SATE

2016 BnulaCirinl Science

Contents
(1) Cutting Tool Material
(i) Properties of cutting Tool Material
(ii) Various Cu

Tool Life

Economics of Cu

Gate Forum

Date: Itn
 Chapter-3 (Manufacturing Science)

Machining-2

(1) Cutting Tool Material

The cutting tool materials must possess a number of imp~rtant properties to avoid excessive wear, fracture
failure and hig h temperatures in cu tting. Following characteristics are essential for cutting materials to
withstand the heavy conditions o f the cutting process and to produce high quality and economical parts.
(i) Properties of cutting Tool Material
Tool failure modes identify the im portan t properties that a tool material should possess:
.:. Hardness: To provide penetration capacity into work material; Cutting tool material must be 1.5 times
harder than the material it is being used to machine .
•:. Hot hardness: A bility to retain hardness at high temperatures
.:. Toughness: To avoid fracture failure
.:. Wear resistance: H ardness is the most important property to resist abrasive wear and chipping of the
cutting edge
.:. Low Friction: For better chip flow and low adhesive wear
.:. Thermal Characteristics: I t should have higher thermal conductivity (Thermal diffusivity)
.:. Other important characteristics include surface fini sh on the tool, chemical inertness of the tool material
with respect to the work material, strength to resist bulk deformation
.:. Important alloying for m achine tooling can be given as;

Element Properties
Tungsten -$ Increases hot hardness
-$ Hard carbides formed,
-$ Improving abrasion resistance
Molybdenum -$ Increases hot hardness
-$ Hard carbides formed,
-$ Improving abrasion resistance
Chromium -Ef7 Depth hardenability during heat treat
-$ Hard carbides formed,
-$ Improving abrasion resistance
-$ Some corrosion resistance
Vanadium -$ Combines with carbon for wear resistance
-$ Retards grain growth for better toughness
Cobalt -$ Increases hot hardness, toughness
Carbon -$ Hardening element
-$ Forms carbides

(ii) Various Cutting Tool M aterials

(a) Carbon Steels
.:. It is the oldest of tool material. The carbon content is O.6~1.5% with small quantities of silicon, chromium,
manganese, and vanadium to refine grain size. Cheaper tool material
 .:. Maximum hardness is about HRC 62. This material has low wear resistance and low hot hardness .
•:. Tool steels I se ha. ~dness at temperatures above 205°C because of tempering and have largely been
replaced by other matecials for metal cutting. The use of these materials now is very limited.

(b) High Speed Steel (HSS) (Developed in early 1900s) ,

.:. Developed by Taylor and White and its speed range is much higher (0.5 to 0.75 mls) as compared to high
carbon steel. Especi, lly w ted to applications involving complicated tool geometries, such as drills, taps,
milling cutters, and broaches .
•:. Typical alloying ingredients: Tungsten and/or Molybdenum, Chromium and Vanadium, Carbon, Cobalt in
some grades of H SS. Carbides of these integrands provide toughness, hardness, hot hardness and abrasion
resistance .
•:. Typical composition: 18% W, 4% Cr, 1% V, and 0.9% C. For cheaper HSS tools W is replaced by Mo.
Hence there are two grades are available as T -type and M-type.
•:. Vanadium (V), along with W, Mo, and Cr, improves hardness (RC 65-70), hot hardness and wear resistance .
•:. Cobalt is added to slow down the rate of carbide coarsening so that material can withstand higher
temperatures.
•:. Basic problem with this material is the applicability above 600· C because HSS is over tampered above this
temperature. This can be reduced by coating of tool by PVD (physical Vapor Deposition).

(c) Cast Cobalt Alloys (Non Ferrous Alloy)

.:. Cast cobalt" alloys, popularly known as stellite tools, are cobalt-rich, chromium-tungsten-carbon cast alloys

having properties and applications in the intermediate range between high-speed steel and cemented
carbides. (Cost-Performance Trade off)

.:. Although comparable in room -temperature hardness 600

,.
HRA
!! ~~ 92.4
to high-speed steel tools, cast cobalt alloy tools retain :::I
~
~ ... 1150

their hardness to a much higher temperature (High

..
:::I 500
't..J'~
~ 1­
90.5
1500
Hot Hardness). "
>
~~ >
~-
.:. Consequently, they can be used at higher cutting
~"2
-:
""-'!:
88.5
1250
-1
c"'" S!
"'-"
speeds (25% higher) than HSS tools. Cast cobalt alloys ~~ -E
.j ~..
~
are hard (room temperature hardness) as cast, and ~
!Q..!:,. -tt
:>
cannot be softened or heat treated (due to presence of :;,
cobalt).
.s.
750

~
.:. Cast cobalt alloys contain a primary phase of Co-rich ~
500

solid solution strengthened by Cr and W and 20 25 30

dispersion hardened by hard, refractory carbides of W Cobalt (~by wei,htl

and Cr.

.:. Tools of cast cobalt alloys are generally cast to shape and flnished to size by grinding. They are available only
in simple shapes, such as single-point tools and saw.
(d) Cem ented Carbides
.:. Class of hard tool m aterial based on tungsten carbide (WC) using powder metallurgy techniques with
cobalt (Co) as the binder. Can be o perated at high speed up to 5 m/s . Cutting temperature up to llOO°C.

.:. H igh compressive strength but low- to-moderate tensile strength, High hardness, Good hot hardness, Good

wear resi stance, High thermal cond uc tivity

.:. Toughness of cemen ted carbide is lower than high speed steel. This is the biggest disadvantage of
cemented carbide that makes it unsuitable for intermittent machining. (N ot Suitable for low speed)
.:. Two basic types: WCfTiCrraC
grains
~ Non-steel cutting grades: Only

WC-Co.

~ Steel cutting grades: TiC and

TaC added to we-co. Co matrix

.:. Several type of cemented carbides are represented by color coding as given below;

SYMBOL COMPOSITION WORK MATERIAL COLOURt DESIGNATION

P WC +TiC Low-carbon, srainless and other steels Blue POI, PlO, ... P50
M WC+ 1iC+TaC Fo r all types of materials, especially Yellow MIO, M20, ... M40
difficult-to-cut materials
K WC Cast iron, non-ferrous metals, non- Red KOI, KlO, ... K40
metallic materials

Remark: Manufacture o f C e mented Carbides

Product of powder metallurgy process which involves following operations;

~ Blending: Five types of powders used as tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, cobalt, tantalum carbide,

niobium carbide. O ne or com bination of these is blended in different proportions depending on grade
desired. Powder mixed in alcohol (24 to 190 h) .

94 parts 6puta
tantalum carbon

Blendinl
I
ComplCling
- I
Sintcring

~ Compaction: Must be molded to shape and size. Five different methods to compact powder as extrusion

process, hot press, iso-static press, ingot press, and pill press.
~ Pre-sintering: G reen compacts heated to about 1500° F in furnace under protective atmosphere of

hydrogen
 )- Sintering: Binder (cobal t) u nites and cements carbide powders into dense structure of extremely hard
carbide crys tals. Last srep in process which converts pre-sintered machine blanks into cemented carbide
and carried out in either hydrogen atmosphere or vacuum.

(c) Coated Carbides

.:. Cement d carbide inserr coated with one or more thin layers of wear resistant materials, such as TiC, TiN,
and/orAl 20 }
.:. Coating applied by chemical apor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD) while coating
thickness varies from 2.5 to 13 !lID. Co ating allows increasing significantly the cutting speed for the same
tool life .
•:. Applications: Cast irons and steels in turning and milling operations

.:. Best applied at high speeds where dynamic force and thermal shock are minimal due to low toughness.

Remark: Tool Coating

.:. Changing the tool surface properties: surface engineering
.:. Coating can improve the performance of both high speed steel and cemented carbide tool materials
increased materials removal rates, time taken to change the tool.
.:. Chemical and physical vapor deposition (CVD, PVD) are two methods of depositing thin carbide layers
onto materials .
•:. Coating a very thin layer of T iC or T iN over the WC-Co tool reduces the effects of adhesion and diffusion
and reduces the crater wear .
•:. TiN layer (golden colour) is hard and has low dissolution rate and friction coefficient in steel.
.:. TiC binds well with the matrix, has good abrasion and solution wear resistance.

(e) Ceramics
.:. Primarily fine-grained AI 20 }, pressed and sintered at high pressures and temperatures into insert form with
no binder. Al z0 3 also widely used as an abrasive in grinding .
•:. Available in two forms as;
~ White, or cold-pressed ceramics, which consists of only Al 20 3 cold pressed into inserts and sintered
at high temperature.
~ Black, or hot-pressed ceramics, commonly known as cermet (from ceramics and metal). This material
consists of70% AI 20 } and 30% TiC.
.:. Applications: high speed turning of cast iron and steel
.:. Not recommended for heavy interrupted cuts (e.g. rough milling) due to low toughness.

(f) Cermets

.:. Combinations of TiC, T iN, and titanium carbonitride (TiCN), with nickel andl or molybdenum as binders .

•:. Applications: high speed finishing and semi-finishing of steels, stainless steels, and cast irons

.:. Higher speeds and lower feeds than steel-cutting carbide grades

.:. Better finish achieved, often eliminating need for grinding

(g) Cubic Boron Nitride (Invented in GE in 1969)

.:. Next to diamond, cub'e boron nitride (CBN) is hardest known material. Fabrication into cutting tool inserts
same as SP D by coa tin gs on WC-Co inserts .
•:. Applications: machining s teel and nickel-based alloys, specially used for ferrous alloys .
•:. SPD and BN tools are e pensive hence used for special cutting operations.

(f) Synthetic Diamonds

.:. Sintered pol ycrys talline diamond (SPD) -fabricated by sintering very fine-grained diamond crystals under
high temperatures and pressures into desired shape with little or no binder
.:. Usually applied as coa ting (0.5 mm thick) on WC-Co insert
.:. Applications: high speed machining of non-ferrous metals and abrasive non-metals such as fiber glass,
graphite, and wood.
•:. Not used for low carbon steel cutting to avoid its reaction with steel.

mm f rl'V

70

6' 60
c a;
E
... ~
= g 50
!;..
I
III
c
E
....
E
'"~c
'E
40

~ 03
I
30

~ 20

200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400

Temperature (F)

Property Carbon an d H C ast Cemented Coated Ceramics Poly - Diamond

low to S C obalt carbide carbide crystalline
medium S alloys CBN
alloy steels
Hot increasing
hardness
Toughness ~...________________________________________________________
increasing

Wear increasing
resistance
Chipping increasing
resistance
increasing
Cutting
speed increasing
Thermal
shock
resistance

increasing
Total material
cost
 D Diamond, CBN

t I Aluminum oxide (HIP)

I Silicon nitride
I - Cennets

. ~ Coated cubides

-- - --- -~t4dcarbidel

- - - ­ - - ­ - - ­ - ­ •• ImprooYC carbide p.daI I

-- -- ______
- - - - - - _- -________
- - - -\ .~.
Finccoarcdpoad..
FltH dollble-coated
I r-­

- - •• - - - - • - - • - - - - - _ ~. P'Idn 0 CaIbides j
FirR triple-coa~ :::
~ HSsl
1900 '10 '20 '30 '40 '00 "to '70 '80 Strength and toughness ­

(2) Thennal Aspects of Cutting Process

Heat lost to

Heat entering wol1q>iece

A significant temperature rise is due to large plastic strain and high strain rate although the process is normally
carried out at ambient temperature. lbree dis tinct regions where heat is generated:
~ Shear zone (80-85%) ­ Energy needed to shear the chip is the source of heat due to plastic deformation
~ Chip-Tool Interface (15-20%) - Chip-tool interface is the source of heat due to friction
~ Tool-work interface (1-3%) - Frictio nal rubbing between flank face of tool and work piece along with tool

tip contact with work piece

'''''f­_ _ _ _ _-.:='' ':;;:-=-:-=-::....­

T

•
.
1
L ..
l
J

..,.s!V)­

In the above figure steep temperature gradients within tool and chip however maximum temperature is half-way
up the tool.

.:. Adverse effects of temperature rise in tool and work piece;

~ Increases tool wear
~ Harder to achieve part accuracy (due to thermal expansion of part)
~ Sub-surface damage (surface in tegrity)
(3) T ool Wear
(A) Tool Wear M echanisms
.:. Adhesion Wear: ragments o f th e work-piece get welded to the tool surface at high temperatures;
eventually, they break off, tearing small parts of the tool with them.

• 2-body wear
"0
c
~
...
ctI
~
ell

....0~
• • ...
.s:.
Cl
c
~ ===av:; 3-body wear QI
...J

~
• Cutting time

.:. Abrasion: Hard particles, microscopic variations on the bottom surface of the chips rub against the tool
surface and break away a fraction of tool \'vith them. Abrasion wear is inversely proportional to material
hardness.

Low speed High speed Very high speed

Mechanical Chemical diffusion and Chemical

properties convec1ion diffusion

Chip now Chip flow

Chip
Chi flow
P
CNp Chip

~ Interphase _.-/X r-\---;f

Tool atoms
Tool atoms
)

--
"---~ TooI
Tool TboI

.:. Diffusion Wear: At high temperatures, atoms from tool diffuse across to th e chip; the rate of diffusion
increases exponentially \\lith temperature; this reduces the fracture strength of the crystals .
•:. Corrosive Wear is a chemical wear process; due to chemical reactions between the surface and environment
(water, oxygen, acids, etc.)

(B) Classification of Tool Wear

(a) In metal cutting, the failure of the cu tting tool can be classified into two broad categories, according to the
failure mechanisms that caused the tool to die (or fail):
(i) Slow-death Mechanisms: Gradual tool wear on the flank (s) of the tool below the cutting edge (called fl ank
wear) or wear on th e rake face of the tool (called crater wear) or both.
(ii) Sudden-death Mechanisms: Rapid, usually unpredictable and often catastrophic failures resulting from
abrupt, premature death o f a tool (T oo l fracture).
(b) The other way to Iassify the tool \vear is the 'Three Modes of Tool Failure':

lutic deformation Gradual wear

(i) Cutting force is excessive and/or dyn amic, leading to Brittle Fracture.
(ii) Cutting temperatu re is too higb fo r the tool material leading Thermal Failure (plastic failure).
(iii) Gradual Wearing of the cu tting tool. ll1e predominant wear process depends on cutting speed. Based on
wear locations it can be further classified in to two parts as:

(a) Crater wear location: Crater wear is the formation of a circular crater in the rake face of the tool, as a result
of diffusion wear due to high temperature developed at the interface between the chip and the rake face of
the tool. Crater wear predominates at higber speeds. Possible mechanisms for crater wear are adhesion,
abrasion and diffusion (at high cutting speeds).
(b) Flank wear location: Flank wear is the development of a wear land on the tool due to abrasive rubbing
between the tool flank and the newly generated surface. Flank wear dominates at low speed and possible
mechanisms for flank wear are adhesion and abrasion (due to rubbing of flank face against cut surface).

Important Points Regarding Tool We ar

.:. Higher temperatures that occur at high cutting speeds, results in increased tool wear. The effect of cutting
speed and temperature on different tool material is shown in figure:

c.mented ca.rblde Ceramic

.:. T o ol wears as a function of cutti ng time. Flank wear (F\V') is used here as the measure of tool wear. Crater
wear follows a simila r gro Nth curve. In the given figure , three different zones of tool life can be given as:
Break in period, Slea dy state \,; ear region and failure region.

Break-in period
1

I I Final
1+......,...- Steady-state wear region .. I....
1
I failure
I
I Accelerating
Uniform wear rate
wear rate

Rapid initial wear

Time of cutting (min)

(4) Tool Life and Parameters Affecting Tool Life

~I
chip

r . .\--
\
cutting tool

Crater wear

Flank wear

Tool life is the important parameter in cutting economics. Tool life is defined as the time interval for which tool

works satisfactorily between two successive grinding or re-sharpening of the tool. It can determine based on

different criteria and some of them can be given as;

.:. The point at which the tool no longer makes economically satisfactory parts (Time Iimi~

.:. Defined in terms of an average or maximum allowable wear land ( Wear Iimi~

.:. The point at which the tool has a complete destruction when it ceases to cut ( Tool fracture)

.:. The degradation of the surface fmish below some specified limit, or the increase in the cutting force above

some value, (Blunting limi~

.:. When the vibrational amplitude reaches a limiting value (Tool chattering limit)

Tool wear is a time dependent process. As cutting proceeds, the amount of tool wear increases gradually. Tool

wear must not be allowed to go beyond a certain limit in order to avoid tool failure. Hence several characteristics

are used to find out the tool near end of life.

~ Changes in sound emitted from opera tion (chatterinltJ

~ Degradation of surface finish (Surface profilometer;

~ Increased power required to cut (Cutting dynamometer;

Parameters affecting Tool Life

(i) Effect of Cutting Speed on Tool Life

fog
Tool life criterion given
[
as flank wear level
O.50 mm r----.r---J'------=~~=~.:::.:.....-_____::;.,..c_

m
~
I
I
I
-"" I
~
;;:: V= 100 mlmin T2 ---------1-----
I
I
I
I I

T ----------J-----J------
1 . t : I
I I I

:I :I :
I
T=41 I
I
I
I
I
I

Time 0' cultl ng (min)

log V

(ii) Effect of Tool Geometry on Tool Life

10

~~15--~I~O--~S~O~~S~W~~1' , 10 IS 20
Ilake up (degrees) Clearance anIle (de.,.ees)

(iii) Effect of Cutting Conditions

Operating conditions can be related with cutting temperature as feed or depth of cut increases, cutting
temperature also increases. ·i ~ reduces tool life.

T, 'c

700 .....-V
../'
V ....
600­ /
,/ .-/ r-­
500 /' V
/
V
400

300
40 60 80 100 120 0.1 0 .2 0.3 0.4 0 .5 1.5 2.5 3.5
V, mlmin f, mm tr" d,mm

(iv) Effect of Cutting Tool Material

It can be related as material hardness and tool life. Higher the hardness of material causes higher wear rate and
hence lower tool life. It is represented by experimental formula as;
C
T=­
H"
Here H is the material hardness while T is the tool life. nand C are the process constants.
(v) Tool life is significantly affected by cutting fluids. Proper cutting fluid usually enhances tool life and cutting
power.
(5) T aylor's Tool Life Equation
General form of tool life equation can be given as;

vT n = C
Where v = cutting speed, m / min; T = tool life, min; and nand
,
C are parameters that depend on feed, depth of
cut, work material, and tooling mate.tial, but mostly on material (work and tool).

~ Taylor equation has been extended by inclucling parameters such as feed f and depth of cut d as follows;

Where n, m, p and C are the process constants.

~ Taylor equation is completely empirical and as with other empirical relationships, it is dangerous to
extrapolate outside of the limits over which the data extend.

IQ!21 mil!IDil n , (mlmiol IQ!21 mill~r.iil n C'mlmiol

HiSh speed steel: Cemented carbide
Non·steel work 0.125 120
Non-steel work 0,25 900
Steel work 0.125 70 Steel work 0,25 500
Ceramic
St~ lwork 0.6 3000

(6) Cutting Fluids and its Properties

The cutting fluids are designed to ameliorate the effects of high local temperatures and high friction at the chip­
tool interface.
Primary functions of cutting fluid
~ To decrease friction and wear.
~ To reduce temperature generatio~ in the cutting area.
~ To wash away the chips from the cutting area.
~ To protect the newly machined surface against corrosion .
•:. Also, cutting fluids help to increase tool life, improve surface finish, reduce cutting force, reduce power
consumption and reduce tnermal clistortion of the work piece .
•:. Cutting fluids are normally liquids, but can be gases . Ideal cutting fluid viscosity should be very low and its
specific heat should be high. There are two basic types of liquid cutting fluids:
~ Petroleum-based non- soluble fluids (s traight cutting oils): It may contain mineral oil, fatting oils, sulphur
or chlorine.
~ Water-miscible fluids (soluble oils): It may contain some contamination of fatty oils, fatty acids, wetting
agents, emulsifiers, sulphur, chlorine, rust inhibitors and germicides .
•:. Sulphur and chloride react with fresh metal surfaces (active sites for chemical reaction) to fonn compounds
with lower shear strength ~ reduce friction .
•:. Chlorinated fluids work well at low speeds and light loads due to slower reaction of chlorine and metal
whereas sulphur compounds work well at severe conclitions .
•:. Combination of both ~ more effective
(7) Overview of Machinability

.:. Machinability is a t m indicating how the work material responds to the cutting process .

•:. In th e most general case good machinability means that material is cut with good surface finish, long tool

life, low force and power requiremen ts, and low cost.
.:. The machina bili ty in dex K.\! is defined by

Where Vr,o is the cutting speed for the target material that ensures tool life of 60 min, V GUll. is the same for the
reference materiaL Referenc materials are selected for each group of work materials (ferrous and non-ferrous)
among the most popular and widely u ed brands .
•:. If KM > 1, the machinability o f the targe t material is better that this of the reference material, and vice versa.

Methods for improvement of machinab ility

~ Thermally assisted machining: To relieve machining of difficult-to-cut materials, some heat can be
added to the cutting zone to lower shear strength of work material. The heat source is a oxy-fuel torch,
laser beam or plasma are, focused on an area just ahead of the cutting tool.

heal device ~

~ Change the microstruc ture of the materials: Soft particles are often deliberately added to improve
machinability.

Remark: Surface Quality in C utting

The machining process es generate a wide variety of surface textures. Surface texture consists of the repetitive
and/ or random deviations from the ideal smooth surface. These deviations are:
~ Roughness: small, finely spaced surface irregularities (micro irregularities)
~ Waviness: surface irregularities of grater spacing (macro irregularities)
~ Lay: predominant direction of surface texture

Roughness height

.. M.t't----'.~