Cutting tool materials

L 5.0
Cutting tool requirements
Major Classes of tool materials
Hot Hardness
Cold Pressing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZVliJlswPc
• Cold Pressing and sintering:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7U4HWjYcqo
• Hot isostatic pressing
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsnzgsEXT_A
• High Pressure High Temperature Sintering
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO6shcIL2sg
 Cold Pressing & sintering
• A blend of powders with binder is fed into a closed die,
where upper and lower punches compact the powder
using enough pressure to bind the powder particles
together.
• The formed component is ejected from the die and
preheated at low temperature to burn off any residual
lubricant and additives
• In the second stage the temperature is raised to the
sintering temperature in a protective environment and
maintained for a specific duration necessary for the
desired amount of bonding to occur. Here loose atoms
metallurgically bond and further densifies
• The sintering temperature is usually between 70% and
90% of the melting point of the powder metal.
• Temperature is lowered as the part is allowed to cool
during the third stage. Keeping the work in the controlled
furnace atmosphere during cool down is critical in
preventing unwanted chemical reactions between the
part and the environment.
• Moderate compaction pressure upto 200MPa
 Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) sintering
• Cemented carbides are composed of a metal matrix composite used
in the mechanical production where carbide particles act as the
aggregate and a metallic binder (usually cobalt) serves as the matrix.
• The process of combining the carbide particles with the binder is
referred to as sintering or Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP).
• The HIP process subjects a component to both elevated
temperature and isostatic gas pressure in a high pressure
containment vessel.
• The heated pressurizing gas most widely used is argon. An inert gas
is used so that the material does not chemically react.
• Pressure is applied to the material from all directions (hence the
term "isostatic") eliminating porosity
• Compaction pressure = 200MPa
• The densification of powdered metal parts can be 100%
• Improved mechanical properties: high resistance to fatigue, wear,
impact, tempersture.
• Improves ductility and gives near net shape with high tolerance
 High Pressure High Temperature Sintering

Using an extreme high pressure

and high temperature
apparatus, the CBN (diamond)
powder, along with its binder
material, is sintered at
conditions of 5GPa or more, at
1,400 to 1,500℃.
High Carbon Steel tools
• Its composition is C = 0.8 to 1.3%, Si = 0.1 to 0.4% and Mn = 0.1 to
0.4%.
• It is used for machining soft metals like free cutting steels and brass
and used as chisels etc.
• These tool loose hardness above 250°C.
• Hardness of tool is about Rc = 65.
• Used at cutting speed of 5m/min.
 High speed steel (H.S.S)- T type & M type

General use of HSS is 18-4-1.

18- Tungsten is used to increase hot hardness and stability.
4 – Chromium is used to increase strength.
1- Vanadium is used to maintain keenness of cutting edge.
In addition to these 2.5% to 10% cobalt is used to increase red hot
hardness.
It looses hardness above 650°C. And cutting speed is 30-50 m/min

Some times tungsten is completely replaced by Molybdenum.

•Molybdenum based H.S.S is cheaper than Tungsten based
H.S.S and also slightly greater toughness but less wear
resistance.
Stellite

• Stellite is a non ferrous alloy with

Cobalt – 40 to 50%,
Chromium – 30 to 33%,
Tungsten – 10 to 20%,
Carbon – 1 to 3%
• This material has intermediate properties between HSS and cemented
carbide.
• Its cutting speed is about 50 – 80 m/min.
• Its highest working temperature is about 900 degree centigrade.
Cemented Carbide
• Henri Moissan discovered tungsten carbide in 1893 during a search
for method of making artificial diamonds
• While charging sugar and tungsten oxide, he melted tungsten sub-
carbide in an arc furnace. The carbonized sugar reduced the oxide and
carburized the tungsten
• Moissan recorded that the tungsten carbide was extremely hard,
approaching the hardness of diamond and exceeding that of sapphire.
• Commercial tungsten carbide with 6% cobalt binder was first
produced and marketed in Germany in 1926. Production of the same
carbide began in the U.S. in 1928 and in Canada in 1930.
• These carbides exhibited superior performance in the machining of
cast iron, nonferrous, and non-metallic materials, but were
disappointed when used for the machining of steel.
Cemented Carbide for cutting steel
• The original patents were modified by replacement of part or all of
the tungsten carbide with other carbides, especially titanium carbide
and/or tantalum carbide.
• This led to the development of the modern multi-carbide cutting tool
materials permitting the high speed machining of steel.
Preparation of cemented carbide
• Here, 94 parts by weight of tungsten and six parts by weight of carbon
are blended together in a rotating mixer or ball mill in order to insure
optimum dispersion of the carbon in the tungsten
• In order to provide the necessary strength, a binding agent, usually
cobalt is added to the tungsten in powder form and these two are ball
milled together for a period of several days, to form a very intimate
mixture
• Then they are compacted in a set of dies either at room temperature
or hot pressing or isostatic pressing
• Then it is sintered in a furnace
Cemented Carbide
It is made by powder metallurgy technique. In this material, cobalt acts
as binding material. These material can be divided into three types.
• Straight tungsten carbide with cobalt as a binder.
• Tungsten carbide with cobalt as a binder and having large percentages
of carbides of titanium, tantalum, niobium and columbium etc.
• Titanium carbide with nickel or molybdenum as the binding material.
Its highest speed up to which it can work is about 60-200 m/min and its
working temperature limit is up to 1000-1200 degree centigrade.

• Uncoated carbide inserts are ideal for applications

involving non-ferrous materials, such as aluminum, brass
and bronze (It doesn’t get hot)
 Coated Carbides: PVD and CVD Coatings:
• CVD coatings are thick (typically 9 – 20 microns) and highly wear
resistant, making them especially useful for steel and cast iron
machining as well as widely used in turning operations.
• Unfortunately, however, such thick coatings can compromise edge
toughness. PVD coatings are thin (typically 2 – 3 microns) yet tougher
and typically smoother than CVD coatings. Consequently, they are
useful for machining materials, such as superalloys, titanium alloys
and difficult-to-machine stainless steels, that typically notch or chip
cutting edges.
• PVD-coated inserts are recommended when turning high-
temperature alloys; however, if the alloy is on the softer side and can
be machined at higher speeds, a CVD coating is preferred.
 CVD Coated Inserts – hard coatings
TiN TiC TiCN Diamond
Cutting speed Lower Medium High
BuE resistance Excellent
Type of work materials Gummy materials Abrasive materials Non-ferrous materials,
graphite and MMC
Wear Resistance Good – low coefficient Good Excellent
of friction
Hardness High
Chemical stability Highest High
(oxidation and diffusion
wear)
Bonding with substrate Poor - high residual Has better adhesion
tension at the interface and higher affinity to
carbide substrate. The
brittle phase at the
interface diffuses into
the substrate
Coeff of friction Low
 PVD Coated Inserts
TiN Ti TiCN TiAlN or AlTiN
C

Cutting speed

BuE resistance Excellent

Type of work materials Abrasive materials High temperature alloys and stainless steels

Wear Resistance TiAlN has slightly higher wear resistance than AlTiN

Thermal resistance AlTiN is slightly better than TiAlN

Hardness Has a coating thickness = 2
to 4 microns and 2100VHN
Harder than TiN (33% Not as hard as TiCN at room temperature but can hold its hardness at high
more – 3000 VHN) temperature more than TiCN due to a layer of aluminum oxide that forms
Coating thickness = 2 to between the tool and the cutting chip. This layer transfers heat away from the
4 microns tool and into the part or chip. AlTiN is softer than TiAlN
Coating thickness = 1-3microns for both TiAlN and AlTiN
VHN of TiAlN = 3500 and AlTiN = 3300

Best suited for Temperature upto 600 degC End mills and HSS tools Drills and endmills (Operating temp for TiAlN = 800degC and AlTiN = 900degC)
(Upto 400 degC) – so AlTiN is better over TiAlN when machining over 50HRC because of its thermal
coolant must (Al and stability
non ferrous)
High Surface lubricity (Low coefficient of High (Low Mu = 0.4) Addition of C gives
friction – low heat) lubricity

Oxidation temperature Oxidizes at high temperature and so has high oxidation

Anti-seizure (This property keeps material

from depositing onto the tool by preventing
less chemical reactivity between the tool
and the cutting material. BUE is reduced)
TiCN Coating
• Titanium Carbonitride (TiCN) is the solidification of TiN
and TiC
• The inclusion of carbon atoms in the TiN lattice results
in a substantial increase of the film hardness and in a
lower friction coefficient.
TiAlN Vs AlTiN
• For the most part, TiAlN tends to have over 50 per cent titanium
content, and in some cases up to 55 per cent, with 40 per cent
aluminum and 5 per cent nitrogen. It is violet grey in color
• AlTiN has more aluminum than titanium, with aluminum making up
around 60 to 65 per cent, titanium approximately 30 per cent, and
nitrogen still making up 5 per cent. It typically comes in a blue-violet,
purple colour.
Recommendations
• HSS or cobalt tool will most likely have a standard TiN coating
• TiCN may be used for machining aluminum or non-ferrous material
irrespective of the substrate
• Standard TiAlN for general-purpose carbide tools
• AlTiN for high performance cutting performance on specific
workpiece
• TiAlN is typically the best and suited for specific high end
applications
Ceramics

• This tool is combination of silicon carbide and aluminum oxide. It is also made by
powder metallurgy.

• It cannot work at low speed.

• This tool material has very high abrasion resistance and hard compare to cemented
carbide tool.
• It is particularly used for machining plastics, cast iron and high tensile steel with
higher cutting speed compare to cemented carbide tool.
• Its highest working temperature is about 1400 degree centigrade. Its cutting speed is
about 300 – 600 m/min.
• The drawback to ceramics as tool materials is that they lack toughness and
resistance to both mechanical and thermal shock;
Cermets
• Cermets is the combination of ceramics and metals and produced by
Powder Metallurgy process. Usual combination 90% ceramic, 10%
metals.
• When they combine ceramics will give high refractoriness and metals
will give high toughness and thermal shock resistance.
• For cutting tools usual combination as Al2O3 + W + Mo + boron + Ti
etc.
Diamond
• Extremely hard, low thermal expansion, high thermal conductivity and low
coefficient of friction
• Not suited for impact loads (intermittent cutting)
• Cutting tool material made of diamond can withstand speeds ranging from
1500 to 2000 m/min.
• Can withstand above 1500°C.
• Not suited for machining ferrous metals due to the diffusion of carbon atoms
from diamond to work-piece.
• It is mostly used to machining nonferrous material
• A synthetic (man made) diamond with polycrystalline structure is recently
introduced and made by powder metallurgy process.
CBN
• It is the second hardest material after diamond
• Has high hardness and high thermal conductivity
• Consists of atoms of Nitrogen and Boron and produced by power metallurgy
process.
• Used as a substitute for diamond during machining of steel as it is chemically
inert
• Used as a grinding wheel on H.S.S tools.
• Excellent surface finish is obtained.
• Its highest cutting speed is about 600 – 800 m/min.