Aditya K H

16BPI0052
Tool Design MEE4001

Trends That Drive Cutting Tool Development

Abstract

This paper hopes to establish the current trends being followed and what their root causes of
change are. I hope to illustrate with examples of the trends and their respective applications.
This paper draws references from industry leaders and their respective websites.

It should be no surprise. Trends in the manufacturing industry drive trends in metal cutting insert
development. Changes in workpiece materials, manufacturing processes and even government
regulations catalyze parallel advances in metal cutting tooling technology.
As manufacturers continually seek and apply new manufacturing materials that are lighter and
stronger—and therefore more fuel efficient—it follows that cutting tool makers must develop
tools that can machine the new materials at the highest possible levels of productivity.

By fine tuning combinations of tool material compositions, coatings, and geometries, toolmakers
enable users to make more parts faster and at reduced manufacturing costs. The development
process is continuous and interactive.

Introduction

We are discussing current trends and their causes, namely being the industry factor that leads the
need for the development of the cutting tools.

1. In the quest for fuel efficiency, the use of aluminum in vehicle manufacturing is
constantly increasing. While in 1980 aluminum made up approximately 3 percent
(representing 34 kg/75 lbs) of a typical midsize car, that proportion had risen to about 5
percent by 1990. Forecasts for cars of the future indicate that aluminum usage will rise to
between 10 percent and 20 percent of the total vehicle weight, with engine blocks,
cylinder heads, and housings being major contributors to consumption.
2. Gray cast iron, another mainstay of vehicular manufacturing, frequently is being replaced
by stronger, tougher nodular cast irons in components such as housings, crankshafts and
camshafts (Figure 3). However, the strength and toughness that make nodular irons
desirable workpiece materials also make them difficult to machine. Tools to machine
these irons must resist abrasive wear and endure interruptions in the cut, as well as be
capable of productive cutting speeds and feed rates.
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16BPI0052
Tool Design MEE4001
3. Government mandates also can affect cutting tool development. In some countries,
increasingly strict environmental regulations governing the disposal of cutting fluids are
resulting in increased use of dry machining.
4. Cermet cutting tools (also effective in dry machining applications) are one facet of the
cutting tool industry’s response to near net shape manufacturing trends. These trends
entail efforts to lower manufacturing costs by casting and forging components to near
their final (net) shape, thereby reducing the number of machining operations necessary to
complete a part
5. Both environmental/governmental factors (disposal of coolant/swarf) and economic
concerns (the high cost of grinding) are accelerating the replacement of grinding by
machining in the processing of hardened workpieces. The cutting tool industry is
constantly developing and evaluating tools engineered to provide maximum productivity
in hard-machining operations. These tools include superhard materials such as
polycrystalline cubic boron nitrides, as well as ceramic tools.

Methods

1. uncoated carbides and polycrystalline diamond tools presently dominate the turning,
milling and drilling of aluminum/silicon alloys, the increasing aluminum usage has
hastened the development of thin film diamond coated carbide cutting tools (Figure 1, at
left). Diamond coated tools offer wear resistance comparable to polycrystalline diamond
materials, while also providing multiple insert edges and the ability to support complex
chipcontrol geometries. The dual advantages of high wear resistance and geometric
flexibility make diamond coated tools excellent candidates to replace uncoated carbides
as well as expensive PCD cutting tools. Diamond coating is being extended to more
difficult tool geometries including drills and end mills. And, for hypoeutectic aluminum
as well as magnesium alloys, titanium diboride (TiB2) coatings applied by the physical
vapor deposition (PVD) process offer productivity advantages (Figure 2, below).
2. Nodular irons typically would be machined with carbide inserts featuring chemical vapor
deposition (CVD) coatings. CVD coatings have been commercially available for about 30
years, and the fact that more than half of the inserts sold are CVD coated testifies to the
effectiveness of these coatings. However, the high temperatures (about 1,000°C) involved
in the CVD process create an embrittlement called “eta phase” at the coating/substrate
interface. Depending on its extent, the embrittlement can affect performance in
operations involving interruptions of cut and inconsistency of workpiece microstructure
such as found in some nodular irons. Recently developed medium temperature CVD
(MTCVD) coatings have shown a reduced tendency to formation of eta phase. MTCVD
coated tools offer increased resistance to thermal shock and edge chipping compared to
Aditya K H
16BPI0052
Tool Design MEE4001
conventional CVD coated tools. The result is greater tool life as well as increased
toughness compared to high temperature CVD coatings.
3. dry machining is not appropriate for every process and workpiece material, in some cases
careful selection of cutting tool material can enable a user to minimize or avoid the use of
coolant. A cutting tool with a thick alumina coating can allow increased feed rates in the
machining of steel, reducing contact time of the insert with the workpiece and
minimizing exposure of the tool to high cutting temperatures, and thereby enabling
productive dry machining (Figure 5, below). In addition, advanced coatings such as PVD
TiAlN can provide good performance in dry machining or in minimal coolant systems.
As mentioned previously, lubricious PVD MoS2 coatings can also facilitate dry drilling
and tapping. A focus on dry machining will spark further effort to develop cutting tools
with high resistance to thermal load.Physical-vapor-deposition (PVD) coatings also offer
advantages over CVD coatings in certain operations and/or workpiece materials.
Commercialized in the mid1980s, the PVD coating process involves relatively low
deposition temperatures (approximately 500°C), and permits coating of sharp insert
edges. (CVD coated insert edges are usually honed before coating to minimize the effect
of eta phase.) Sharp, strong insert edges are essential in operations such as milling,
drilling, threading and cutoff, and for effective cutting of longchipping materials such as
low carbon steels (Figure 4, at below). In fact, a wide range of “problem”
materials—such as titanium, nickel based alloys, and nonferrous materials—can be
productively machined with PVD coated tools. From a workpiece structure point of view,
sharp edges reduce cutting forces, so PVD coated tools can offer a true advantage when
machining thin walled components.The first PVD coatings were titanium nitride (TiN),
but more recently developed PVD technologies include titanium carbonitride (TiCN) and
titanium aluminum nitride (TiAlN), which offer higher hardness, increased toughness,
and improved wear resistance. TiAlN tools in particular, through their higher chemical
stability, offer increased resistance to chemical wear and thereby increased capability for
higher speeds.Recent developments in PVD coatings include “soft” coatings such as
molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) for dry drilling applications. Combination soft/hard
coatings, such as MoS2 over a PVD TiN or TiAlN, also show great potential, as the hard
(TiN or TiAlN) coating provides wear resistance while the softer, more lubricious outer
layer expedites chip flow.
4. Fewer heavy roughing operations are required, and the need for tools engineered for
semi finishing to finishing duty expands. Development of cermet tools is one way tool
manufacturers are addressing this need. Cermets, comprised mostly of titanium
carbonitride (TiCN) with a nickelcobalt binder, are hard and chemically stable, leading to
high wear resistance. Cermets work best in materials that produce a ductile chip, such as
steels and ductile irons. Their increased speed capability enables them to machine carbon,
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16BPI0052
Tool Design MEE4001
stainless steels and ductile irons at high speeds while producing excellent surface
finishes.Recently developed cermets combine excellent resistance to deformation and
chemical wear with a degree of toughness that enables them to be used in semi finishing
as well as finishing operations. PVD coatings further enhance the performance of cermets
on a wide variety of workpiece materials.
5. Coatings, which reduce frictional heat and promote longer tool life, are among the new
concepts being utilized in tools for hard turning (Figure 6, at left).In field tests, coated
superhards have outlasted other PCBN tools by 20 to 100 percent. Coatings have also
proven effective on ceramic tools engineered for hard turning. In situations where the
hardened workpiece doesn’t have roughness or other interruptions, coated ceramics offer
more cutting edges and lower cost, and can be a cost effective alternative to PCBN tools
in hard turning.
6. Development efforts in ceramic tool technology are enabling these hightech tools to
move into new areas of application. While recently developed silicon nitride tools offer
improved fracture resistance compared to their predecessors, their relatively low
resistance to chemical wear has limited their use in the machining of nodular cast irons
(Figure 7, below). However, wear resistant CVD alumina coatings have expanded the
application range of silicon nitride based tools to include these difficult to machine irons.
7. Regarding alumina (A1203 Based) ceramics, the addition of silicon carbide whiskers
offers increased productivity in the machining of Inconel and similar high strength, high
temperature alloys in the aerospace industry. Single Crystal whiskers deflect cracks in the
alumina matrix and thereby improve fracture toughness of the tool.
8. Perhaps the common thread through all manufacturing is the drive for increased
productivity and reliability. As metal cutting operations become increasingly fine tuned,
the relationship between cutting tool micro (cutting edge preparation) and macro (rake
face topography) geometry is becoming more and more important. Chip control, tool life,
workpiece finish and accuracy can be greatly improved by applying the proper
combination of micro and macro geometries in conjunction with the proper substrate and
coating. Control of the chip, dissipation or deflection of heat via restricted contact
topographies, and reduced cutting forces as a result of positive rake surfaces all lead to
the improved performance of today’s modern molded cutting insert geometries.
Advances in tool manufacturing technology are making possible more precise matching
of macro geometries and homes to specific machining applications.
9. True breakthroughs in cutting tool technology occur, but they are rare. Most tool
development comes from development, refinement and innovative combinations of
existing tool materials. The direction for this development begins with the analysis of the
characteristics of the materials being machined, includes the demands of specific
operations, and involves ongoing communication between toolmaker and end user.
Aditya K H
16BPI0052
Tool Design MEE4001

Analysis

1. It is understood from the above that trends have been significant in the automotive
industry with the introduction of excessive use of aluminum, the need for productivity
and increased tool life has pushed trends towards the need for better tool materials,
coatings and geometry.
2. We see that most trends are caused by dire circumstances such as need for better
environmental circumstances and the need to upkeep the economics of using advanced
geometry tools to reduce the formation of cheaps, residual heat and cutting fluids and
their responsible disposal.

Conclusion

We see that the current trends in the year 2018 has moved towards better
a. Productivity
b. Tool life
c. Better dissipation of heat, chips and cutting fluid.
d. Coatings and their respective applications.