White layer formation and hardening effects in hard turning of H13 tool steel with CrTiAlN and CrTiAlN/MoST-coated carbide tools

White layers are hard, brittle and normally associated with a tensile stress and hence the ability to reduce the fatigue life of machined components. Several authors have reported the formation of white layers on components after turning processes by using CBN/PCBN and ceramic cutting tools. However, there are hardly any studies that have reported on white layer formation for new and low-cost-coated carbides. The study in this paper was conducted to determine the effect of CrTiAlN and CrTiAlN+ MoST and high cutting speeds on white layer formation in machining tool steel. H13 tool steel (57 HRC) was examined after turning at a conventional and high cutting speed. Coated tools resulted in lower workpiece and tool temperatures. Hence coated tools resulted in reduced and also more homogeneous hardening effects compared to the uncoated tool. In addition, the higher cutting speed produced negligible white layers. Thus, the paper elucidates on the benefits of coatings on surface hardening in conventional and high speed machining.