Experimental investigation for cutting performance of cemented carbide cutting insert developed through microwave sintering

Abstract

In this paper cemented carbide cutting insert with the variation of cobalt alloy has been developed through sintering via microwave radiation processing technique. The Compact samples of uniform mixed WC-2Co and WC-4Co alloy powder has been placed in a microwave sintering furnace cavity and heated at an equal heating rate i.e. 40°C/min upto 1450°C. The sintered sample has been characterized for properties like densities, Vickers hardness, and fracture toughness. The relative densities of the sample are found to be 90–95% of the theoretical density. The highest Vickers hardness and toughness are found to be 1830 HV and 12.28 MPa. (m)-1/2 for WC-2Co and WC-4Co samples. The hardness and toughness properties are found to increase with an increase in the temperature. With an increase in the percentage of binder, i.e. Co in the alloys the toughness characteristic of sintered sample is found to increase whereas hardness decreases. The sintered specimen has been modified for cutting edges accordingly to act as a cutting insert. The machining of duplex stainless steel has been performed by using sintered samples. The machining performance for the prepared tool has been compared with the standard tool. The maximum cutting force required during the machining is approximately 650 N and it is 10–12% higher than the standard tool. Surface roughness during the machining has been found to be 2.83 μm during the machining. Thus, a comparable cutting insert with high-quality mechanical properties has been developed using microwave sintering.