Available online at www.sciencedirect.

com

ScienceDirect
Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267 www.materialstoday.com/proceedings

ICMMM - 2017

Cutting Characteristics of PVD Coated Cutting Tools

Kolla Meheresh Gupta, Kamakoti Ramdev, Sai Dharmateja, S. Sivarajan*
School of Mechanical & Building Sciences,VIT University,Chennai-600127, India.

Abstract

Cutting tool life is reduced remarkably in machining steel with High speed steel (HSS) tools at high cutting speeds and feed rates.
Due to poor cutting characteristics with the uncoated HSS tool, tool life is short and good surface finfish cannot be obtained in
many cases. Therefore, the cutting characteristics can be improved by using Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coated cutting
tool. In the present study, HSS single point cutting tool was coated with TiN, AlCrN and TiAlN by PVD method (Derlikon
Blazer Ltd.).The cutting characteristics of TiN, AlCrN and TiAlN coated tools are investigated by measuring cutting force and
hardness.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Materials Manufacturing and Modelling (ICMMM - 2017).

Keywords: Steel; PVD;Coated Tool;Cutting force;Hardness

1. Introduction

Steel is widely used in automobile, oil & gas, power plants, nuclear and other industries due to its ductility,
machinability, weldability, recyclability and low cost. The machining of steel results in high cutting forces and high
temperatures at high cutting speeds and heavy feed due to friction and high deformation energy .However, there is a
demand from modern engineering industries to machine steel at increased cutting speeds and high feed rates to
improve productivity. Thus machining of steel and the research related to the cutting tools used for this machining
has gained enormous importance. Apart from productivity, the need of the industry to reduce production cost and
compliance of strict environmental laws has stimulated the research institutes to work towards increasing the life of
cutting tools. Previous investigation shows that a effective way of improving cutting tool life is through the coating
of cutting tools thus giving the research in this direction high degree of significance [1-4].

* Corresponding author. Tel.:9841617961.

E-mail address: sivarajan.s@vit.ac.in

2214-7853 © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Materials Manufacturing and Modelling (ICMMM - 2017).
 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267 11261

Materials can be coated on cutting tool with physical vapour deposition(PVD) and chemical vapour
deposition(CVD).PVD coatings covers a range of family of vacuum processes in which the coating material is
physically removed from a source by evaporation or sputtering. Electron beam evaporation, Magnetron sputtering,
Radio frequency sputtering, activated reactive evaporation and arc evaporation are some of the PVD methods
employed to coat cutting tools. Chemical vapour deposition is a heat activated method based on the reaction of
gaseous chemical compounds with heated substrates. Diamond like carbon and tungsten carbide are the carbon
based coatings used to coat cutting tool. Titanium nitride (TiN), Titanium Aluminium Nitride (TiAlN), Aluminium
Chromium Nitride (AlCrN) and Titanium Carbonitride (TiCN) are nitride based coatings used to coat cutting tools.
Super hard materials such as polycrystalline cubic boron nitride and polycrystalline diamond are also used to coat
cutting tool [5-13].
Yecep Yigit et al investigated the effect of cutting speed in turning nodular cast iron with coated and uncoated
cutting tools[14].If Cutting forces, tool wear and surface roughness are taken together, among the three tools
investigated, multilayer coated carbide tool with external TiN is the most appropriate on for cutting nodular cast iron
at higher speeds. H.Z. Li et al studied the tool wear and variation in cutting forces in end milling of Inconel 718 with
coated carbide inserts [15].It is reported that the peak force variation within a single pass is due to thermal effects
and the gradual increase in mean peak force in successive cutting passes is due to cutting tool wear propagation.
Wen-Chou Chen evaluated the cutting performance of coated HSS drill bit in drilling of carbon steel [16].It is
observed that the mean values of torque and thrust force increase with increase of feed rate for all the coated twist
drills. The thrust forces and torque decrease when spindle rpm is increased over and above 725 rpm.
Ying Longn et al investigated the cutting characteristics of Ti–Al–N/Al–Cr–O coated silicon nitride ceramic
cutting inserts [17].It is found that the coating has higher hardness with acceptable coating substrate adhesion. The
performance of coated silicon nitride ceramic inserts is higher than that of uncoated inserts both in machining of
steel and cast iron. Y.G. Jeong et al deposited single and multi-layer TiAlN coatings on tungsten carbide substrates
by cathodic arc ion plating process [18].The tool life of multilayer coated tool improved by 75% compared to single
layer coated tool. R. Suresh et al studied the performance of CVD coated carbide tool in machining of hardened
steel[19].The result analysis showed that the combination of high cutting speed with low feed rate and low depth of
cut is favourable for minimizing cutting force. Abhijeet S. More et al compared the machining performance of cBN–
TiN coated carbide inserts and PCBN compact inserts in turning AISI 4340 hardened steel [20].The Cutting forces
of cBN–TiN coated carbide inserts are slightly higher than that of PCBN compact inserts. The wear life of DLC
Coated cutting tool developed by vacuum cathode multi-arc deposition is 7 times longer than uncoated inserts [21].
Investigations of PVD TIN coated inserts showed that feed rate is the major parameter influencing surface
roughness [22].Cutting speed and feed has the most remarkable influence on tool life when machining steel with
PVD TiN coated cemented carbide cutting inserts [23]. In the present paper, three types of PVD coated cutting tools
(TiN,AlCrN and TiAlN) are developed and the cutting performance of these tools are investigated in turning of C45
steel.

2. Experimental Details

Fig 1 a shows the experimental set up and fig1 b shows the image of three coated tools. The turning tests without
coolant of C45 steel were carried out using a medium duty centre lathe. The chemical composition of C45 steel
includes 0.42 to 0.5 % of carbon,0.4% of silicon,0.5 to 0.8 % of manganese,0.045 % of phosphorous,0.045 % of
sulpur,0.63% of chromium, nickel and molybdenum and rest iron. The tensile strength of the work piece material is
700N/mm2 and the hardness is around 255 HB. Three types of coated tool with same base material (M2 HSS) and
geometric specification were employed. Titanium nitride (TiN), Aluminium Chromium nitride (AlCrN) and
Titanium Aluminium nitride (TiAlN) are the materials deposited on HSS cutting tools.PVD Coatings were carried
out at Oerlikon Balzers Ltd, Chennai. The machinability studies were conducted for a wide range of cutting speeds
from 11 to 61 m/min and feed rate of 0.074 to 0.256 mm/rev and depth of cut from 0.2 to 1 mm. Vickers hardness of
the three coated HSS cutting tools were measured using Shimadzu Vickers hardness testing machine.
11262 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267

Fig1.a. Experimental Set up b. Coated Cutting tools

3. Results and Discussion

Fig 2. represents the relationship between cutting speed and main cutting force. The main cutting force decreases
with cutting speed due to softening of work piece material at elevated temperatures for all the three coated tools.
TiAlN coated tool experienced lower main cutting force than the other two tools in the range of cutting speed. This
is because the adhesion of work piece material on tool face and cutting tool wear are restrained by the low
coefficient of friction. It is notable that that the main cutting force is same for both TiAlN and AlCrN coated tool at
the beginning of the cut. The addition of aluminium to TiN base composition provided with significant enhancement
of high temperature strength and inertness. High hardness and oxidation resistance of TiAlN coated tool up to 900°
C contributed to the minimization of main cutting force. TiAlN coated tool with its lubricating ability can suppress
the adhesion of the work piece material on tool rake and flank face, which leads to generation of lower cutting
forces. The cutting speed of 61m/min is the most preferred speed for all the three coated tools due to drop in main
cutting force
40
Variation of main Cutting Force with Cutting
Main Cutting Force in N

30 speed
20 TiN
10 AlCrN

0 TiAlN
0 20 40 60 80
Cutting Speed in m/min

Fig 2 Variation of Main cutting force with Cutting speed

Constant Feed: 0.109 mm/rev Constant Depth of cut: 0.5 mm

The feed force decreases with cutting speed up to 30 m/min for all the three coated tools. There is an increase in
the feed force for all three coated tools when the cutting speed is changed from 30m/min to 61m/min Fig 3
represents the variation of feed force with cutting speed. It was noted from the comparison between AlCrN and
TiAlN coated tools that AlCrN coated tool experienced similar trend with TiAlN coated tool. Fig 4 represents the
variation of radial force with cutting speed. The radial force increased with cutting speed due to plastic deformation
of the work piece. AlCrN coated tool experienced lower radial force when compared with other two coated tools.
 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267 11263

30
Variation of Feed force with cutting speed
25
Feed force in N
20

15 TiN

10 AlCrN
TiAlN
5

0
0 20 40 60 80
Cutting speed in m/min

Fig 3 Variation of feed force with cutting speed

Constant Feed :0.109 mm/rev Constant Depth of cut:0.5 mm
14
Variation of Radial force with Cutting speed
12
Radial Force in N

10
8
TiN
6
AlCrN
4
TiAlN
2
0
0 20 40 60 80
Cutting speed in m/min

Fig 4 Variation of Radial force with Cutting speed

Constant feed: 0.109 mm/rev Constant depth of cut: 0.5 mm
50
Variation on Main Cutting force with Feed
Main Cutting force in N

40
30
TiN
20
AlCrN
10
TiAlN
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Feed in mm/rev

Fig 5 Variation of Main cutting force with feed

Constant cutting speed: 17.6 m/min Constant depth of cut: 0.5 mm
11264 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267

Fig 5 represents the relationship between feed rate and main cutting force. Feed rate of 0.1 mm/rev produced
lower main cutting force for all the three coated tools. It is evident that 0.1 mm/rev is the recommended feed rate for
the given geometry of coated cutting tool. The main cutting force increased with feed for TiAlN and AlCrN coated
tools. The main cutting force increases with feed since the sheared chip section is proportional to feed rate. Fig 6
shows the variation of feed force with feed rate. In this case also feed rate of 0.1 mm /rev produced lower cutting
force for all the three coated tools. Fig 7 represents the relationship between radial forces with feed rate. The radial
force increased linearly with feed rate. TiN coated tool experienced lower radial force when compared with other
two coated tools. In all the feed rate experiments TiN coated tool performed better than the other two coated tools.
30
Variation of Feed force with feed
25
Feed force in N

20

15 TiN

10 AlCrN
TiAlCr
5

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Feed in mm/rev

Fig 6 Variation of feed force with feed

Constant cutting speed:17.6 m/min Constant depth of cut:0.5 mm

20
Variation of Radial force with feed
Radial force in N

15

10 TiN
AlCrN
5
TiAlN
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3
Feed in mm/rev

Fig 7 Variation of radial force with Feed

Constant Cutting speed 17.6m/min Constant Depth of cut:0.5 mm
Fig 8 & 9 represent the relationship between depth of cut and main cutting force and feed force respectively.
Both the main cutting force and feed force increased almost linearly with depth of cut. The increase in the main
cutting force and feed force with growing depth of cut is due to the expanded volume of material during the cutting
process. Fig 10 shows the variation of radial force with depth of cut. At lower values of depth of cut (up to 0.2mm)
the radial force is dominating whereas the main cutting force and feed force exceeds the radial force when the depth
of cut is 0.5 mm or more. At lower depth of cut the cutting is mainly done by rounded tool edge, and at higher depth
of cut, machining is fulfilled outside the rounded edge of the tool which produces resisting forces in the downward
and feed direction.
 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267 11265

Fig 11 shows the comparison of Vickers hardness number of the TiAlN,TiN and AlCrN coatings. The Vickers
hardness number of TiAlN coating is 3400 which is very higher than that of substrate. AlCrN coating has a hardness
value of 3200 whereas TiN coating has hardness value of 2500.
Main cutting force in N 50 Variation of main cutting force with depth of cut
40

30
TiN
20
AlCrN
10 TiAlN

0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Depth of cut in mm

Fig 8 Variation of Main Cutting force with depth of cut

Constant Cutting speed:17.6m/min Constant feed :0.109 mm/rev

40 Variation of feed force with depth of cut

Feed force in N

30

20 TiN

10 AlCrN
TiAlN
0
0 0.5 1 1.5
Depth of cut in mm

Fig 9 Variation of Feed force with depth of cut

Constant Cutting speed:17.6m/min Constant feed :0.109 mm/rev
12
Variation of Radial force with depth of cut
10
Radial force in N

8
TiN
6
AlCrN
4 TiAlN
2

0
0 0.2 0.4
Depth of0.6 0.8
cut in mm 1 1.2

Fig 10 Variation of radial force with depth of cut

Constant Cutting speed:17.6 m/min Constant feed:0.109 mm/rev
11266 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267

Vickers hardness number

4000
Hardness no Hv
3000
2000
1000
0
TiN TiAlN AlCrN

Fig 11 Vickers Hardness number of three coatings

4. Conclusion

Three PVD Coated cutting tools (TiN,AlCrN and TiAlN) are developed and employed in turning of C45 steel.
TiAlN coated cutting tool experienced lower main cutting force compared to the other two coated tools, when
cutting speed is varied. AlCrN coated cutting tool experienced lower radial force compared to other two tools, when
cutting speed is varied. Feed rate of 0.1 mm rev produced lower cutting forces for all the three coated tools. Cutting
forces almost increased linearly with depth of cut. TiAlN coated tool with its lubricating ability can suppress the
adhesion of the work piece material on tool rake and flank face, which leads to generation of lower cutting forces.
TiAlN coated tool has the maximum Vickers hardness number when compared to other two tools. TiAlN coated tool
with its lubricating ability, high hardness and anti-adhesion properties can be reliably employed in industries to
improve tool life

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to express their gratitude to the management of VIT University, Chennai for the
encouragement and support in carrying out this work.

References

[1] W. Grzesik ,the role of coatings in controlling the cutting process when turning with coated indexable inserts, journal of materials
processing technology, 79 (1998) 133–143..
[2] Masato okada akirahosokawa , ryutarotanaka , takashiueda cutting performance of pvd-coated carbide and cbn tools in hardmilling
international journal of machine tools & manufacture 51 (2011) 127–132.
[3] Ying longn, junjiezeng, shanghuawunn, cutting performance and wear mechanism of ti–al–n/al–cr–o coated silicon nitride ceramic cutting
inserts , ceramics international40(2014)9615–9620..
[4] W.grzesik , j.rech , k.z˙ ak a, c.claudin machining performance of pearlitic–ferritic nodular cast iron with coated carbide and silicon nitride
ceramic tools international journal of machine tools & manufacture 49 (2009) 125–133.
[5] Konstantinos-dionysios bouzakis , nikolaos michailidis , georgios skordaris , emmanouil bouzakis , dirk biermann , rachid m’saoubi cutting
with coated tools: coating technologies, characterization methods and performance optimization cirp annals - manufacturing technology 61
(2012) 703–723.
[6] F. Klocke , t. Krieg, coated tools for metal cutting - features and applications, annals of rhe clrp vol. 48/2/1999, 515-525.
[7] Yukihiro sakamoto, matsufumi takaya preparation of diamond-coated tools and their cutting performance journal of materials processing
technology 127 (2002) 151–154.
[8] W. Kalss , a. Reiter, v. Derflinger, c. Gey, j.l. endrino, modern coatings in high performance cutting applications, international journal of
refractory metals & hard materials 24 (2006) 399–404.
[9] D. Grimanelis , s. Yang , bohmec, e. Roma´, a. Alberdid, d.g. teer, j.m. albella, carbon based coatings for high temperature cutting tool
applications diamond and related materials 11 (2002) 176–184.
[10] Akira hosokawa, koji shimamura, takashi ueda, cutting characteristics of pvd-coated tools deposited by unbalanced magnetron sputtering
method, cirp annals - manufacturing technology 61 (2012) 95–98.
 Kolla Meheresh Gupta et al./ Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (2018) 11260–11267 11267

[11] D. Grimanelis , s. Yang , bohmec, e. Roma´, a. Alberdid, d.g. teer, j.m. albella, carbon based coatings for high temperature cutting tool
applications diamond and related materials 11 (2002) 176–184.
[12] Mark fitzsimmons, development of w c -c o coatings, phd thesis boston university,1999.
[13] V. Fox, a. Jones, n.m. renevier , d.g. teer, hard lubricating coatings for cutting and forming tools and mechanical components, surface
and coatings technology 125 (2000) 347–353
[14] Recep yigit , erdal celik, fehim findik, sakip koksal, effect of cutting speed on the performance of coated and uncoated cutting tools in
turning nodular cast iron, journal of materials processing technology 204 (2008) 80–88..
[15] H.z. li , h. Zeng, x.q. chen an experimental study of tool wear and cutting force variation in the end milling of inconel 718 with coated
carbide inserts journal of materials processing technology 180 (2006) 296–304.
[16] Wen-chou chen , chung-chen tsao, cutting performance of different coated twist drills journal of materials processing technology 88 (1999)
203–207.
[17] Ying longn, junjiezeng,shanghuawu cutting performance and wear mechanism of ti–al–n/al–cr–o coated silicon nitride ceramic cutting
inserts ceramics international40(2014)9615–9620.
[18] Y.g. jeong , m.c. kang , j.s. kim , k.h. kim , w.g. kim , i.d. park , y.h. jun mechanical behavior and cutting performance of nano-multi-layer
tixal1_xn coated tools for high-speed machining of aisi d2 die steel, current applied physics, 9 (2009) s272–s275.
[19] R. Suresh , s. Basavarajappa , g.l. samuel some studies on hard turning of aisi 4340 steel using multilayer coated carbide tool measurement
45 (2012) 1872–1884.
[20] Abhijeet s. More, wenping jiang ,1, w.d. brown, ajay p. Malshe , tool wear and machining performance of cbn–tin coated carbide inserts
and pcbn compact inserts in turning aisi 4340 hardened steel journal of materials processing technology 180 (2006) 253–26.
[21] Mingjiang daiu, kesong zhou, zhenghai yuan, qian ding, zhiqiang fu the cutting performance of diamond and dlc-coated cutting tools
diamond and related materials 9 2000. 1753-1757.
[22] Sudhansu ranjan das and amaresh kumar surface roughness analysis of hardened steel using tin coated ceramic inserts int. J. Machining and
machinability of materials, vol. 17, no. 1, 2015.
[23] E.o.ezugwu,c.i.okeke, tool life and wear mechanisms of tin coated tools in an intermittent cutting operation,journal of material processing
technology,116,2001.10-15.