Bionic multifunctional surface microstructure for efficient improvement of tool performance in green interrupted hard cutting

Abstract

Al2O3-based ceramic tool has been widely utilized in hard cutting. It is more prone to failure in interrupted hard cutting because of the fierce cutting condition. In addition, green cutting has aroused great interest due to the increasing attention to environmental issues. Taking the advantages of surface microstructure into account, it is crucial to propose ceramic tool surface microstructure suitable for green interrupted hard cutting. A novel bionic multifunctional surface microstructure was designed for efficient performance improvement of Al2O3/TiC ceramic tool in green interrupted hard cutting. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) and vegetable oil were employed to achieve green cutting. Manis pentadactyla and honeycomb were used for reference in the design of the novel bionic microstructure with multiple functions such as impact resistance, lubricant storage and spontaneous lubricant transport. The first two functions served as the basis of spontaneous lubricant transport. Surface modification and nanosecond laser processing were utilized in microstructure fabrication. Different combinations of nanosecond laser parameters such as laser angle θl and scan number ns were employed in the fabrication. This study analyzed the geometry features and various behaviors for different microstructures. Then, the external cutting load, the fracture toughness and the internal micromechanical features were integrated in a theoretical performance index. This work examined the influences of the microstructures on the performance index and the experimental performance of the ceramic tool. It was found that multifunction was achieved for the bionic microstructure. The proposed bionic microstructure provided a new way for efficient improvement of tool performance.