Tool wear and chip formation during hard turning with self-propelled rotary tools

This paper presents a performance assessment of rotary tool during machining hardened steel. The investigation includes an analysis of chip morphology and modes of tool wear. The effect of tool geometry and type of cutting tool material on the tool self-propelled motion are also investigated. Several tool materials were tested for wear resistance including carbide, coated carbide, and ceramics. The self-propelled coated carbide tools showed superior wear resistance. This was demonstrated by evenly distributed flank wear with no evidence of crater wear. The characteristics of temperature generated during machining with the rotary tool are studied. It was shown that reduced tool temperature eliminates the diffusion wear and dominates the abrasion wear. Also, increasing the tool rotational speed shifted the maximum temperature at the chip-tool interface towards the cutting edge. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.