Synergistically Toughening Effect of SiC Whiskers and Nanoparticles in Al_2O_3-based Composite Ceramic Cutting Tool Material

In recent decades, many additives with different characteristics have been applied to strengthen and toughen Al2O3-based ceramic cutting tool materials. Among them, SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles showed excellent performance in improving the material properties. While no attempts have been made to add SiC whiskers and SiC nanoparticles together into the ceramic matrix and the synergistically toughening effects of them have not been studied. An Al2O3-SiCw-SiC np advanced ceramic cutting tool material is fabricated by adding both one-dimensional SiC whiskers and zero-dimensional SiC nanoparticles into the Al2O3 matrix with an effective dispersing and mixing process. The composites with 25 vol% SiC whiskers and 25 vol% SiC nanoparticles alone are also investegated for comparison purposes. Results show that the Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp composite with both 20 vo1% SiC whiskers and 5 vol% SiC nanoparticles additives have much improved mechanical properties. The flexural strength of Al2O3-SiCw-SiCnp is 730＋ 95 MPa and fracture toughness is 5.6 ± 0.6 MPa.m1/2. The toughening and strengthening mechanisms of SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are studied when they are added either individually or in combination. It is indicated that when SiC whiskers and nanoparticles are added together, the grains are further refined and homogenized, so that the microstructure and fracture mode ratio is modified. The SiC nanoparticles are found helpful to enhance the toughening effects of the SiC whiskers. The proposed research helps to enrich the types of ceramic cutting tool and is benefit to expand the application range of ceramic cutting tool.

Cutting of nonmetallic materials using Nd:YAG laser beam

This study deals with Nd：YAG laser cutting nonmetallic materials, which is one of the most important and popular industrial applications of laser. The main theme is to evaluate the effects of Nd：YAG laser beam power besides work piece scanning speed. For approximate cutting depth, a theoretical study is conducted in terms of material property and cutting speed. Results show a nonlinear relation between the cutting depth and input energy. There is no significant effect of speed on cutting depth with the speed being larger than 30 mm/s. An extra energy is utilized in the deep cutting. It is inferred that as the laser power increases, cutting depth increases. The experimental outcomes are in good agreement with theoretical results. This analysis will provide a guideline for laser-based industry to select a suitable laser for cutting, scribing, trimming, engraving, and marking nonmetallic materials.

Optimization of Abrasive Water Jet Cutting of Ductile Materials

Full factorial design of experiments was developed in order to investigate the effects of jet pressure, abrasive mixing rate, cutting feed, and plate thickness upon three response variables, surface finish of cutting wear zone, percentage proportion of striation free area, and maximum width of cut. The set of sixteen experiments was performed on each of the following two ductile materials： AISI 4340 （high strength low alloy steel, hardened to 49HRc） and Aluminum 2219. Analysis of Variance （ANOVA） was performed on experimental data in order to determine the significance of effects of different parameters on the performance measures. It was found that cutting feed and thickness were highly influential parameters, while abrasive mixing rate is influential upon surface roughness only. Strong interaction was found between jet pressure and workpiece material. Multi-criteria numerical optimization was performed in order to simultaneously maximize/minimize different combinations of performance measures.

In-situ Fabricated TiB_2 Particle-whisker Synergistically Toughened Ti(C,N)-based Ceramic Cutting Tool Material

The mechanical properties of ceramic cutting tool materials can be modified by introducing proper content of nanoparticles or whiskers.However,the process of adding whiskers or nanoparticles has the disadvantages of high cost and health hazard as well as the agglomeration;although a new in-situ two-step sintering process can solve the above problems to some extent,yet the problems of low conversion ratio of the raw materials and the abnormal grain growth exist in this process.In this paper,an in-situ one-step synthesis technology is proposed,which means the growth of whiskers or nanoparticles and the sintering of the compact can be accomplished by one time in furnace.A kind of Ti（C,N）-based ceramic cutting tool material synergistically toughened by TiB_2 particles and whiskers is fabricated with this new process.The phase compositions,relationships between microstructure and mechanical properties as well as the toughening mechanisms are analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction（XRD）and scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The composite which is sintered under a pressure of 32 MPa at a temperature of 1700℃in vacuum holding for 60 min can get the optimal mechanical properties.Its flexural strength,fracture toughness and Vickers hardness are 540 MPa,7.81 MPa·m（1/2）and 20.42 GPa,respectively.The composite has relatively high density,and the in-situ synthesized TiB_2 whiskers have good surface integrity,which is beneficial for the improvement of the fracture toughness.It is concluded that the main toughening mechanisms of the present composite are whiskers pulling-out and crack deflection induced by whiskers,crack bridging by whiskers/particles and multi-scale particles synergistically toughening.This study proposes an in-situ one-step synthesis technology which can be well used for fabricating particles and whiskers synergistically toughened ceramic tool materials.

INFLUENCE OF COLD NITROGEN GAS AND OIL MIST IN MACHINING NICKEL-BASE K424 ALLOY WITH CERAMIC CUTTING TOOLS

The role of cold nitrogen gas and oil mist on tool wear and surface roughness is investigated in turning the K424 nickel-base super alloy with Sialon and SiC whisker-reinforced alumina ceramic tools. A new cooling system is developed and used to lower the temperature of the compressed nitrogen gas. Experiments are performed in three different cooling/lubrication modes, i.e. the dry cutting, the cold nitrogen gas （CNG）, and the cold nitrogen gas and oil mist （CNGOM）. Experimental results show that the depth-of-cut notching severely limits the tool life in all the cooling/lubrication modes. Compared with the dry cutting, the use of CNG and CNGOMcan yield higher wear rate of depth-of-cut notching and worse surface finish.

Multi-Sensor Intelligent System for On-Line and Real-Time Moneitoring Tool Cutting State in FMS

The principle and the constitution of an intelligent system for on-line and real-time montitoring tool cutting state were discussed and a synthetic sensors schedule combined a new type fluid acoustic emission sensor (AE) with motor current sensor was presented. The parallel communication between control system of machine tools, the monitoring intelligent system,and several decision-making systems for identifying tool cutting state was established It can auto - matically select the sensor way ,monitoring mode and identifying method in machining process- ing so as to build a successful and effective intelligent system for on -line and real-time moni- toring cutting tool states in FMS.

METHOD FOR SUPPRESSING CUTTING CHATTER IN NUMERICAL CONTROL MACHINE TOOLS

A new method for suppressing cutting chatter is studied by adjusting servo parameters of the numerical control （NC） machine tool and controlling the limited cutting width. A model of the cutting system of the NC machine tool is established. It includes the mechanical system, the servo system and the cutting chatter system. Interactions between every two systems are shown in the model. The cutting system stability is simulated and relation curves between the limited cutting width and servo system parameters are described in the experiment. Simulation and experimental results show that there is a mapping relation between the limited cutting width and servo parameters of the NC machine tool, and the method is applicable and credible to suppress chatter.

DIFFUSION COUPLE BETWEEN HIGHSTRENGTH WEAR-RESISTING ALUMINUM BRONZE AND MACHINING TOOLS MATERIALS

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Relationship Between Thermal Shock Behavior and Cutting Performance of a Functionally Gradient Ceramic Tool

Based on the deep understanding of the requirements of cutting conditions on ceramic tools, a design model for functionally gradient ceramic tool materials with symmetrical composition distribution was presented in this paper, according to which an Al 2O 3-TiC functionally gradient ceramic tool material FG-1 was synthesized by powder-laminating and uniaxially hot-pressing technique. The thermal shock resistance of the Al 2O 3-TiC functionally gradient ceramics FG-1 was evaluated by water quenching and subsequent three-point bending tests of flexural strength diminution. Comparisons were made with results from parallel experiments conducted using a homogeneous Al 2O 3-TiC ceramics. Functionally gradient ceramics exhibited higher retained strength under all thermal shock temperature differences compared to homogeneous ceramics, indicating the higher thermal shock resistance. The experimental results were supported by the calculation of transient thermal stress field. The cutting performance of the Al 2O 3-TiC functionally gradient ceramic tool FG-1 was also investigated in rough turning the cylindrical surface of exhaust valve of diesel engine in comparison with that of a common Al 2O 3-TiC ceramic tool LT55. The results indicated that the tool life of FG-1 increased by 50 percent over that of LT55. Tool life of LT55 was mainly controlled by thermal shock cracking which was accompanied by mechanical shock. While tool life of FG-1 was mainly controlled by mechanical fatigue crack extension rather than thermal shock cracking, revealing the less thermal shock susceptibility of functionally gradient ceramics than that of common ceramics.

Comparison of TiAlN, AlCrN, and AlCrN/TiAlN coatings for cutting-tool applications

Monolayer and bilayer coatings of TiAlN, AlCrN, and AlCrN/TiAlN were deposited onto tungsten carbide inserts using the plasma enhanced physical vapor deposition process. The microstructures of the coatings were characterized using scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and atomic force microscopy （AFM）. The SEM micrographs revealed that the AlrN and AlCrN/TiAlN coatings were uniform and highly dense and contained only a limited number of microvoids. The TiAIN coating was non-uniform and highly porous and contained more micro droplets. The hardness and scratch resistance of the specimens were measured using a nanoindentation tester and scratch tester, respectively. Different phases formed in the coatings were analyzed by X-ray diffraction （XRD）. The AlCrN/TiAlN coating exhibited a higher hardness （32.75 GPa）, a higher Young＇s modulus （561.97 GPa）, and superior scratch resistance （LcN = 46 N） compared to conventional coatings such as TiAlN, A1CrN, and TiN.

Smart Cutting Tools and Smart Machining: Development Approaches, and Their Implementation and Application Perspectives

Smart machining has tremendous potential and is becoming one of new generation high value precision manufacturing technologies in line with the advance of Industry 4.0 concepts. This paper presents some innovative design concepts and, in particular, the development of four types of smart cutting tools, including a force-based smart cutting tool, a temperature-based internally-cooled cutting tool, a fast tool servo （FTS） and smart collets for ultra- precision and micro manufacturing purposes. Implemen- tation and application perspectives of these smart cutting tools are explored and discussed particularly for smart machining against a number of industrial application requirements. They are contamination-free machining, machining of tool-wear-prone Si-based infra-red devices and medical applications, high speed micro milling and micro drilling, etc. Furthermore, implementation tech- niques are presented focusing on： （a） plug-and-produce design principle and the associated smart control algo- rithms, （b） piezoelectric film and surface acoustic wave transducers to measure cutting forces in process, （c） critical cutting temperature control in real-time machining, （d） in- process calibration through machining trials, （e） FE-based design and analysis of smart cutting tools, and （f） applica- tion exemplars on adaptive smart machining.

Tool Wear and Its Effect on Surface Roughness in Diamond Cutting of Glass Soda-lime

For the technology of diamond cutting of optical glass, the high tool wear rate is a main reason for hindering the practical application of this technology. Many researches on diamond tool wear in glass cutting rest on wear phenomenon describing simply without analyzing the genesis of wear phenomenon and interpreting the formation process of tool wear in mechanics. For in depth understanding of the tool wear and its effect on surface roughness in diamond cutting of glass, experiments of diamond turning with cutting distance increasing gradually are carried out on soda-lime glass. The wear morphology of rake face and flank face, the corresponding surface features of workpiece and the surface roughness, and the material compositions of flank wear area are detected. Experimental results indicate that the flank wear is predominant in diamond cutting glass and the flank wear land is characterized by micro-grooves, some smooth crater on the rake face is also seen. The surface roughness begins to increase rapidly, when the cutting mode changes from ductile to brittle for the aggravation of tool wear with the cutting distance over 150 m. The main mechanisms of inducing tool wear in diamond cutting of glass are diffusion, mechanical friction, thermo-chemical action and abrasive wear. The proposed research makes analysis and research from wear mechanism on the tool wear and its effect on surface roughness in diamond cutting of glass, and provides theoretical basis for minimizing the tool wear in diamond cutting brittle materials, such as optical glass.

Effects of Cutting Parameters on Tool Insert Wear in End Milling of Titanium Alloy Ti6A14V

Titanium alloy is a kind of typical hard-to-cut material due to its low thermal conductivity and high strength at elevated temperatures, this contributes to the fast tool wear in the milling of titanium alloys. The influence of cutting conditions on tool wear has been focused on the turning process, and their influence on tool wear in milling process as well as the influence of tool wear on cutting force coefficients has not been investigated comprehensively. To fully understand the tool wear behavior in milling process with inserts, the influence of cutting parameters on tool wear in the milling of titanium alloys Ti6A14V by using indexable cutters is investigated. The tool wear rate and trends under different feed per tooth, cutting speed, axial depth of cut and radial depth of cut are analyzed. The results show that the feed rate per tooth and the radial depth of cut have a large influence on tool wear in milling Ti6A14V with coated insert. To reduce tool wear, cutting parameters for coated inserts under experimental cutting conditions are set as： feed rate per tooth less than 0.07 mm, radial depth of cut less than 1.0 mm, and cutting speed sets between 60 and 150 m/min. Investigation on the relationship between tool wear and cutting force coefficients shows that tangential edge constant increases with tool wear and cutter edge chipping can lead to a great variety of tangential cutting force coefficient. The proposed research provides the basic data for evaluating the machinability of milling Ti6A14V alloy with coated inserts, and the recommend cutting parameters can be immediately applied in practical production.

Dynamic Reliability Sensitivity of Cemented Carbide Cutting Tool

Influence of geometric and cutting parameters of cemented carbide cutting tool on reliability of cutting tool has become more and more mature, yet influence of its physical and material parameters on reliability is still blank. In view of this, cutting test and fatigue crack growth test of YT05 cemented carbide cutting tool are conducted to measure such data as the original crack size, growth size, times of impact loading, number and time of cutting tool in failure, and stress distribution of cutting tool is also obtained by simulating cutting process of tools. Mathematical models on dynamic reliability and dynamic reliability sensitivity of cutting tool are derived respectively by taking machining time and times of impact loading into account, thus change rules of dynamic reliability sensitivity to physical and material parameters can be obtained. Theoretical and experimental results show that sensitive degree on each parameter of tools increases gradually with the increase of machining time and times of impact loading, especially for parameters such as fracture toughness, shape parameter, and cutting stress. This proposed model solves such problems as how to determine the most sensitive parameter and influence degree of physical parameters and material parameters to reliability, which is sensitivity, and can provide theoretical foundation for improving reliability of cutting tool system.

Approach for Polishing Diamond Coated Complicated Cutting Tool: Abrasive Flow Machining(AFM)

Lower surface roughness and sharper cutting edge are beneficial for improving the machining quality of the cut?ting tool, while coatings often deteriorate them. Focusing on the diamond coated WC?Co milling cutter, the abrasive flow machining(AFM) is selected for reducing the surface roughness and sharpening the cutting edge. Comparative cutting tests are conducted on di erent types of coated cutters before and after AFM, as well as uncoated WC?Co one, demonstrating that the boron?doped microcrystalline and undoped fine?grained composite diamond coated cutter after the AFM(AFM?BDM?UFGCD) is a good choice for the finish milling of the 6063 Al alloy in the present case, because it shows favorable machining quality close to the uncoated one, but much prolonged tool lifetime. Besides, compared with the micro?sized diamond films, it is much more convenient and e cient to finish the BDM?UFGCD coated cutter covered by nano?sized diamond grains, and resharpen its cutting edge by the AFM, owing to the lower initial surface roughness and hardness. Moreover, the boron incorporation and micro?sized grains in the underly?ing layer can enhance the film?substrate adhesion, avoid the rapid film removal in the machining process, and thus maximize the tool life(1040 m, four times more than the uncoated one). In general, the AFM is firstly proposed and discussed for post?processing the diamond coated complicated cutting tools, which is proved to be feasible for improving the cutting performance

Hardening Effect on Machined Surface for Precise Hard Cutting Process with Consideration of Tool Wear

During hard cutting process there is severe thermodynamic coupling effect between cutting tool and workpiece, which causes quenching effect on finished surfaces under certain conditions. However, material phase transformation mechanism of heat treatment in cutting process is different from the one in traditional process, which leads to changes of the formation mechanism of damaged layer on machined workpiece surface. This paper researches on the generation mechanism of damaged layer on machined surface in the process of PCBN tool hard cutting hardened steel Cr12MoV. Rules of temperature change on machined surface and subsurface are got by means of finite element simulation. In phase transformation temperature experiments rapid transformation instrument is employed, and the effect of quenching under cutting conditions on generation of damaged layer is revealed. Based on that, the phase transformation points of temperature under cutting conditions are determined. By experiment, the effects of cutting speed and tool wear on white layer thickness in damaged layer are revealed. The temperature distribution law of third deformation zone is got by establishing the numerical prediction model, and thickness of white layer in damaged layer is predicted, taking the tool wear effect into consideration. The experimental results show that the model prediction is accurate, and the establishment of prediction model provides a reference for wise selection of parameters in precise hard cutting process. For the machining process with high demanding on surface integrity, the generation of damaged layer on machined surface can be controlled precisely by using the prediction model.

Cutting Performance and Mechanism of RE Carbide Tools

The research of rare earth elements (RE), added into cemented carbide tools, is one of the recent developments of new types of tool materials in China. Systematic experiments about RE carbides YG8R. (K30), YT14R (P20) and, YW1R (M10) were made to study on the cutting performance in comparison with non-RE carbides YG8, YT14 and YW1. The cutting experiments were as follows: tool life, cutting force, tool-chip friction coefficient and interrupted machining. The action of RE on the carbide materials and the cutting mechanism of the RE carbide tools in the cutting process were verified with the aid of SEM and energy spectrum analysis. Experimental results show that the RE carbide tools have a good overall performance.

Cutting Temperature and Tool Wear of Hard Turning Hardened Bearing Steel

A study was undertaken to investigate the performan ce of PCBN tool in the finish turning GCr15 bearing steel with different hardness between 30～64 HRC. The natural thermocouple was used to measure the cutting tem p erature, tool life and cutting temperature were investigated and compared. The m aterial can be heated by this instrument which using low voltage and high elec trical current, while PCBN can’t be heated by electrifying directly, so the ke ntanium layer coating over the PCBN is heated, so the PCBN is heated and its th ermoelectric property is got by this method. [TPP129,+60mm88mm,Y,PZ#] Fig.1 Effect of cutting depth and workpiec hardness on. the cutting temperatureThe objective was to determine the influence of the workpiece hardness on change s in cutting temperature and tool wear characterize. It can be found from Fig.1 that the cutting temperature show an increasing tendency with the improvement of workpiece hardness within the cutting speed scope when the workpiece hardness i s under HRC50. And on the other hand, it is found that the cutting temperature s how the downtrend with the improvement of workpiece hardness when the workpiece hardness is over HRC50. According to experimental results, the critical hard ness when turning hardened GCr15 bearing steel with PCBN tool is about HRC50. Th e wear causes of PCBN tool have been found out through taking photos on the micr o-shape of PCBN poly-laminate initial surface as well as face and flank of wea r tool and analysis on chemical elements. It is discovered that the PCBN tools a re not suitable for cutting the workpiece at nearly critical hardness, because n ear the critical hardness, PCBN wear at the highest speed. For researching the w ear rule of PCBN tool, the tool wear experiments have been carried on by using b earing steel GCr15 at hardness HRC40 and HRC60 with changing cutting speed. The indexes of tool life equations is gained under two kinds of conditions w hich are bigger than 0.6, so the effects of cutting speed on the PCBN tool are m uch less than that of carbide tool and ceramic tool.

MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-PHASE NANOCOMPOSITE CERAMIC TOOLS AND CUTTING PERFORMANCE

An advanced ceramic cutting tool material Al2O3/TiC/TiN （LTN） is developed by incorporation and dispersion of micro-scale TiC particle and nano-scale TiN particle in alumina matrix. With the optimal dispersing and fabricating technology, this multi-scale and multi-phase nanocomposite ceramic tool material can get both higher flexural strength and fracture toughness than that of A1203/TiC （LZ） ceramic tool material without nano-scale TiN particle, especially the fracture toughness can reach to 7.8 MPa . m^0.5. The nano-scale TiN can lead to the grain fining effect and promote the sintering process to get a higher density. The coexisting transgranular and intergranular fracture mode induced by micro-scale TiC and nano-scale TiN, and the homogeneous and densified microstructure can result in a remarkable strengthening and toughening effect. The cutting performance and wear mechanisms of the advanced multi-scale and multi-phase nanocomposite ceramic cutting tool are researched.