrasion between the flank face and the machined surface. This in turn led to an increase in notch wear and thus a deterioration of the surface finish. These detrimental effects were more pronounced at low cutting speed using a fine-grained and binderless PCBN tool. PCD tools exhibited better performance than PCBN tools because they possessed higher abrasion and fracture resistance, and lower adhesion property with the work material. 1. Introduction Due to their superior strength and stiffness, metal matrix composites (MMCs) have good potential for applications in the automotive and aerospace industries. MMC components are mostly produced using near net shape manufacturing methods and are subsequently machined to the final dimensions and surface finishes. The MMCs consist of extremely hard reinforcing particles and pose considerable challenges due to the poor machinability and severe wear of the cutting tool. Studies on tool wear and surface integrity have found that tool wear is predominantly caused by abrasion of the hard reinforcement particles in the MMCs [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11] and [12]. The grain size of the cutting tools has significant influence on the tool wear during machining of MMC. While a tool with a coarse grain size possess high abrasion resistance required for increased performance, increasing the size of the grains can result in a substantial drop in the fracture resistance which has a significant negative influence on overall tool performance [13]. Li and Seah [4] observed that tool wear becomes acute when the percentage of reinforcement in the MMC substrate exceeds a critical value, which is determined by the density and size of the particles. El-Gallab and Sklab [1] found that the built-up edge that is formed during machining can

protect the cutting tool from abrasion wear. However, the unstable built-up edge may induce tool chipping and adversely affect the surface finish [1] and [14]. The heat generated during machining can soften the metal matrix and enable the reinforcing particles to be embedded into the machined workpiece so that the tool wear is reduced [15]. A good surface finish is produced when the particles are cut cleanly instead of being pulled from the matrix material [12] and [16]. Researchers also suggested that dislocation pile-ups in the matrix material around the particles might result in the formation of cracks and voids [12] and [14]. Recent advances in PCBN tools have made them viable alternatives to the polycrystalline diamond tools for the machining of hard materials. These tools have good thermal resistance, hardness and coefficient of thermal conductivity. PCBN tools have been found to exhibit better wear resistance than ceramics and cemented carbides in the machining of carbon reinforced plastics and MMCs reinforced with SiC [8] and [21]. Hung [2] found that polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) and polycrystalline diamond tools are one and two orders of magnitude better than WC tools in terms of wear resistance in machining MMC reinforced with Al 2O3 or SiC. Commercial available PCBN tools consist of cubic boron nitride grains bound by either ceramic and metal binder. Recently, binderless PCBN tools with superior mechanical properties have been developed by Sumitomo Electric. The use of the binderless PCBN tools and their drawbacks are not well explored. Neo et al. [22] and Rahman et al. [23] found that in the machining of stainless steel and titanium, the binderless PCBN tool exhibited higher wear resistance and gave better surface finish than the conventional PCBN tools. In this study, experiments have been carried out to study the performance of PCD and various types of PCBN tools (conventional and binderless PCBN tools) in the machining of Al-SiC MMC. In particular, the wear of the cutting tools, the machined surface and the feasibility of using PCBN tools for machining MMC are investigated.

2. Experimental procedure Investigation on the wear of PCD and PCBN tools in the machining of Al-SiC MMC was carried out by turning. The PCBN tools used in this study were commercially available grades BN 100, BN 300 and IZ 900. IZ 900-PCBN tool is a binderless tool, developed by Sumitomo Electric. It has superior fracture resistance and hardness owing to its high content of ultra-fine cubic-BN particles. The binderless cubic boron nitride tool were produced by sintering in which the raw material of hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) was directly converted to cubic phase at high pressure and temperature without using any catalyst [24]. All cutting tools conformed to ISO designation DCGW11T308 (nose radius = 0.8 mm, clearance angle = 7). The properties of the MMC and cutting tools are shown in Table 1 and Table 2 respectively. Experiments were carried out with and without the application of coolant (a mixture of 1 part mineral oil and 20 parts of water). The depth of cut and the feed rate were kept constant for all the tests at 0.3 and 0.1 mm/rev, respectively. Machining was conducted at cutting speeds of 50 and 400 m/min.

Table 1. Properties of the Al-SIC MMC workpiece Matrix Reinforcement Matrix hardness (RF) 9.27 Si, 0.15 Fe, 0.55 Mg, Al balance 20% volume SiC, particle size 12.8 m with aspect ratio 1.5:1 80

Table 2. Properties of PCD and PCBN tools Tool type BN 100 BN 300 IZ 900 PCD Grain size (m) 3 0.5 Ultra-fine, <0.5 0.5 Other constituents TiN binder TiN binder CBN PCD (vol.%) 85% CBN 60% CBN or Hardness (HV) 40004500 33003600 51005610 7000 11000 TRSa (kg/mm2) 80 110120 138 8090 b (w/mk) 217 54 360400 2000

Compressed >99% CBN hBN Co binder 90% PCD

During cutting, the freshly machined surface which had undulating feature with distinct ridges spaced at a distance equal to the feed continuously abraded the flank face, causing notch wear to form on the flank face as illustrated in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Since the notch wear formed at the flank face had a maximum depth adjacent to the immediate vicinity of the cutting edge, the maximum depth of the notch wear could be viewed from the rake face (see Fig. 2 and Fig. 3). The cutting tool was placed with the rake face facing up under an optical microscope before the maximum depth of the notch wear was measured as shown in Fig. 3. The flank wear and the length of the notch wear reported in this study were the maximum flank width and notch length (see Fig. 2) measured using an optical microscope.

Fig.1. Formation of notch wear on the flank face of the tool during machining

Fig. 2. Types of wear formed on the flank face of the cutting tool

Fig. 3. Optical microscope image of the notch wear

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3. Conclusions Al-SiC MMC workpiece has been machined with various types of PCBN and PCD tools at low and high cutting speeds. Among all the PCBN tools, the binderless PCBN tools exhibited the lowest flank wear. The dominant wear mechanism on the flank face was found to be associated with surface cracking. During machining, the rake face of the cutting tool was subjected to intergranular fracture. The binderless PCBN tools showed the highest fracture resistance. PCD tool exhibited higher wear resistance than all PCBN tools and lower propensity for work material adhesion. During machining with PCBN tools without coolant, the severity of transfer material on the tools increased significantly with cutting speed. The adhesion property of the tool and the work material, apart from the tool wear appeared to have a major influence on the surface finish. The application of coolant does not necessarily reduce tool wear or improve the surface finish. It was found that at low cutting speed although the use of coolant could reduce the amount of material transfer on the machined workpiece, it could also increase the severity of abrasion between the flank face and the machined surface. This in turn led to an increase in notch wear, resulting in the machined surface to be undulating. Brittle fracture may take place at the ridges of the undulating surface due to high stress concentration. These effects were evident when cutting was carried out with the fine-grained and binderless PCBN tool, suggesting that this tool had low abrasion resistance. The PCD tools exhibited better performance than PCBN tools because they possessed higher abrasion and fracture resistance, and lower adhesion property with the work material.

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