TOOL MATERIALS

PRINCIPLE OF METAL CUTTING

A wedge shaped tool is constrained to move
relative to the work piece in such a way a
layer of metal is removed in the form of chip.

ORTHOGONAL AND OBLIQUE CUTTING

ORTHOGONAL
Cutting edge is at right
angles to tool movement
Force acts on less area,
hence tool life is less
OBLIQUE
Cutting edge is at an
angle to tool movement
Force acts on large area
hence tool life is more
PROPERTIES OF CUTTING TOOL MATERIALS


Wear Resistance, necessary to enable the
cutting tool to retain its shape and cutting efficiency

Hot hardness, to retain the cutting ability and
hardness that may be lost due to high temperature
developed at the tool chip interface

Toughness, to withstand the force due to
cutting and to absorb shocks and to prevent chipping
of the fine cutting edge.



High Speed Steels
The period from 1900 to 1906 saw the rapid
development of HSS
By 1910 the tungsten content had increased to
18%, the chromium content to 4% and the
vanadium content to 4%. Providing the well
known 18-4-1 HSS. (Which was the standard
for the next 40 years)
This steel is designated AISI T-1
High Speed Steel
Consists of HCS & alloying element
Tungsten(W) & Molybdenum(Mo)
increases hardness
Cr- Wear resistance
V-refines grain size (abrasion resistance)
Co-increases hot hardness
Types- T type & M type-T type- T1 to T9&
T15, M type M1 to M8, M41 to M46
Selection of HSS types
High cobalt increases hot hardness, wear
resistance and toughness
(Shaper, Planer tools- interrupted cutting)
High vanadium increases hardness, wear
resistance, grindability decreases. (Single
point tools, broaches, drills)
Properties greatly influenced by Heat
treatment.
High Speed Steels
1923- T6 Super HSS 0.7%C, 4%Cr, 2%V,
20%W, 12%Co
1939- T15 Super HSS 1.5%C, 4%Cr, 5%V,
12%W, 5%Co
Developments in HSS HSS P/M billets &
Precision cast HSS tools.(High carbon and
alloy content than would be possible if forging
and rolling were employed)
Cemented carbide
Cemented carbide is produced by P/M
Mixture of Two general constituents
Hard particles and a binder metal
Hard particles such as WC and other additives
TiC, TaC & NbC provide the wear resistance and
cobalt acts as a binding material provides
toughness
Classified as Straight & Mixed carbides

Manufacturing of Cemented Carbides
Refine the Ore (Tungsten Oxide Powder)
Reduction in Hydrogen at about 800 deg and
get Tungsten Powder
Mill and blend with Carbon powder
Carburise in a reducing atmosphere to form
carbides ( Tungsten carbide Powder)
Blend with Cobalt Powder (TaC, Tic, Powder)
Pressing into shape (Compacting)
Manufacturing of Cemented Carbides
Pre-sintering to remove lubricants
Shaping
Final sintering (in hydrogen or Vacuum
furnace)
Shaping

Various carbide
compacts, which are
produced with special
dies
Blended
Tungsten
carbide
powder with
cobalt
Straight Carbide
Tungsten Carbide + Cobalt Binder
Very successful in machining CI (not for
ferrous material fail due to rapid crater
wear)
The rapid wear was caused by diffusion of
the constituents of tool material like carbon
and cobalt into the chip
Mixed Carbide
In order to machine ferrite steels
TiC is added to the base Co & WC
TiC bond between Titanium and Carbon is
stronger
TiC harder than WC # High wear resistance
Amount of TiC decides grade
Finishing Opns: Higher cutting speed, High
temp. and more crater
Mixed Carbide
To compensate high TiC is added.
High TiC reduces toughness Not a problem
Roughing operations- Slower speed, Less
cutting temperature, Lesser crater So less TiC
is added
TaC & NbC are added to increase the hot
hardness
Prevents plastic deformation
Properties of Cemented Carbides
Two factors that affect the cutting properties
are Cobalt content + Grain size of WC
More cobalt More tough and less hard(5%-
12%)
As regards the grain size of tungsten carbide
finer the grain size harder will be the carbide
and coarser the grain size tougher will be the
resultant carbide.
Properties of Cemented
Carbides
Carbide grain size Carbide grain size (7 microns
(0.8 micron WC @ 1500x) consisting of 90% WC @ 1500x) consisting of 90% WC and
WC and 10% Co. 10% Co.

Grades of Tungsten Carbide
The broad application groups are P, M & K
P For machining long chipping ferrous
material
M For machining long or short chipping
ferrous materials
K For machining short chipping, ferrous
and non-ferrous materials

Grades of Tungsten Carbide
P- Mixed Carbide (TiC +Ta + NbC)
M- Flank and Crater Wear Mixed Carbide
much restricted range compared to P
K- Straight Carbide Predominant wear is
Flank
Grades P10-P50 P10 for High Speed,Finish
M10-M50
K01-K50
N S H - Other Grades too
N Grade is suitable for Non Ferrous Materials (Al,
Cu and Non Metallic)

S Grade is suitable for Hi-temp alloys and Ti alloys

H Grade is suitable for hardened steel & chilled
C.I.
Grades of Tungsten Carbides (as per ISO)
ISO
APPLICATION

COLOUR
CODE

APPLICATION

P

Blue

For machining long chipping
ferrous materials. Steel

M

Yellow

For machining long or short
chipping ferrous materials-
Stainless steel

K

Red

For machining short chipping,
ferrous and non-ferrous
material and non-metals.- Cast
iron

ISO
application
Group
Color
code
Material Process
P01 Blue Steel, Steel castings
Precision turning and boring requiring high finish and
close tolerance, high cutting speed small chip section,
no vibrations.
P10 Blue Steel, steel castings
Turning, threading and milling high cutting speed,
small or medium chip section.
P20 Blue
Steel, steel castings, malleable
cast iron forming long chips
Turning, milling, medium cutting speed and medium
chip section planning with small chip section.
P30 Blue
Steel, steel castings malleable
cast iron forming long chips
Turning, milling, planning medium or low cutting
speed, medium or large chip section under unfavorable
conditions such as changing hardness or chip section,
intermittent cut.
P40 Blue
Steel and steel casting with
sand inclusions or shrinkage
cavities
Turning, planning, shaping, low cutting speed, large
chip section under unfavorable conditions.
P50 Blue
Steel and steel castings of
medium or low tensile strength
with and large chip section
cavities
Operations requiring high toughness turning, planning,
shaping at low cutting speeds shrinkage under
unfavorable condition.

SELECTION OF CUTTING TOOLS
ISO
application
Group
Color
code
Material Process
M10 Yellow
Steel, steel castings, manganese
steel, grey CI., alloyed CI.
Turning, medium or high cutting speed, small or
medium chip section.
M20 Yellow
Steel, steel casting, austenitic
steal, manganese steel, Grey CI.,
spherodized CI., Malleable CI.
Turing, milling, medium cutting speed and medium
chip section.
M30 Yellow
Steel, steel casting, austenitic
steel, grey CI. spherodized C .1.
heat resisting alloys
Turning, milling, planning, medium cutting speed,
medium or large chip section.
M40 Yellow
Free cutting steel, low tensile
strength steel, brass and light
alloys

Turning, profile turning, especially in automatic
machines.


ISO
application
Group
Color
code
Material Process
K01 Red
Very hard grey CI. Chilled casting of
hardness up to 60 HRc. Al alloys
with high silicon, hardened steel,
abrasive plastics hard board and
ceramics
Turning, precision turning and boring, milling
scraping.
K10 Red
Grey CI. hardness> 220 HB.
Malleable CI. forming short chips,
tempered steel, Cu alloys, plastics,
glass, hard rubber, hard card board
porcelain, stone
Turning, milling, boring, reaming, broaching,
scraping.
K20 Red
Grey CI. hardness up to 220 HB. Non
ferrous metals such as Cu, Brass, AI,
abrasive laminated wood.
Turning, milling, planning, reaming, broaching,
requiring high toughness of carbide tip.
K30 Red
Soft grey C .1. Low
tensile strength steel, laminated
wood
Turning, reaming, planning, shaping under
unfavorable conditions, like changing chip
thickness, intermittent cut.
K40 Red
Soft or hard natural wood, non-
ferrous metals
Turning, milling, planning, shaping, under
unfavorable conditions like changing chip
section and intermittent cuts.

Selection of Grades
First Step- Identify the broad ISO group
P,M or K
Second Step- Based upon the severity of the
process
Main factors are hardness and toughness of
the work material
Feed and depth of cut
Uniformity of machining allowance
Dimensional control and finish required.
Coated Carbides
Coating basically acts as a diffusion barrier and
prevents the interaction between the chip and
cutting tool.

Coating is a thin layer of material extremely
hard and abrasion resistant.
MMATERIALS USED FOR COATING

T The most commonly used materials for coating are
1. Titanium carbide (TiC) . Titanium nitride (TiN)
3. Titanium carbonitride (TiCN) . Aluminium oxide (Al
2
O
3
)
5. Aluminium oxynitride (ALON)
L All these components display extremely low solubility in ferrous
material and form an excellent diffusion barrier enabling the inserts to
machine at much higher speed than the uncoated WC.
Materials Used for Coating
TiC- First coating material - Good in resisting
Flank wear
TiN- More resistant to crater wear than TiC due
to its greater resistance to diffusion wear.(poor in
resisting abrasive wear)
TiC - TiCN - TiN
Al2O3, ALON is the most important development
in this direction (High wear resistance)
Microstructure of a multilayered
coated carbide insert
Microstructure of a
coated carbide insert
Maximum tolerable temperature for different
coating materials
Advantages

Coating acts as a diffusion barrier
Increased hot hardness of tool
Reduced welding of chip on tool face
Low specific heat and thermal conductivity low
interface temperature
Reduced built up edges
Reduced tendency to form comb-cracks and plastic
deformation
Wear reducing effect even when the coated layer is
interrupted
CVD, PVD, PCVD are the processes for coating

Cermets
Any material that is a combination of ceramic and
metal is a cermet
But in the metal cutting industry, the term cermet
has been reserved for titanium based tools
Cermet - First cutting tool was with TiC & Binder
More brittle tried to toughen using TaC, VaC,
NbC
Present cermet manufacturers have switched to
TiCN+TiC+TiN with metal binder
Good for Semi-finishing and Finish turning
Good surface finish, Excellent for SS, Not for
machining Al and other non-ferrous material.
Ceramics
Fine alumina powder is pressed and sintered at High
pressure and temperature. Other oxide such as ZrO
2
are
added.
Hot hardness & strength at elevated temp.
Above 800 deg Al2O3 show better mechanical properties
than WC
High wear resistance due their high hardness and chemical
inertness
Low co-efficient of friction
At high cutting speeds the temp of cutting edge is high,
most of the mechanical energy is converted into heat.
Even at high temp, insert remains relatively cool.
No plastic deformation because of high strength
Ceramics
Advantages: Higher cutting speeds, Better size
control, Better surface finish, Enables machining
of hard materials.
Requirements: Set up must be rigid
M/c tool should have adequate power
Three types of ceramics
Al203, Mixed(Al2O3+ TiC + TiCN), Nitrid
ceramic(Si3N4)
Synthetic diamond and CBN
Diamond the hardest material.
Coating
Sintered polycrystalline diamond
Applications: high speed cutting of nonferrous
metals
Cubic Boron Nitrides (CBN)
For steels and Nickel alloys
Expensive

Polycrystalline Diamond
Hardest among the all
Less susceptible to shocks
Layer of 0.5mm thick is sintered on a hard metal
substrate
PCD Grades are Fine, Medium, & Coarse
Mainly for high abrasive aluminium alloys
Low tensile strength non ferrous and non-metallic
materials (FRP),
Normally used to machine Mg,Cu,Zinc and their
alloys.
Higher life, Suitable for high speed finishing.
Polycrystalline diamond material bonded to a
carbide base of various sizes and shapes.
Cubic Boron Nitride

CBN-Only material that combines high degree of
toughness and exceptional hot hardness
Suitable for machining of Hard ferrous matls.
The temperature in the cutting zone is relatively
high (High hardness even at 750 deg)
High temp soften the work material thus
decreasing the chip deformation energy.
Coolant not necessary
No advantage if you use on softer materials
Tool Wear, Failure and Life
Tool wear is generally a gradual process and depends on:
Cutting Temperatures
Tool geometry
Process parameters (e.g. speed, feed, and depth of cut)
Machine tool characteristics
Tool and workpiece materials
Cutting Fluids

Tool Failure generally refers to the sudden loss of tool
material and shape (e.g. chipping) and is caused by:
Mechanical shock - impact by interrupted cutting (e.g.
spline, hex. bar, sudden feed/speed change)
Thermal Fatigue - cyclic variations in temperature in
interrupted cutting, often in the form of thermal cracks,
perhaps where a defect already exists.

Wear Mechanisms
1. Abrasion Wear - sliding of the chip on the tool,
sliding of the tool on the workpiece
2. Adhesion Wear - Plastic deformation and friction
associated with high temperatures cause a welding
action, fractures of the weld cause tool degeneration
3. Diffusion wear - Displacement of atoms in the
metallic crystal results in gradual deformation of the
tool surface
4. Chemical and Electrolytic Wear - chemical reaction
between the tool and the workpiece in the presence
of the cutting fluid
5. Oxidation Wear - At high temperatures oxidation of
the carbide in the cutting tool decreases its strength
Wear Regions
Flank Wear: Takes place on the relief face and
attributed to largely to Abrasion and Adhesion wear
mechanisms
Crater Wear: Takes place on the rake face face and
due largely to Abrasion, Adhesion and Diffusion
wear mechanisms
p
p
Tool
Workpiece
Chip
Crater Wear
(Tool-Chip)
Flank Wear
(Tool-Workpiece)
Rake
Face
Relief
Face

Wear Regions
(Showing Flank Wear Land VB)
p Nose Radius Wear: Partially a continuation of the
flank wear but includes grooves spaced at a
distance equal to the feed
p Outer Diameter Notch Wear: Groove notch
usually deeper than flank wear but not as critical
Depth
of Cut
r
n
3-D view of
Single Point
Tool
Nose
Wear
Flank
Wear
Notch
Wear
Crater
Wear
Wear Land-Wear Scar
Flank
Face
Rake
Face
Nose
Radius
VB
Tool wear

Abrasion - dominant cause of flank wear

Adhesion high pressure localized fusion
and rupturing

Diffusion Loss of hardening atoms at
tool-chip boundary (contributes to
crater wear)

Plastic deformation contributes to
flank wear

Three pronounced wearing regions
Types of tool wear
Types of tool wear
Types of tool wear
Types of tool wear
Types of tool wear
Types of tool wear
Types of tool wear
Tool life
Tool life length of cutting time that a tool can be used or a
certain flank wear value has occurred (0.02)


Taylors tool life equation:

v T
n
= C (exponential again!)

v = cutting speed
n = cutting exponent
C = cutting constant

Note: n and C depend on speed, work material, tool material, etc. C has
units of mpm and is the speed at which the tool life lasts 1 min, i.e.,
v T
n
= C (1)
n
= C .
Operators tool life
Tool life is measured by:

Visual inspection of tool edge
Tool breaks
Fingernail test
Changes in cutting sounds
Chips become ribbony, stringy
Surface finish degrades
Computer interface says
- power consumption up
- cumulative cutting time reaches certain level
- cumulative number of pieces cut reaches certain value
TOOL LIFE

Tool life is defined as the effective cutting time
between resharpening.

The Taylors equation for tool life is


V T
n
=C

where,
V = cutting velocity in m/min.
T = tool life in minutes
n = a constant based on the tool material
C = a constant based on the tool and work




TOOL LIFE

Tool life is defined as the effective cutting time
between resharpening.

The Taylors equation for tool life is


V T
n
=C

where,
V = cutting velocity in m/min.
T = tool life in minutes
n = a constant based on the tool material
C = a constant based on the tool and work




Extended Tool Life Model


Although cutting speed has been found to be the
most significant process variable in tool life,
depth of cut and feed rate are also important:



where f = feed rate
d = depth of cut
V = Cutting Velocity
C, n, x, y = Constants found by experiment
VT
n
d
x
f
y
= C
Tool Life, T = C
1/n
V
-1/n
d
-x/n
f
-y/n