Ceramic Grade Design

Why Ceramic Tools?

2-5 times metal removal rates compared to

coated carbides
2 times more expensive than carbides
more wear resistant, but less tough than
carbides
 Ceramic Tool Materials
White ceramics (Al2O3 -ZrO2)
Finishing cast irons, soft steels
Black ceramics (Al2O3 -TiC/TiN)
Hard turning steel, cast iron
Whisker ceramic (Al2O3-SiCw)
High temperature alloy machining
Si3N4/SiAlON
Rough machining of gray and
ductile cast iron and Nickel-base alloys
Brittle Fracture
 Transverse Rupture Strength
2000
Transverse Rupture Strength

1500
(MPa)

1000

500

0
White Black Al2O3- Sialon Si3N4 C2 Carbide
Ceramic Ceramic SiCw
 Chemical Inertness
12
Increasing Chemical Inertness

10

8
6

4
2

0
-2
Al2O3 Al2O3 Al2O3 Si3N4 Sialon WC Co
-30%TiC -35%SiC Z=4
High Temp Alloy Milling

Kyon 2100:
Rough machining of Inconel (28 Rc) in
777 engine mounts
Reduced machining time
from 45 hours to 14 hours
4,300 sfm / 0.003-0.004 ipt
70/80 ipm

777 AFT ENGINE MOUNT INCONEL 718

 Coated Al2O3 based ceramics
Al2O3 /TiCN ultra fine grained
black ceramic with PVD TiN
coating for hard turning
better surface finish
longer tool life
Application in hard turning
steels and cast irons (>58 Rc)
superior to other ceramics
cost competitive vs. PCBN tools
 Si3N4 based Cutting Tools

Uncoated Si3N4: handles tough

cuts in cast irons with excellent
reliability

Alumina Coated Si3N4 :

provides added abrasion
resistance in high speed ductile
iron machining