Microstructural analyses and wear behavior of the cemented carbide tools after laser surface treatment and PVD coating

Abstract

Adhesion is one of the most important characteristics of coating on cutting tools. Poor coating adhesion on the tool favors fragmentation and release of hard abrasive particles between the tool and the workpiece. These particles interact with the surfaces of the tool, accelerating its wear and decreasing tool life. One possible solution is the use of laser texturing prior to coating in order to achieve a desired surface topography with enhanced adhesion properties. In the texturing, a high-frequency short-pulse laser changes surface characteristics, generating resolidified material and selective vaporization. This work evaluated the effectiveness of laser texturing in improving the substrate–coating adhesion of PVD coated cemented carbide tools. To this end, the substrates were textured with a Nd:YAG laser, in four different intensities, and then coated with a PVD TiAlN film. To ascertain the effectiveness of laser texturing, Rockwell C indentation and turning experiments were performed on both textured tools and conventional unlasered tools. The PVD coated laser-textured tool showed better performance in the indentation and turning tests than the standard tools. A comparative evaluation of tool wear mechanisms indicated that texturing did not change the wear mechanisms, but altered their importance to tool wear. The anchoring provided by the higher roughness of the textured surface increased the adhesion of the coating on the substrate, thus increasing tool life. Additionally, the chemical modification of the carbide grains due to the laser heating might be responsible for an enhanced adhesion between coating and substrate.