Coated End Mills Research Articles

Mechanics and Cutting Performance of Multilayer Nanostructured TiAlN/TiSiN/ZrN Coatings

The aerospace industry has made extensive use of titanium alloy material due to its exceptional qualities, which include high strength, low weight, and resistance to corrosion. However, these qualities also pose challenges for the material’s processing. This article examined the coated end mills for Ti6Al4V milling. First, an analysis was conducted on the solubility of Ti and Si elements. It was discovered that W and Co elements were far more soluble in Ti than Si and Zr elements, which could effectively stop element diffusion. Next, the base’s composition was planned. It was discovered that when the amount of Al increased, the base’s surface roughness increased, while its hardness and elastic modulus decreased. The binding force between the substrate and the base was greater at a 50:50 Ti:Al ratio. The H3/E2 was about 0.23 and the surface roughness was about 0.15 μm. TiSiN and TiSiN/ZrN functional layer properties were also examined. When Zr was added to TiSiN/ZrN coating, it improved the coating’s hardness and elastic modulus, increased density, and decreased surface roughness and friction coefficient when compared to TiSiN coating. There was an increase in hardness by 8.09% and an increase in elastic modulus by 9.65%. The average coefficient of friction decreased from 0.315 to 0.299. Lastly, an analysis of the initial and intermediate tool wear was done using the Ti6Al4V milling experiment. It was discovered that adding Zr element could successfully extend the tool’s cutting life by preventing adhesive wear.

Optimisation of machining parameters in high-speed end milling of hardened AISI H13 die steel by integrating RSM and GA

ABSTRACT This study explores the potential of high-speed hard-end milling as a cost-effective alternative to the time-consuming grinding process for Chromium-molybdenum steel (AISI H13), widely used in cold and hot work tooling. The research aims to optimize machining parameters for achieving desired surface roughness, comparable to grinding and polishing. Cutting depth (0.4 - 0.8 mm), feed rate (1 - 4 μm per tooth), and cutting speed (80 - 140 m/min) were varied, and soybean oil replaced conventional lubricants. Employing Titanium Aluminum Nitride (TiAlN) coated end mills (3 mm diameter, 2 μm coating thickness) and response surface method (RSM) with Design Expert software, the study aimed at reducing tool wear and enhancing surface quality through multi-criteria optimization. Surface roughness analysis led to a streamlined surface by lowering mass flow rate and increasing cutting speed. The optimization approach predicted an optimal surface roughness value of 0.217475 μm at a cutting speed of 110 m/min, a feed rate of 1 μm/tooth, and a cut depth of 0.4 mm using genetic algorithm (GA), closely aligned with RSM’s ideal value of 0.215 μm. Both values converge around the 0.4 mm cut thickness.

Analysis and optimization of machining parameters of AZ91 alloy nanocomposite with the Influences of nano ZrO2 through vacuum diecast process

The magnesium alloy composite is a vital material for automotive applications due to its features like high stiffness, superior damping resistance, high strength, and lightweight. Here, the motto of research is to establish the AZ91 alloy nanocomposite with the exposures of 0, 1, 3, and 5 volume percentages (vol%) of nano zirconium dioxide (ZrO2) particles (50nm) through fluid stir metallurgy route associated with 1x105 Pa vacuum die cast process. Exposures on structural morphology, hardness, and impact toughness of composite are analyzed and identified as the nano AZ91 alloy composite enclosed with 5vol% is homogenous particle dispersion, enhanced hardness (97.6HV), and optimum toughness of 21.2J/mm2. However, composite faces machining difficulties due to the hard abrasive particles with higher hardness, resulting in tool wear. This experiment predicts the optimum mill parameters during the end mill operation of magnesium alloy nanocomposite (AZ91/5vol%) by using a tungsten carbide coated end mill cutter to attain the maximum metal removal rate with low surface roughness and tool wear analyzed via the general linear model (GLM) ANOVA approach. The input conditions for end milling operation vary, like feed rate (0.1 -0.4mm/rev), depth of cut (0.05 -0.2mm), and spindle speed (250-1000rpm). During the ANOVA GLM approach, the L16 design experiment is fixed for further interaction analysis. The results predicted by the depth to cut and feed rate were dominant and played a major role in deciding the tool wear, surface roughness, and MRR.

The Effect of Annotation Quality on Wear Semantic Segmentation by CNN.

In this work, we investigate the impact of annotation quality and domain expertise on the performance of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) for semantic segmentation of wear on titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium carbonitride (TiCN) coated end mills. Using an innovative measurement system and customized CNN architecture, we found that domain expertise significantly affects model performance. Annotator 1 achieved maximum mIoU scores of 0.8153 for abnormal wear and 0.7120 for normal wear on TiN datasets, whereas Annotator 3 with the lowest expertise achieved significantly lower scores. Sensitivity to annotation inconsistencies and model hyperparameters were examined, revealing that models for TiCN datasets showed a higher coefficient of variation (CV) of 16.32% compared to 8.6% for TiN due to the subtle wear characteristics, highlighting the need for optimized annotation policies and high-quality images to improve wear segmentation.

Wear characteristics and performance in side milling of Ti2AlNb intermetallic alloys with coated and uncoated end mills

Ti2AlNb intermetallic alloy is highly suitable for aerospace key component manufacturing due to its low density, exceptional temperature strength, high specific strength, and creep resistance. However, the poor machining quality and severe tool wear appear, because of their poor thermal conductivity and excellent high temperature strength performance. In this paper, the coated and uncoated end mills are performed to investigate the tool wear characteristics during side milling of Ti2AlNb intermetallic alloys. In addition, the milling forces, tool service life, tool wear morphologies and mechanisms are discussed in detail. Results indicate that the coated and uncoated end mills suffered severe tool wear in the side milling process, leading to a rapid increase in milling forces. The coated end mill exhibited a longer service life of tools than the uncoated end mill. The service life of coated end mill reaches 6 min, primarily limited by flank wear and accompanied by chipping, whereas the uncoated end mill had a service life restricted to 2 min due to tool tip breakage. Tool wear morphologies of coated and uncoated end mills include rake face wear and flank face wear. Typical characteristics (e.g., crater wear, built-up edge, chipping and adhesion) are observed on the rake face of the both coated and uncoated end mills. On the flank face of the coated end mill, the chip adhesion, micro-chipping, chipping and coating delamination are found, whereas only chip adhesion and micro-chipping appear for uncoated end mill. Furthermore, the primary mechanisms of wear for both coated and uncoated end mills are adhesive wear and oxidation wear, which occur on both the rake face and flank face.

A Study of Machining Characteristics during Continuous Machining of Circular Pockets Using A6061-T651 High-Speed Steel-Conducting Coated End Mill Tools

A Study of Machining Characteristics during Continuous Machining of Circular Pockets Using A6061-T651 High-Speed Steel-Conducting Coated End Mill Tools

Mathematical Model of Material Removal Rate during Milling of AISI D2 Tool Steel Using Response Surface Methodology

The CNC milling process is one of the most valuable traditional machining processes for machining hardened material by using various coated end mill tools. The attention of the current study has been done on end milling of hardened AISI D2 tool steel which is a commonly used tool steel grade in a press machine. The material removal rate is an essential aspect of improving productivity and reducing lead time and production costs. MRR has been considered as a response in this experimental work. A number of experiments were conducted using the design of the experiment via response surface methodology (RSM). MRR was calculated for each machining performance. A mathematical model of MRR was found using response surface methodology.

Removal of Wear-Resistant Coatings from Cutting Tools by Fast Argon Atoms

Wear-resistant coatings improve the machining capability of cutting tools and extend their useful life. However, when a tool needs to be reused, it is mandatory to remove the existing coating to facilitate resharpening and recoating. The existing technique uses electrochemical stripping, which is hazardous to the environment. The environmentally friendly pulsed laser stripping causes the melting and mixing of tools and coating materials, which makes it difficult to separate and remove the coating. This paper presents the results of coating stripping via a beam of fast argon atoms. Due to the twentyfold compression of the beam, a 3 µm thick AlTiN coating was removed from a rotating solid carbide end mill within 25 min. A subsequent one-hour-long irradiation of the cleaned tool with the same beam led to a decrease in the radius of the tool’s cutting edges from 10.5 to 3.5 µm. This allowed us to redeposit a 3.5 µm thick AlTiN coating and obtain a coated end mill with a cutting-edge radius of 7 µm.

Study of the Influence of Silicon-Containing Diamond-like Carbon Coatings on the Wear Resistance of SiAlON Tool Ceramics

DLC coatings have low adhesive bond strength with the substrate and a high level of residual stresses. This paper is devoted to researching a complex of characteristics of a DLC-Si coating deposited on samples of SiAlON ceramics with intermediate coatings (CrAlSi)N pre-formed to improve the adhesive bond strength employing vacuum-plasma spraying. DLC-Si coatings were formed by chemical vapor deposition in a gas mixture of acetylene, argon, and tetramethylsilane supplied through a multichannel gas purge system controlling the tetramethylsilane volume by 1, 4, 7, and 10%. The SiAlON samples with deposited (CrAlSi)N/DLC-Si coatings with different silicon content in the DLC layer were subjected to XPS and EDX analyses. Tribological tests were carried out under conditions of high-temperature heating at 800C. The nanohardness and elasticity modulus of the rational (CrAlSi)N/DLC-Si coating with Si-content of 4.1% wt. were 26 ± 1.5 GPa and 238 ± 6 GPa, correspondingly. The rational composition of (CrAlSi)N/DLC-Si coating was deposited on cutters made of SiAlON ceramics and tested in high-speed machining of aircraft nickel-chromium alloy compared to uncoated and DLC-coated samples. The average operating time (wear resistance) of (CrAlSi)N/DLC-Si(4.1% wt.)-coated end mills before reaching the accepted failure criterion was 15.5 min when it was 10.5 min for the original cutters.

The Evaluation of PVD Coated High Speed Steel End Mill

To enhance the cutting performance of high speed steel(HSS) end mill, single and multilayer coating is applied on the substrated of the HSS end mill. Coating material reduces cutting force and enhances resistance against abrasive wear. This paper presents the physical vapour deposition(PVD) coating technology and the machinability of PVD coated HSS end mill. The performance of coated HSS end mills are fifteen times better than uncoated HSS end mill on proposed cutting conditions. The TiAlN monolayer coated end mills(futura nano coating) are better than those of multilayer coated end mills(futura coating) on machined surface and tool wear.

Specific Application Features of Ti-TiN-(Ti,Cr,Al)N, Zr-ZrN-(Zr,Mo,Al)N, and ZrHf-(Zr,Hf)N-(Zr,Hf,Cr,Mo,Al)N Multilayered Nanocomposite Coatings in End Milling of the Inconel 718 Nickel-Chromium Alloy

This article discusses the specific application features of end mills with Ti-TiN-(Ti,Cr,Al)N, Zr-ZrN-(Zr,Mo,Al)N, and ZrHf-(Zr,Hf)N-(Zr,Hf,Cr,Mo,Al)N multilayer nanocomposite coatings during the machining of the Inconel 718 nickel–chromium alloy. The hardness, fracture resistance during scratch testing, structure, and phase composition of the coatings were studied. The tribological properties of the samples were compared at temperatures of 400–900 °C. Tests were conducted to study the wear resistance of the coated end mills during the milling of the Inconel 718 alloy. The wear mechanism of the end mills was studied. It was found that in comparison with the other coatings, the Zr-ZrN-(Zr,Mo,Al)N coating had the highest hardness and the lowest value of the adhesion component of the coefficient of friction at high temperatures. However, the Zr-ZrN-(Zr,Mo,Al)N coating exhibited good resistance to cracking and oxidation during the milling of the Inconel 718 alloy. Based on the above, the Zr-ZrN-(Zr,Mo,Al)N coating can be considered a good choice as a wear-resistant coating for the end milling of the Inconel 718 alloy.

Fabrication, tribological properties and cutting performances of high-quality multilayer graded MCD/NCD/UNCD coated PCB end mills

Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) coating possessing low surface roughness was innovatively deposited on printed circuit board (PCB) end mills in order to improve the surface smoothness and prolong the tool duration while machining 5G PCB material. Six types of diamond coatings, involving microcrystalline diamond (MCD), nanocrystalline diamond (NCD), ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD), microcrystalline diamond/nanocrystalline diamond (MCD/NCD), microcrystalline diamond/ultrananocrystalline diamond (MCD/UNCD), microcrystalline diamond/nanocrystalline diamond/ultrananocrystalline diamond (MCD/NCD/UNCD), were synthesized on PCB end mills. The Raman spectrum of diamond coatings were obtained to characterize the phase composition, illustrating that Raman spectra of UNCD, MCD/UNCD and MCD/NCD/UNCD present “M” shape, including dominant D peak and G peak. The adhesion levels were assessed, showing that the bottom MCD layer helps to improve the adhesion of MCD/NCD, MCD/UNCD and MCD/NCD/UNCD on WC-Co substrates and MCD/NCD/UNCD can suppress effectively the crack propagation. Moreover, the tribological properties and wear performances of these diamond coatings were compared. The comparison results of friction coefficients are in good accordance with those of surface roughness. The superior adhesion of bottom MCD, the elegant transition of middle NCD and the low friction coefficient of the top UNCD lead to the outstanding wear performances of MCD/NCD/UNCD coated end mill while machining PCB slots.

Performance of Multilayer Coated and Cryo-treated Uncoated Tools in Machining of AISI H13 Tool Steel—Part 2: HSS End Mills

This part of the study aimed to investigate the effects of cryogenic treatment applied to uncoated high speed steel (HSS) end mills on cutting forces (Fc), surface roughness (Ra), and tool life. The milling tests were performed at four cutting speeds (40, 50, 60, and 70 m/min), three feeds (0.018, 0.024, and 0.03 mm/rev), and a depth of cut (2 mm) under dry and wet conditions. Three categories of uncoated HSS end mills were used in the tests: conventional heat treated (CHT), cryo-treated (CT), cryo-treated and tempered uncoated (CTT), and TiAlN/TiN multilayer coated (MLC) end mills. The test results showed that the lowest values of Fc and Ra were measured with the use of MLC end mills. However, the cryogenic treatment provided in a reduction in Fc and Ra values. In addition, under wet conditions, the CTT end mills exhibited better performance than the CHT ones by 71.4%. The test results showed while cryogenic treatment is a useful and cheap application in steels, it does not have the ability to compete with coating technology in terms of tool life in milling of hot work tool steel. This paper is organized into two sections. In the first section, cutting performance of cryo-treated and multilayer coated end mills is evaluated. In the second section, performance comparison of cryo-treated WC-Co (Part 1), HSS (Part 2), and MLC end mills in milling of AISI H13 hot work tool steel is presented.

An experimental investigation of tool wear rate in end mill HSS-AL with nickel coated tool

End milling is the most flexible type of processing that can be utilized to machine spaces, shoulders, shapes and profiles. An end milling process comprises a round and hollow shaper that has different front lines on the two its outskirts and its tip, allowing end cutting and fringe cutting. A portion of the significant activities should be possible utilizing processing machines they are as per the following external keyway, slotting, sawing, profile milling, helical milling, thread milling, gang milling, face milling, angular milling, end milling. In this venture work, we have utilized the electroplating procedure of nickel on the HSS-Al end mill tool. As indicated by this procedure, Ni is act as anode, HSS-Al end factory instrument is going about as cathode and Ni salt shower is go about as an electrolytic answer for covering. In the wake of covering the measurements, for example, length, the distance across and weight of the instrument have been checked and it is contrasted and the component of ordinary HSS-Al end mill tool. Experimental work has been done in the vertical processing machine with various speeds and the tool used is HSS-Al and HSS-Al Nickel coated end mill tool and the workpiece utilized for the work is gentle steel. The surfaces in the wake of machining were checked utilizing the hardware named surface roughness analyzer to locate the nature of the surface finish. The components of the two tools were noted down after the processing activity. The performance of Ni coated HSS-Al tool has superior to uncoated HSS-Al end mill tool has estimated and the coated toolhas got wear opposition and furthermore it reduces the hour of work to make benefit than the uncoated HSS-Al end mill tool.

Interface design to tune stress distribution for high performance diamond/silicon carbide coated cemented carbide tools

The stress distribution of the interface plays a key role in adhesion and performances of diamond coated tools. Herein, we report a combined simulation and experimental strategy to significantly minimize the thermal stress by interface design in the diamond/SiC architectures. Different diamond/SiC films, including pure diamond, composite, single SiC interlayer, gradient interlayer and multilayer, were simulated by finite element analysis and synthesized on cemented carbide tools by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). The stress distribution was tailored over the diamond/SiC architecture, and the maximum stress value at the cutting edge was best suppressed for the composite (58% reduction) and the gradient film (49% reduction), which resulted in the best film adhesion and were sufficient for cutting performances. The pure diamond surface ending on the gradient coated tool allowed for non-sticking machining Al-13 wt% Si alloy, resulting in enhanced workpiece quality and extended tool lifetime. Its tool lifetime was at least 7 times longer than that of the pure diamond film, and at least 4 times longer than a commercial diamond coated end mill. The diamond/SiC architectures represent a potent solution for adherent diamond coated tools with excellent machining performances.

Turning and Drilling of HSS using ALNOVA Coating

BALINI ALNOVA enhanced wear resistance as well as increased corrosion resistance and warm hardness makes this new coating the choice for end mill. The service life of BALINIT ALNOVA coated end mills is up to 30 times longer compared to other high coatings. Performance coating with BALINIT ALNOVA we can machine challenging material High performance and high quality. AlCrN is the coating material and the coating structure is multilayer.

Experimental investigation during end milling of AISI D2 tool steel using AlCrN coated tool

Abstract Machining of tool steel is difficult task due to high hardness for today’s manufacturing industries. Also in die and moulds manufacturing industries, D grade tool steels are widely used as work material due to its extremely high wear resisting properties as well as high corrosion resisting properties. Selection of cutting tool is very essential need for such types of hard machining. Nowadays coated tools are widely used for machining of hard materials due to its high wear resistance properties as wall as high tool life. This research work presents experimental investigation and optimization of machining parameters during milling of AISI D2 tool steel by using coated end mill tool. AlCrN coated end mill tool was used as cutting tool for milling of tool steel by considering four input CNC milling parameters namely cutting speed, feed, depth of cut and width of cut under dry condition. Design of experiment plan was developed to measure two responses cutting force and surface roughness using response surface methodology (RSM) central composite design (CCD) method. Based on that, 30 experiments have been carried out by considering four factor and five level design of experiment. Two empirical models for cutting force (Fz) and surface roughness have been established by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and indicates that a quadratic model was best fit for the variation of cutting force as well as the variation of surface roughness. Cutting forces were measured by using of Kistler 9272 piezoelectric dynamometer during machining process. Surface roughness was measured by using of Mitutoyosurftest SJ 410 at beginning, middle and end of the workpiece after machining and plot the graph based on the average value. From experimental analysis, it has been found that cutting speed and width of cut are two dominant cutting parameters that affect the cutting force (Fz). Feed rate is main influencing cutting parameter that effect on surface roughness

Tool wear evaluation based on vibration analysis during milling of MMC using diamond coated end mills

The aim of the research was to analyze the wear of the end mills based on the measurement of mechanical vibration accelerations. The VBB index was used as the tool wear criterion, which was measured until a specific maximum wear was obtained. The paper compares the tool wear values at different cutting speeds and determines the possibility of predicting the state of the tool wear based on the measurements of mechanical vibration accelerations.

A Comparative study of Wear and tool life of HSS TiN coated end mills and WC uncoated end mills

The objective of this research is to compare the performance and economic value of TiN coated end mills and WC end mills on S45C slot milling. The commercial end mills that produce and provide by SAN Engineering and Supply Co., Ltd. and commercial S45C steels, were selected for this investigation. The models of wear were analyzed by the scanning electron microscope, SEM. The result showed that the wear models of the TiN coated end mills are abrasive and surface peeling, while the wear models of WC end mills are adhesive and uniform micro-chipping on the cutting edges. The analysis the economic value also represented that WC end mills are worth more than the others.

The wear performance of carbide tools coated with TiAlSiN, AlCrN and TiAlN ceramic films in intelligent machining process

Nitride-based coatings are applied by cathodic arc physical vapor deposition (CAPVD) to improve the tribological properties of cutting tools. The present study examines the tool life of carbide tools coated with TiAlSiN, AlCrN and TiAlN films in intelligent machining process. Coating process was applied on both prismatic carbide test specimens and solid carbide end mills. Coating characterization was carried out on the test specimens. The structural, mechanical and tribological properties of different nitride-based coatings were investigated by means of field emission scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scratch tester, reciprocating tribometer, calotester, microhardness device and optical profilometer. Impax steel was machined in CNC vertical machining center with uncoated and coated carbide end mills in order to determine the actual operating performance of the coatings. The g codes and toolpaths were created in the SolidCAM iMachining software. The cutting speed, feeds and overlap values are selected automatically and variably depending on geometry, tool and workpiece materials. The flank wear widths of tools were determined by SEM. In addition, the surface roughness values of the impax steel were measured from the finish surfaces. According to the scratch test results, the best adhesion results were obtained for TiAlN coating and the Lc1 critical load value was determined as about 30 N. The reciprocating sliding test results showed that the highest wear rate was obtained for the TiAlSiN coated specimen and the lowest wear rate was obtained for the uncoated specimen. Flank wear was observed on the tools after the milling process and the highest wear resistance was obtained TiAlN coated end mill. The lowest surface roughness value was obtained from the surface of impax steel workpiece which was milled with carbide end mill coated with TiAlN ceramic film.