Comparative Studies on the Cutting Performance of CVD Diamond and DLC Coated Inserts in Turning GFRP Composite Materials

Abstract

The diamond and diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were deposited on the cobalt cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) cutting tools respectively adopting the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique and the vacuum arc discharge with a graphite cathode. The scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the as-deposited diamond and DLC films. To evaluate their cutting performance, comparative turning tests were conducted using the uncoated WC-Co and as-fabricated CVD diamond and DLC coated inserts, with glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) composite materials as the workpiece. The research results exhibited that diamond and DLC coated inserts had great advantages in cutting tests compared to uncoated insert. The flank wear of the CVD diamond coated insert maintained a very low value about 50μm before the cutting tool failure occurred. For the DLC coated insert, its flank wear always maintained a nearly constant value of 70~200μm during whole 45 minutes turning process. The flank wear of CVD diamond coated insert was lower than that of DLC coated insert before diamond films peeling off.