Abstract
Milling of ferrous metals is usually performed by applying cemented carbide tools due to their high hardness, temperature and wear resistance. Recently, ceramic tool materials have been on the rise and enhanced the efficiency in machining. As ceramics are brittle-hard materials, tool manufacturing requires a sound knowledge in order to meet the tool requirements such as sharp cutting edges and wear resistance. In this study, milling tools made of the high performance ceramic SiAlON were compared to tools made from cemented carbide. For both tool materials, the influence of a prepared cutting edge was investigated. Both the tool manufacturing process and the cutting edge preparation processes are presented, followed by the application of those tools within milling experiments. In order to evaluate the efficiency of both tool types, the cutting forces and the cumulative process energy demand were analyzed. Additionally, surface roughness of the machined workpieces and tool wear were examined. It was found that the ceramic tools, although process forces were higher than for cemented carbide tools, exhibited by far lower energy consumption, less tool wear and finally generated lower surface roughness.
Highlights
The selection of cutting tools has a significant influence on the productivity of manufacturing processes
It was found out that ceramic end mills enhance the performance in milling grey cast iron
The additional hardness of high performance ceramics leads to less tool wear in comparison to cemented carbide tools
Summary
The selection of cutting tools has a significant influence on the productivity of manufacturing processes. For milling processes, cemented carbide tools are typically used due to their high hardness and predictable fracture toughness. These advantages enable cutting operations for a wide variety of materials at favorably high material removal rates with a long tool life [1]. An additional improvement in tool life can be achieved by choosing ceramics as a tool material. A well-known disadvantage is the low fracture toughness of this material, which prevented its use as a milling tool material in the past. The recent developments of high performance ceramics with improved properties have reduced the fracture risk
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