Analysis of the hard turning of AISI H13 steel with ceramic tools based on tool geometry: surface roughness, tool wear and their relation

Nowadays, hard turning is one of the most important processes for both industry and researchers to substitute traditional grinding operations. The present study shows an experimental investigation on the turning of AISI H13 steel with ceramic tools: conventional and wiper. Wiper geometry has as main objective obtained a smoother surface after the cutting process. Turning tests were performed to evaluate the evolution of the surface roughness and tool wear; and the influence of the flank wear on the surface roughness. A slightly better performance of wiper tools was observed for the flank wear, while no clear trend was observed when analysing the surface roughness. In most of the cases, wiper tools provided better surface roughness than conventional tools but not for all the cases. In addition, the difference in the obtained results varied widely depending on the machining length. Finally, no clear relation was found between the flank wear and the surface roughness.