CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91

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CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology

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Influence of finishing post-treatment on drill rake and margin surfaces in

the drilling of SAE 4144M steel ]]
]]]]]]
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⁎
Taynan Lucas Caitano a, Leonardo Rosa Ribeiro da Silva b, , Álisson Rocha Machado a,b,
Denis Boing c, Carlos Augusto Henning Laurindo a
a
Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná – PUC-PR, CEP 80215-901 Curitiba, PR, Brazil
b
Federal University of Uberlandia, Av. João Naves de Ávila, 2121, CEP: 38400-902 Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
c
AB Sandvik Coromant R&D, Lerkrogsvägen 19, SE-126 80 Stockholm, Sweden

a r t i cl e i nfo a bstr ac t

In this paper, drilling tools were subjected to different post-treatment polishing processes using aluminum,
Available online 24 January 2022 silicon, and diamond-based abrasives, and the effects resulting from these processes on the roughness of
the rake and margin were correlated with thrust force, maximum flank, crater wear, and tool life. The
Keywords: results showed that the polishing methods resulted in quite different surface profiles in the rake and margin
Tool polishing
of the tools, which had a significant impact on the machinability parameters evaluated. The results also
Drag finish
indicate that, in general, the morphological parameters such as skewness and kurtosis presented a better
Surface roughness
Tool wear correlation with the output variables than the amplitude parameters, as found with Sa and Sq.
© 2022 CIRP.

Introduction
Surface engineering is a great ally when targeting a greener
machining process, thus eliminating cutting fluids. Recent research
indicates that controlling tool surface parameters is a powerful tool
in reducing friction and wear on the cutting interface and improving
chip flow through the rake surface [1,2].
According to Dhage, Jayal [3], most authors characterize the
roughness of a surface using the Ra parameter. Although Ra is a good
indicator of the roughness profile, different surface morphologies
can have the same Ra value [4]. As stated by de Souza Ruzzi, da Silva
[5] the use of 2D roughness parameters such as Skewness (Ssk) and
Kurtosis (Sku) can provide a better characterization of surface mor­
phology, thus allowing for the possibility to differentiate two sur­
faces with similar Ra.
Research performed by Furuno, Kitajima [6] investigated the
adhesive effect of different coatings applied by PVD (TiAlN, CrSiN,
and TiSiN) on cemented carbide tools prepared by an abrasive pro­
cess with grit sizes varying from #230 to #1500 and characterized by
the Ra and Rz parameters. The machining tests were performed
using the dry turning process with HPM-MAGIC (40 HRC) steel, a
depth of cut of 0.1 mm, a feed rate of 0.1 mm/rev, and a cutting speed
of 120 m/min. The authors concluded that the surface finishing of
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: leorrs@ufu.br (L.R.R. da Silva).
the tool also affects the degree of workpiece material adhesion, with
tools with higher roughness having less adhesion due to the smaller
contact area.
The study conducted by Arumugam, Malshe [7] investigated the
performance of CVD diamond-coated cemented carbide tools with
and without polishing the coating. Polishing was carried out by drag
finish in abrasive sludge with particle sizes of 1 µm and 15 µm in
diameter, with processing times varying from 2 to 48 min. The
machining tests were carried out using the dry turning process on
A390 hypereutectic aluminum-silicon alloy, at cutting speeds ran­
ging from 480 to 690 m/min, feed rates of 0.2 and 0.4 mm\rev and
depth of cut of 0.5 and 1 mm. The authors concluded that the pol­
ishing process of the cutting tools resulted in a reduction of cutting
forces, tool wear, and machined surface.
The collaborators in Denkena, Köhler [8] studied the effect of
different cutting-edge preparation techniques (plunge-face grinding
and brushing) on the performance of cemented carbide tools PVD-
coated with TiAlN. The machining tests were performed using the
dry turning process on 16MnCrS5 (HRC 60) steel at a cutting speed of
100 m/min, a feed rate of 0.05 mm/rev, and a depth of cut of 0.1 mm.
The authors concluded that blunter microgeometries were obtained
by grinding compared to brushing, which resulted in higher cutting
forces. In general, the adhesion of the coating was dependent on the
roughness of the tools, with the best results obtained for ground
tools. Higher residual compressive stresses on the tool surface were
obtained by preparing the edge by brushing, which led to a decrease

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cirpj.2022.01.009
1755-5817/© 2022 CIRP.
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91

in tool wear. This research study demonstrates how the cutting Bouzakis, Skordaris [13] evaluated the cutting performance of
process is dependent on the cutting tool's surface quality. PVD-coated cemented carbide inserts using micro-blasting. To
The study elaborated by Furuno, Kitajima [9] evaluated the effects evaluate the effects of micro-blasting the substrates were compared
of spherical end milling cutter ground with abrasive wheels with in both ground, polished and micro-blasted states, and the coating
particle sizes varying between # 325 and # 1000 and then coated with was micro-blasted at two different pressures (0.2 and 0.5 MPa),
TiAlN, CrSiN, and TiSiN on the Rz roughness parameter of the ma­ using Al2O3 particles in all conditions as abrasive. The authors re­
chined workpiece. The machining tests were carried out on HPM- ported that the surface bearing ratio (measured via the Tp para­
MAGIC mold steel (40 HRC) under dry conditions, with cutting speeds meter) increases in the more polished surfaces compared to the
of 75 and 100 m/min, feed rates of 0.1 and 0.13 mm/tooth, and depths ground ones, resulting in an increase in the tool life. Similar in­
of cut of 0.5 and 1 mm. The authors concluded that a higher roughness creases in the tool life for coated tools were reported by Bouzakis,
on the rake surface leads to a smaller contact area between the chip Bouzakis [14] in wet micro-blasting with several Al2O3 particle sizes,
and the tool and, as such, possesses lower material adhesion, resulting and by Bouzakis, Klocke [15] using both Al2O3 and ZrO2 as abrasive
in a lower Rz parameter over the machined workpieces. materials.
The study by Quadrini, Tagliaferri [10] evaluated the surface This paper evaluates the influence of different methods for ob­
roughness of diamond coatings applied using CVD with different taining a tool surface finish (manual polishing and drag finish with
deposition times (3 and 12 h) cemented carbide milling cutters silicon and diamond particles) under different processing times in
destined for dental machining applications. The machining tests terms of SAE 4144M steel machinability during the drilling process.
were performed on workpieces made of ceramic material (clay The output parameters considered were the cutting forces, tool life,
brick) and a thermoset polymer matrix composite (PMC). The sur­ and tool wear mechanisms. To characterize the different degrees of
face roughness of the tools was measured using the parameters Ra, tool surface finishing, Sa, Sq, Ssk, Sku, Sp, Sv, and Sz were set on each
Rp, Rv, Rt, Rsk, Rku, Rsm, and Rλm. For both workpiece materials, a tool's rake faces and margins.
cutting speed of 420 mm/min and a depth of cut of 6 mm for the
ceramic material and 10 mm for the PMC were applied. The different Materials and methods
deposition times (3 and 12 h) resulted in different thicknesses of a
deposited layer (5 µm and 15 µm, respectively) and different surface Workpiece material
roughness. In general, the shorter deposition time generated a sur­
face roughness of an order of magnitude higher than uncoated tools, The workpiece material tested was SAE 4144M steel, used in the
while the longer deposition time resulted in surface roughness of a diesel fuel injection pump. The material was forged, quenched, and
higher order of magnitude than tools with shorter deposition time. tempered, leading to a final hardness of 39 ± 3 HRC. The micro­
The authors found that the feed forces increased with the coating, structure resulting from the described process is a tempered mar­
which was around 20% greater for the thinner coating and 30% for tensite matrix. Its composition and microstructure are shown
the thicker coating. in Fig. 1.
The collaborators in Zeilmann, Ost [11] characterized the effect of
different edge preparation techniques (abrasive brush polishing and
Cutting tools
drag finish) on uncoated cemented carbide cutting tools in the end
milling process of AISI P20 steel (38 HRC). The resulting surface
The drills were made from K40 UF grade with a 0.6 µm boundary
roughness on the tools was measured using Ra, Rz, Rp, and Rv. The
size and Co 10% and WC 90% composition. The process flow for
tests were performed with a cutting speed of 180 m / min, feed per
making the drills was grinding outside diameter, opening helical
tooth of 0.06 mm, and axial and radial depth of cut, respectively 0.5
flutes, edge sharpening, cutting edge preparation, coating deposi­
and 0.2 mm. Different machining atmospheres were evaluated dry
tion, and polishing. These were PVD coated with a 3 µm layer of
and with an MQL application of vegetable-based oil with and
Helica® (TiSiN/AlCrN), which had a Vickers hardness of 3000 HV-
without extreme pressure additives, with an air pressure of 0.5 MPa
00.5 and a maximum work service temperature of 1.100ºC. These
and a 30 ml/min flow rate. The authors reported that both polishing
tool steps are taken to improve the cycle time due to machining
processes increased the surface roughness of the tool when com­
chamfer and the holes simultaneously. Fig. 2 shows the dimensions
pared to the original values (as acquired), with the brush polishing
used in the tests.
process resulting in the highest surface roughness values. The ap­
plication of MQL was statistically effective in reducing the surface
roughness of the machined workpiece. Both tools that went through Cutting tools surface preparation
the edge preparation processes resulted in larger plastically de­ Six different polishing conditions were evaluated in this paper, as
formed areas on the workpiece than the original tools. The highest shown in Table 1. Manual polishing was performed using commer­
values of plastic deformation were obtained with the brush-polished cial aluminum oxide abrasive. The automatic polishing process used
tools and the lowest with the original tools, both in dry machining.
Research conducted by Yamaguchi, Hendershot [12] studied the
impact of different magnetic particle polishing parameters on un­
coated cemented carbide tools in the turning process of Ti6Al4V
alloy. The tool surfaces were characterized using Sa, Ssk, and Sku
before and after polishing. The turning tests were performed with a
feed rate of 0.075 mm/rev, depth of cut of 1 mm, and cutting speed
of 100 m/min, using flood lubrication with a 5% emulsion. As a result,
the authors found that the reduction in the roughness of the rake
surface was the variable that had the most significant impact in
terms of increasing tool life. This fact was explained by removing
irregularities on the rake surface, wildly irregular peaks that facil­
itate chip flow, and reducing tool wear. The tool's polishing time
must be sufficient to remove these surface irregularities; otherwise,
there are no statistically significant effects. Fig. 1. Chemical composition and microstructure of the SAE 4144M steel.

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T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91

Fig. 2. The geometry of the drill that was used in the tests.

Table 1
Polishing processes used.

Abrasive Acronym Polishing time (min)

No polishing STD –
Aluminum Oxide Al Manual polishing
HSC1/300 Si_5 5
HSC1/300 Si_20 20
H4/400 D_1 1
H4/400 D_10 10

two types of abrasives, HSC1/300 (silicon oxide + walnut shells,

mixed in an approximate proportion of 1/80 of M21 powder - alu­
minum oxide) and H4/400 (walnut shells mixed in an approximate
proportion 1/ 800 of PP02 powder - diamond). OTEC manufactured
both abrasives with scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of
the components shown in Fig. 3.
A Drag Finishing machine manufactured by OTEC, model DF Fig. 4. Drag Finishing machine used for automatic polishing of the drills.
basic, was used in the automatic polishing process (Fig. 4) with
30 rpm of speed on the rotating table, alternating the direction holder alternating the direction every 2.5 min. The samples were
(clockwise and anticlockwise) every 5 min, and 50 rpm in the sample submerged 200 mm in the abrasive media.

Fig. 3. SEM images of the abrasives at different magnifications. a) Aluminum oxide; b) Walnut shells (HSC1/300); c) Silicon oxide (HSC1/300); d) Walnut shells (H4/400); e)
Aluminum oxide powder M21(HSC1/300); f) Diamond powder (H4/400).

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T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91

Fig. 5. SEM of the drills rake faces. a) Standard tool (STD); b) Aluminum oxide abrasive (Al); c) Silicon oxide abrasive for 5 min (Si_5); d) Silicon oxide abrasive for 20 min (Si_20);
e) Diamond abrasive for 1 min (D_1); f) Diamond abrasive for 10 min (D_10); Drill margins. g) Standard tool (STD); h) Aluminum oxide abrasive (Al); i) Silicon oxide abrasive for
5 min (Si_5); j) Silicon oxide abrasive for 20 min (Si_20); k) Diamond abrasive for 1 min (D_1); l) Diamond abrasive for 10 min (D_10);.

Cutting tools surface characterization
Fig. 5 illustrates the SEM images using secondary electron mi­
croscopy of the rake faces and margins of the drills after the pol­
ishing processes shown in Table 1. Those images were converted into
3D surfaces based on the color-height ratio of the images for the z-
axis calibration per pixel, and these results are shown in Fig. 6. After
producing the topographical maps, the surfaces of the tools were
characterized in relation to the surface height average (Sa), and root
mean square (Sq), surface maximum height of the peaks (Sp), depth
of de valleys (Sv), surface ten-point height (Sz), Skewness (Ssk), and
Kurtosis (Sku), which were calculated according to Gadelmawla,
Koura [16].
was measured using a table dynamometer model 9272, a signal
amplifier model 5223, and the DinoWare software, all manufactured
by Kistler. The signal acquisition rate was set to 150 Hz. All the
output variables were correlated with the surface roughness para­
meters obtained on the rake and margin surfaces of the drills (Fig. 6).
A correlation was performed using the Pearson correlation coeffi­
cient [14], as this parameter allows for measuring the strength found
in the association between the two variables.
Results
The relationship between polishing methods and surface roughness

Machinability assessment
The machining trials were performed in a CNC vertical machine
center manufactured by Cincinnati Milacron, model Arrow 500, with
5.5 kW of power and a maximum spindle speed of 6000 rpm. The
cutting condition was fixed with a cutting speed of 81 m/min and a
feed rate of 0.5 m/min. Each test was triplicated by applying the
average values that resulted from the three tests considered for the
analysis, thus ensuring statistical reliability. The end of the tool life
criterion adopted was maximum flank wear of VBBmax = 0.3 mm,
although the crater width (crater width, KB) was also measured and
controlled. For economic reasons, the maximum number of holes
was set at 1200 (or 600 workpieces) for all the tests. At the end of
the tool life, the drills were cut by EDM, and the tips were placed in
the scanning electron microscope – SEM, manufactured by Tescan,
model Veja 3, for analyses of the wear mechanisms. The thrust force
In Table 2, the surface parameters measured from the 3D profiles
are listed and shown in Fig. 6. The green-to-red pattern of the cells
illustrates, respectively, the lower to higher values of the roughness
parameters. The analysis presented in Table 2 clearly illustrates that
the tools polished with the diamond abrasive for 10 min resulted in
lower values of roughness in booth margin and rake. However, de­
spite a better finish in the rake, the diamond polishing did not sig­
nificantly improve the margin roughness when used for only one
minute. In general, the polishing with the silicon oxide abrasive for
both 5 and 20 min resulted in intermediate roughness values in the
margin of the tool, and significantly higher roughness values on the
rake face, especially for rake Sa and Sq. The manually polished tools
using the Aluminum oxide abrasive resulted in improvements in the
margin roughness surface, but not as much in the rake. This can be
explained by the manual polishing process being better suited for
reaching the margin than the tool's rake.

Fig. 6. 3D maps of the rake faces. a) Standard tool (STD); b) Aluminum oxide abrasive (Al); c) Silicon oxide abrasive for 5 min (Si_5); d) Silicon oxide abrasive for 20 min (Si_20); e)
Diamond abrasive for 1 min (D_1); f) Diamond abrasive for 10 min (D_10); Drill margins. g) Standard tool (STD); h) Aluminum oxide abrasive (Al); i) Silicon oxide abrasive for
5 min (Si_5); j) Silicon oxide abrasive for 20 min (Si_20); k) Diamond abrasive for 1 min (D_1); l) Diamond abrasive for 10 min (D_10);.

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T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al.
Table 2
Roughness parameters for each of the surface conditions. Legend color is in below.
Thrust forces, tool life, tool wear
Fig. 7 shows the behavior of the output parameters in relation to
the tool surface conditions listed in Table 1. Fig. 7a illustrates that, in
general, the polishing process of the tool reduced the thrust forces in
relation to the unpolished tools, with the tools polished with silicon
oxide abrasive for 20 min (Si_20), presenting around 10% lower thrust
forces than tools polished with other abrasives. Similar results were
found by Denkena, Köhler [8]. Fig. 7b shows that, for the evaluated
cutting condition, the tools presented similar maximum flank wear
(VBBmax) regardless of the polishing process, except for the tool po­
lished with silicon oxide abrasive for 5 min (Si_5) which presented
around 26% higher maximum flank wear. The crater wear (KB) is
shown in Fig. 7c, and the results show that all the tools presented a
similar behavior, except for the manually polished tool (Al), which
presented margin wear around 2 times higher. The different tool lives
presented in Fig. 7d and Fig. 7e showed a similar trend, with the best
results for the manually polished (Al) and diamond polished for
10 min (D_10), where the worst results were found for the non-po­
lished tool (STD) and the tool polished with the silicon oxide abrasive
for 5 min (Si_5). This shows that the end of the tool life criterion is
essential for determining the classification of tool performance.
Table 3 presents the Pearson correlation [17] between the surface
roughness parameters measured from the topological profiles
(Fig. 6) of the tools and the parameters used to evaluate the ma­
chinability. The red and blue cells represent an inverse and direct
correlation with the machinability variable, with the color gradient
indicating the strength of the correlation. In general, the surface
morphology measured by the skewness and kurtosis of the con­
sidered region of the tool resulted in Pearson correlations above 70%.
Despite this, the best correlations (> 80%) were found between the
rake face roughness parameters Sp, Sa, Sq, and the rake face wear.
The tool life showed a higher correlation with the roughness on the
margin than on the rake surface (flute of the drill), showing that the
friction of the tool against the hole wall is one of the major players in
the drilling process.
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CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91
Correlation between the thrust force and tool surface finish
Fig. 8 illustrates the relationship between the input variables
with more than 70% of correlation with the thrust force, according to
Table 3, for each surface condition presented in Table 1. Fig. 8a and
Fig. 8c show that, in general, an increase in the skewness parameter
Ssk of the surfaces investigated (rake and margin) resulted in lower
thrust forces. On the other hand, Fig. 8b and Fig. 8d show that an
increase in the kurtosis parameter of the rake and margin surfaces
lead to higher thrust forces. These results indicate that profiles with
a high frequency of peaks or high peaks and long valleys on the tools'
booth rake and margin surfaces lead to lower thrust forces. This can
be explained by the fact that more pronounced peaks could lead to a
better anchorage of the workpiece material in the chip-tool inter­
face, leading to a better distribution of the stresses in the secondary
shear zone and more efficient energy transfer for the shearing pro­
cess within the flow zone during the chip formation process. How­
ever, Bouzakis and Siganos [18] showed that as the substrate
roughness increases the pressure distribution becomes uneven and
local stress concentrations all over the contact area are encountered.
These stress concentrations can cause overload on the coating ma­
terial and become the predominant type of damage, with a sig­
nificant decrease of the coating performance during the impact tests
developed. In general, the polishing process resulted in lower thrust
forces when compared to the non-polished tools, with the best re­
sults being found for the conditions where the automatic polishing
was applied for the most extended period, the D_10 and especially
the Si_20. Similar results regarding the effectiveness of the surface
treatment processes in increasing machinability were reported by
Arumugam, Malshe [7] and Klocke, Gorgels [19].
Correlation between Maximum Flank Wear and tool surface finish
Fig. 9 illustrates the relationship between the input variables
with more than 70% of correlation with the VBBMAX, according to
Table 3, for each surface condition presented in Table 1. Only the
parameter Rake Sv did not present a significant correlation with the
VBBMAX. This can be explained by the fact that the Sv measures the
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al.
Fig. 7. Output parameters in relation to the cutting tool surface finish. a) Thrust force (N); b) Maximum flank wear (mm); c) Crater wear (mm); d) Tool life (holes); e) Tool life
interpolated to a VBBMAX of 0.3 mm.
Table 3
Pearson correlation between output variables and surface finish of the tools. The cell color indicates the type, blue for direct, and
red for indirect correlation.
*Interpolated to VBBmax = 0.3 mm
maximum depth of the valley below the mean line, and the deepest
valleys rarely interact with the cutting material. The Sz is the average
of the highest 10 peaks, which inversely correlated with the crater
wear since those higher peaks are the first region of the tool to in­
teract with the workpiece, usually fracturing instantly, and the load
being supported for the peaks closer to the Sa and Sq values in
height.
The VBBMAX presented an inverse behavior to those presented by
the thrust forces regarding the correlation with the parameters Ssk
(Fig. 9a) and Sku (Fig. 9b) of the tools' rake surfaces is, that the rake
face wear increased with Ssk and decreased with Sku. The lowest
values of rake face wear were presented by the tools with a low
frequency of plateau-peak dominant on their surface morphology, as
this surface morphology leads to a lower stress concentration point
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CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91
on the chip-tool-workpiece interfaces. Focusing attention on the
parameters Ssk and Sku, the polishing processes accelerated the tool
wear, which a possible lower coating thickness can explain due to
the action of abrasive particles in the polishing process. Both the Sa
and Sq are amplitude parameters and directly correlate with the rake
face wear, as higher roughness amplitude leads to higher friction in
the cutting zone and accelerated tool wear. The parameter Sp mea­
sures the maximum height of the profile above the mean line and
presented a directed correlation with the tool wear, as the higher the
peaks above the mean line, the higher the stress concentrated in
those regions that fracture more quickly, leading to higher rake wear
rates. Similar correlations between the presence of pronounced
peaks in the profile leading to high wear rate were also found by
Yamaguchi, Hendershot [12].
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91

Fig. 8. Thrust force in relation to: a) Margin surface Ssk; b) Margin surface Sku; c) Rake surface Ssk; d) Rake surface Sku. The dotted red line represents the linear correlation of
the data.

Correlation between Crater Wear and tool surface finish
Fig. 10 illustrates the relationship between the input variables
with more than 70% of correlation with the Crater Wear according to
Table 3 for each surface condition presented in Table 1. The KB
presented a similar behavior to VBBMAX regarding Ssk (Fig. 10a) and
Sku (Fig. 10b). The explanation for such is similar to that given for
VBBMAX, with the difference being that the stresses originate from
the workpiece, more precisely from the surrounding walls of the
hole rubbing on the margin of the tool. In contrast to VBBMAX, KB
showed a direct correlation between the amplitude of the tool
surface roughness parameters Sa and Sq with tool wear. This can be
explained by lower roughness leading to lower friction between the
margin and the workpiece, and thus, the contact pressures are lower
than on the Rake face.
Correlation between tool life and tool surface finish
Fig. 11 illustrates the relationship between the input variables
that had more than 70% of correlation with tool life, while con­
sidering the end of tool life criterion VBBmax = 0.3 mm in accordance
with Table 3, for each surface condition presented on Table 1.

Fig. 9. Maximum Flank Wear in relation to: a) Rake Ssk; b) Rake Sku; c) Rake Ssk; d) Rake Sku; e) Rake Sp; Rake Sz. The dotted red line represents the linear correlation of the data.

87
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al.
Fig. 10. Margin Wear in relation to: a) Margin face Ssk; b) Margin face Sku; c) Rake Ssk; d) Rake Sku. The dotted red line represents the linear correlation of the data.
Fig. 11. Tool life in relation to: a) Margin face Ssk; b) Margin face Sku; c) Margin face Sq. The dotted red line represents the linear correlation of the data.
Although tool life was based on the maximum flank wear, it pre­
sented better correlations with the surface roughness parameters of
the margin instead of the rake face. The higher the Ssk, the higher
the tool life (Fig. 10a), indicating that margins with high frequencies
of peaks reduce forces (as seen in Fig. 7a), contributing toward the
prolonging of tool life. Fig. 10b shows that increasing the statistic
parameter kurtosis (Sku) of the margin surface, tool life tends to
decrease. This is probably due to the greater contact areas on the
margins of the tool with the wall of the hole as it increases. For the
same reasons, tool life decreased when the root mean square para­
meter Sq increased (Fig. 10c).
*Interpolated to VBBmax = 0.3 mm.
Correlation between the roughness parameters Ssk and Sku
Since the skewness and kurtosis of booth rake and margin
surfaces are the major players regarding the behavior of the pre­
viously evaluated machinability variables, these were plotted in
Fig. 12. The analysis of Fig. 12a shows that the non-polished tool is
the only one in the second quadrant, in which the surface is
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CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91
characterized by having a high-frequency plateau-peak distribu­
tion, characteristic of ground surfaces [5]. The processes in which
lower polishing times were used (D_1 and Si_5) shifted the rake
face surface morphology to the first quadrant, in which the high-
frequency oscillation of the surface is maintained, but the increase
in the skewness leads to a profile with shaper peaks and broader
valleys, which does not have a significant influence on the rake
wear when compared to the non-polished tools (Fig. 7c), but sig­
nificantly reduced the thrust forces (Fig. 7e) and under condition
D_1 tool life increased (Fig. 7d).
The increase in the mechanical polishing time (D_5 and S_20)
shifted the morphological space of the tool to the fourth quadrant,
where there is noted a lower frequency of roughness oscillation
(platykurtotic), which is combined with the sharp peaks and broader
valleys. This shift in the rake surface morphology leads to lower
thrust forces and tool life. The manually polished tools were also in
the fourth quadrant, but with an even higher skewness and lower
kurtosis, probably due to the higher contact pressures originating
from the manual polishing process. Compared to the standard tool,
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al.
Fig. 12. Morphological space in relation to the: a) Rake face; b) Margin. The dotted red line represents the linear correlation of the data.
this shift toward the fourth quadrant led to lower cutting forces,
higher rake wear, and tool life.
Fig. 12b illustrates the morphological space parameters for the
margin surface. Similar to that of the rake, the morphology of the
STD condition was also in the second quadrant. The polishing pro­
cesses with the lower times (D_1 and Si_20) and the manually po­
lished (Al) tools did not leave the second quadrant, but in fact, were
shifting in the direction of the fourth, as had happened in the ana­
lysis of the rake surface. The lower changes could be explained by a
possible lower drag of abrasive material in the rake when compared
to the margin, caused mainly by the lower surface area of the rake
and its flatter geometry. The higher polishing times shifted the
surface morphology towards the fourth quadrant, as noted with the
rake, with the possible explanation of the higher processing time
compensated for the lower drag of the polishing abrasives on the
rake surface.
Tool wear mechanisms analysis
At the end of the tool life tests, the drills were cut using the
WEDM (wire electrical discharge machining) process to allow their
tips to be placed in the Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for
analysis, using secondary electrons and Energy-Dispersive
Spectroscopy (EDS) with backscattered electrons. In general, the
polished tools resulted in similar wear mechanisms, with a differ­
ence only in the tool wear rates.
Only the STD, Al and D_10 tools machined the 1200 holes sti­
pulated for the trials, the other tools arrived at a failure point before
the stipulated 1200 holes. Therefore, the tool wear analysis results
will be presented only for the tools mentioned above. The tools were
cleaned using sulfuric acid for 80 s to remove the adhered work
material allowing for the assessment of the tool scar and conduct the
wear mechanism analysis, through the following of the re­
commendations laid out in Corrêa, Schroeter [20].
Fig. 13 illustrates the worn area of the flank face of the non-po­
lished cutting tool (STD) after being cleaned in acid. On this tool
surface, a crater's visible formation on the flank face near the cutting
edge, where the substrate was reached. In the surrounding area of
this crater, the coating of the tool possesses marks from micro-
abrasive wear (parallel microgrooves, perpendicular to the cutting
edge). Within the crater, where the cemented carbide substrate has
been reached, the rough aspect of the worn area indicates the pre­
dominance of adhesive wear, also known as attrition wear [21],
caused by the pull-out of carbide grains from the tool substrate. The
microchipping wear mechanism is also observed along the tool
cutting edge on a lesser scale.
The flank wear occurs due to the friction between the tool and
the workpiece. The cutting tool penetration and the workpiece's
elastic recovery ensure that the contact pressure is high enough to
cause tool wear.
89
CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91
Fig. 13. a) General view of the flank wear of the STD (no polished tool), after ma­
chined 1200 holes; b) Closer detail of the flank wear.
Fig. 14 illustrates comparative wear on the rake face in one of the
tool flutes, after being etched with acid to remove the adhered work
materials. Only in the vicinity of the cutting edge was the coating
completely worn out, with attrition as the main wear mechanism.
The further away from the cutting edge, the main wear mechanism
shifted from attrition to abrasion, as shown by the grooves per­
pendicular to the cutting edge. Similarly to that which happened on
the flank face, the wear on the rake face was mostly concentrated on
the outer layers of the coating. However, the craters were sculpted
further away from the cutting edges, with a more advanced stage in
the D_1 tool, where the first coated layer was worn.
Fig. 15 shows details of the wear on the margin of the tools after
acid cleaning. Noteworthy is that the coating was not completely
removed in some of these tools. Marks of abrasion and attrition wear
are seen in these images, identifying them as the main wear me­
chanisms also on the margin. The parallel orientation of the abrasion
grooves suggests that the origin of the third body abrasion wear was
endogenous, caused by detached coating particles and cemented
carbide grains lost through attrition, with the groove angle coin­
ciding with the effective cutting direction.
Fig. 16 illustrates the rake face of the cutting tool manually po­
lished using aluminum oxide as abrasive (Al) and the EDS elemental
maps of different tool regions. On the elemental maps, three distinct
regions are noted. The upper region (blue arrow) is the distance
furthest away from the cutting edge, where no significant damage
was caused to the coating. The middle region (red arrow) shows that
the coating is still present with signs of abrasive wear along with the
titanium EDS map. The third region (green arrow) shows that the
coating was almost completely worn, as a silicon layer is still present
in this region based on the tungsten and titanium EDS maps. The
rough aspect of region 3 suggests the action of the attrition wear
mechanism.
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al. CIRP Journal of Manufacturing Science and Technology 37 (2022) 81–91

Fig. 14. Wear on the flank face of the tools: a) STD; b) Al c) D_1. Tools chemically etched after machining 1200 holes.

Fig. 15. View of the wear on the margin of the tools: a) STD; b) Al; c) D_1. Tools chemically etched at the end of the tool life.

Fig. 16. a) View of the flank face of the tool manually polished with aluminum oxide, chemically etched after machining 1200 holes; b) Results for EDS analyses at the points
indicated; c) EDS maps of the elements indicated.

90
T.L. Caitano, L.R.R. da Silva, Á.R. Machado et al.
Conclusions
This paper presented a study of the correlation between different
post-treatment polishing methods and their resulting surface
roughness in the rake and margin regions of the tools used in the
drilling process of SAE 4144M steel. The investigation allowed for the
following conclusions to be drawn:
1. In general, the diamond polishing method resulted in the most
significant improvements regarding lowering the surface rough­
ness of the tool;
2. Overall good correlations were found between the maximum
flank wear and the rake roughness and the crater wear and the
tool life with the margin roughness.
3. Thrust force was correlated with the margin and rake skewness
and kurtosis, indicating that the morphology of the roughness
profile can sometimes have a more significant impact than am­
plitude.
4. The primary wear mechanism observed during the tool life were
abrasion and attrition, regardless of the type of tool polishing.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing fi­
nancial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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