Int J Adv Manuf Technol

DOI 10.1007/s00170-015-6863-2

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Performance assessment of pCBN and bCBN tools in machining

of high-chromium white cast iron
Ling Chen & Jinming Zhou & Volodymyr Bushlya &
Oleksandr Gutnichenko & Jan-Eric Stahl

Received: 4 September 2014 / Accepted: 27 January 2015

# Springer-Verlag London 2015

Abstract This paper presents an experimental evaluation of

the performance of cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools in the
machining of high-chromium white cast iron. Two types of
CBN tool materials were evaluated in the tests, including
polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (pCBN) and binder-less
crystalline cubic boron nitride (bCBN). Performance in terms
of the levels of cutting forces, tool wear, surface roughness
and process stability was evaluated during and after cutting
tests. The work materials used in the cutting tests included two
groups with chemical compositions of two levels of carbon
silicon (lower C-Si and higher C-Si) in as-cast and hardened
states, respectively. Test results indicate that the cutting tool
materials clearly exhibited different behaviour in the machining of high-chromium white cast iron. The pCBN tools demonstrated lower tool wear rates than the bCBN tools but had
higher roughness levels on the workpiece surfaces. The cutting tools also behaved differently according to the different
levels of C-Si content and heat treatment of the work materials. In addition, the study reveals the mechanism of the interactions between CBN tools and high-chromium white cast
iron under a range of machining parameters.
Keywords CBN . Machinability . Machining . Tool wear .
White cast iron

1 Introduction

Polycrystalline boron nitride (pCBN) with cubic boron nitride

(CBN) contents up to 90 % and binding with ceramic has been
a trend of the tool materials used in the machining of this
material [24]. Compared with conventional tool materials,
such as cemented carbide and ceramics, use of pCBN tool
has substantially improved the machining performance of
the highly abrasive materials, such as high-chromium white
cast iron [2, 3]. However, tool life, surface quality and process
stability caused by severe edge chipping and fracture are still
the major issues to hamper further improvement of the machining performances and lower the production cost of the
component made of this material. A newly developed tool
material, named binder-less CBN (bCBN), might be an alternative tool material. The bCBN is a binder-less CBN grade
with a single phase of CBN. Compared with pCBN, bCBN
has greater hardness and fracture toughness as a result of its
single phase, which might have a potential to improve the
machining performance of abrasive material as highchromium white cast iron [5, 6]. The objective of the present
investigation is to experimentally evaluate the performance of
commercial pCBN and innovate binder-less CBN (bCBN)
tools in the machining of high-chromium white cast iron and
thereby the optimal tool/work material combination in the
high-performance machining of this material. Performance
in terms of the level of cutting force, tool wear, surface quality
and process stability was evaluated during and after cutting
tests. The mechanism of tool wear caused by interactions between the work material and tool material was also a focus in
the study for the analysis of optimal machining conditions and
tool design.

High-chromium white cast iron is a difficult-to-machine material due to its high hardness and abrasiveness [13].
L. Chen (*) : J. Zhou : V. Bushlya : O. Gutnichenko : J.<E. Stahl
Division of Production and Materials Engineering, Lund University,
221 00 Lund, Sweden
e-mail: ling.chen@iprod.lth.se

2 Machining high-chromium white cast iron

High-chromium white cast iron is a typical wear-resistant material and has many industrial applications [4]. High-

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

chromium white cast iron is alloyed with 1235 % Cr

(chromium) in order to achieve superior wear resistance and
corrosion resistance [5, 6]. Such materials offer good corrosion
resistance and high abrasion resistance as the result of high
concentrations of chromium in the matrix and the presence of
eutectic carbides (M7C3) [7]. Nevertheless, these materials are
also well known to be difficult to machine due to short tool life,
unstable processes and poor surface finishing. Shapovalova and
Bashkin [5] reported a pre-heating approach using gas torch to
the machining of high-chromium white cast iron, with a highspeed steel cutting tool (VK6M) at cutting speeds of 1560 m/
min and feed rates of 0.050.15 mm/rev. They claimed that
productivity was increased by a factor of three to five due to
reduce hardness of the workpiece under pre-heating temperatures of up to 300 C. More advanced heat sources were reported recently in heat-assistant machining of abrasion-resistant
materials, such as laser beam [5] and plasma [8]. Ravi et al.
[9] made an experimental study of optimal cutting parameters
for the machining of high-chromium white cast iron with a
multi-coated hard carbide tool in terms of performance, quality
and cost. Using Taguchis parameter design, they reported that
the optimal cutting speeds were in the range of 40110 m/min
with coated carbide tools. The low cutting speeds of conventional cutting tool materials, such as cemented carbide and ceramic, often result in low productivity of this material. Current
methods for the high-performance machining of these materials
generally rely on crystalline boron nitride (CBN) cutting tools,
in which much higher material removal rates and better product
quality can be achieved [3] due to the high heat hardness, fracture toughness and better chemical stability. Gunay et al. [10]
studied how to optimize the cutting conditions for the average
surface roughness (Ra) obtained in the machining of high-alloy
white cast iron (Ni-Hard) at two different hardness levels (50
HRC and 62 HRC) with CBN tools. Ren et al. [11] studied the
deformation behaviour of hard-facing material and the wear of
pCBN tools. The main mechanism of tool wear was identified
as edge chipping and flank wear in that report. Mechanical
loading and the abrasiveness of the carbide particle were the
other main causes of wear. Although the use of CBN tools
significantly increases tool life compared with the use of
cemented carbide and ceramic tool materials and results in a
lower frequency of tool change and higher rate of productivity
accordingly in the best processing conditions, the use of CBN
tools is still constrained by great variability in tool life, especially premature tool failure in rough machining and intermittent machining with these materials in industrial production.
The great variability in tool life often introduces instability
and disturbances to machining processes and leads to high production costs due to this unpredictability, according to studies
in the literature [12, 13] and interviews with machine operators
in the workshop. Nevertheless, CBN tools are by far the most
effective cutting tools in the high-performance machining of
this material.

3 Experimental materials and procedures

3.1 Materials
The material used in the investigation was high-chromium
white cast iron (Cr >25 % vol.) with two groups by carbonsilicon (C-Si) content. Group 1 contained 2.95 % C and
1.47 % Si in volume fractions. Group 2 contained 2.71 % C
and 0.8 % Si in volume fractions. Table 1 summarizes the
approximate chemical compositions of the two groups of materials. The composition represents both hypoeutectic and hypereutectic alloys. The material with lower C-Si has a typical
hypoeutectic microstructure, in which the matrix includes primary austenite dendrites with needle-like slide martensite, and
the martensite surrounds an interconnecting network of brittle,
faceted M7C3 eutectic carbides (Fig. 1a, b). The material with
higher C-Si has a hypereutectic microstructure, in which the
austenite is almost transformed into bainite in the matrix, and
the primary eutectic carbides are distributed in the centre of
the interconnection of the eutectic carbides (Fig. 1c, d).
The materials were cast into bar shapes with a diameter of
66 mm and a length of 370 mm. Two samples were prepared
for each group and two of these were heat treated by hardening, respectively. A total of four samples were prepared for the
test. In general, the microstructure of high-chromium white
cast iron consists of hard eutectic carbides (M7C3) and primary carbides (M3C) in a ferrous matrix of martensite with some
retained austenite. The differences among the four materials
related to their matrix hardness, the amount of chromium carbides and the morphology of the eutectic carbides [14]. Figure 1
shows the SEM microscopy of the typical microstructure of the
materials in groups 1 and 2 in as-cast and hardened states,
respectively. The higher and lower C-Si content white cast iron
differs in their microstructures and their mechanical properties.
The grain size of the carbides and the hardness are both dependent on the C-Si content of the melt [15]. The material with
more C-Si was observed to have increased grain size and
reduced free graphite but with a resultant decrease in hardness.
3.2 Cutting tools (pCBN and bCBN)
Two types of CBN tool materials, pCBN (or CBN500) and
binder-less CBN (bCBN), were used in the cutting tests. The
pCBN was a high-CBN grade with 90 % CBN, AlN/addition
(WB2) binder, 15 grain size and solid format, as shown in
Fig. 2a, c. The material had hardness of HK=32 (HV39)
GPa. Thermal conductivity was not tested, but for all pCBN
materials with this type of binder, it is in the range of 80
110 W/(m K). Their hardness and fracture toughness are often
largely influenced by the mechanical properties of the binder
materials, which are lower than those of pure CBN [6].
The bCBN is a binder-less CBN grade with a single phase
of CBN (Fig. 2b, d), resulting in greater hardness and fracture

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Table 1 Chemical compositions
of the two groups of materials
Material gr. 1
Material gr. 2

Fe

Si

Mn

Cr

Ni

Ti

Mo

Cu

70.55
69.2

2.71
2.95

0.8
1.47

0.34
0.35

0.012
0.015

0.019
0.022

25.3
25.7

0.11
0.12

0.004
0.004

0.02
0.02

0.047
0.056

toughness than pCBN. In binder-less CBN, the binding of the

CBN grains is completed through diffusion sintering, which is
enabled by very high temperatures of 2400 C during
sintering. Pressure of 8 GPa was maintained during the HP=
HT treatment to avoid a reverse CBNhBN transformation.
Absence of binder on the CBN grain boundaries leads to increased thermal conductivity of 160200 W/(m K) [4]. Greater hardness of bCBN as compared to pCBN indicates its potential for the machining of materials with high abrasiveness.
At the same time, greater thermal conductivity is expected to
lead to lower cutting temperatures and therefore to facilitate
longer tool life. Chamfered round inserts, RNMN120400,
were used in the cutting tests. The nominal edge radius for
both type of CBN tools were 30 m. The tool hold value was
CRSNR3225 with rake and flank angles of 6.

before the tests in order to remove the rough outer layer remaining from a prior casting process. Tool flank wear was
measured by means of an Alicona InfiniteFocus optical microscope. Cutting forces were measured by means of a quartz
piezoelectric-type dynamometer (Kistler 9129). Registration
of vibration signals was performed with three accelerometers
(Bruel & Kjr type 8309) with the following characteristics:
reference sensitivity 0.05 pC/g, upper frequency limits
54 kHz (+10 %), max. operational shock 1000 km/s2 and
temperature range from 74 to +180 C. The force and acceleration spectra were recorded with sample rates of 1 and
120 kHz, respectively. The illustration of the experiment setup
is shown as Fig. 3.

4 Results and discussion

3.3 Machining conditions
4.1 Cutting forces
Table 2 summarizes the cutting parameters used in the test.
The selection of cutting parameters covered a range of industrial production conditions and recommendations from cutting
tool manufacturers. Dry machining tests were conducted
throughout the tests. A pre-cut was made on each workpiece
Fig. 1 Microstructures of
materials from high-chromium
white cast iron. a Group 1 in ascast state; b group 1 in hardened
state; c group 2 in as-cast state;
and d group 2 in hardened state

The evolution of the cutting forces on specified pCBN and

bCBN tools in continuous turning of four different work materials is presented in Fig. 4. The force levels represent the
materials from two groups of high-chromium white cast iron

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 2 Microstructures and XRD
analyses of pCBN (a, c) and
bCBN (b, d) [10]

under different cutting tools. In the figure, Fc, Ff and Fr represent the average cutting force, feed force and radial force,
respectively. The forces in Fig. 4ac correspond to the cutting
force, feed force and radial force generated by the pCBN tools,
while those in Fig. 4df represent the forces generated by the
bCBN tools.
The result demonstrated in Fig. 4 reveals that cutting tools
behaved differently in machining of as-cast and hardened materials. As cutting length increased, the trend of the cutting
forces was affected by both work materials and cutting tools.
For the as-cast materials, the cutting forces from both types of
cutting tools show approximately the same levels, although
small variations were found between the groups of materials.
This may be associated with their difference in hardness. The
material with higher C-Si had a hardness value of 40 HRC in
as-cast state, while the material with lower C-Si had a hardness value of 54 HRC in as-cast state. For the hardened materials, however, the cutting tools behaved differently in terms
of the forces as the cutting length increased, although approximately the same levels of hardness were achieved for the
materials from both groups, with a hardness value of 57~58
HRC. For the hardened material with lower C-Si, when the

Table 2

bCBN tools were used, the forces in three directions increased

substantially, with 14, 30 and 29 % increases in cutting, feed
and radial forces, respectively, within the test cutting length. In
comparison, for the pCBN tools, there were only 5, 10 and
8 % increases in force levels with the same cutting length and
the same work material. For the hardened material with higher
C-Si, the increase of the force levels with the cutting length
was approximately the same for both types of cutting tools.
The performance of the tested tools seems to have been sensitive to the hardened material with lower C-Si in terms of the
cutting forces. This may be attributable to the different types
of tool wear mechanism caused by the interactions between
the tools and workpieces, which led to alteration of the edge
geometry on the cutting tools. In addition, a small influence of
cutting speed on the cutting force values was observed in the
tests of all types of materials. The force values tended to be
lower when a higher cutting speed (160 m/min) was applied in
the test due to the higher cutting temperature.

Machining conditions

Tool

pCBN, bCBN

Cutting speed, vc (m/min)

Feed, f (mm per revolution)
Depth of cut, ap (mm)
Work materials
Cutting fluid
Tool holder geometry

120, 140, 160

0.4
1.5
High-chromium white cast iron
None (dry)
Inclination: 6, rake angle: 6
Fig. 3 Illustration of experimental setup

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Fig. 4 Cutting forces generated by pCBN and bCBN cutting tools when machining high-chromium white cast iron in as-cast and hardened workpieces

4.2 Vibration
Figure 5 reveals the power spectra of the acceleration signals
measured during the tests of hardened work materials in group
1 when pCBN and bCBN tools were employed, respectively.
Results of the analysis of the acceleration signals demonstrate
that the cutting process was characterized by a set of strong
harmonics. Three spectrum peaks from the FFT analysis were
observed on both types of cutting tool. The spectrum peak that
appeared in the frequency bands 2530 kHz shows an identical shape for both cutting tools and little change in amplitude
throughout the cutting length, which suggests that this spectrum corresponds to one of the resonant frequencies of the
machine system. The spectrum peak that appeared in the frequency bands 1020 kHz shows the tendency to decrease in
amplitude with an increase in cutting length, which could be
associated with the damping effect of the flank wear on the
cutting tools. Higher spectrum peaks indicate higher

Fig. 5 FFT analysis of vibration

signals when a pCBN; and b
bCBN tools were used in the
machining of the hardened
materials (lower C-Si) at vc =
160 m/min

vibrations at the beginning of the cut, and this suggests the

presence of either a higher rate of tool wear or a lack of stiffness in the toolworkpiece system.
It was also noticed that the spectral amplitude generated by
the pCBN tools in the frequency bands 1020 kHz is lower
than the corresponding one produced by the bCBN tools,
which indicates that lower vibration amplitude was induced
when pCBN tools were used, although the same work materials and machining conditions were used. However, in the
low-frequency bands 010 kHz, the spectrum peaks were
higher for the pCBN tools than for the bCBN tools. Similar
phenomena were observed in the machining of the as-cast
workpieces. A reason for the difference in the vibration amplitudes between the two types of grades could be that different wear mechanisms occurred on the tools. The high amplitude of vibration on the pCBN tools could have been generated by severe chipping of the pCBN caused by the large
primary carbides, which are known to introduce dynamic tool

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edge wear during the process [16]. This dynamic edge wear
could have changed the edge profile dynamically on the tool
cutting edge and induced process vibration.
4.3 Surface roughness
Changes of the surface roughness, Ra, was measured by a
stylus profiler between the tests and 3D surface profiles were
measured by an Alicona InfiniteFocus optical microscope after the tests. Figure 6 reveals the increase in average roughness, Ra, produced by the pCBN and bCBN cutting tools,
respectively, over 350 mm of cutting length when hardened
materials of higher and lower C-Si content were machined.
Figure 6a, b shows that the pCBN tool produces noticeably
higher roughness values on the hardened workpieces with
higher C-Si than the roughness values produced by the bCBN
tools on the same type of work material. The average roughness shown in Fig. 6a, c demonstrates the trend of an increase
in roughness with an increase in cutting length when cutting
with the pCBN tools. This may primarily be attributable to an
increase in tool wear and deterioration of the cutting edge as a
result of edge chipping caused by primary carbide [9]. A dull
cutting edge caused by severe chipping, which generated a
squeeze rather than a cut between tool and workpiece, could
be the reason for rougher surface finishing [16]. However, a
small decrease in roughness level was observed during the test
with the bCBN tools for as-cast and hardened materials, which
may also be the result of tool wear. The microscopy, as shown
in Fig. 8, found that the profile of the cutting edge was still
sharp due to the flank wear and crater wear that appeared

during the cutting, which produced better surface finishing.

Sometimes, better damping behaviour between tool and workpiece [17] as a result of a small level of flank wear may also
benefit surface roughness.
Figure 7a, b presents the 3D surface roughness profiles
produced by the pCBN and bCBN cutting tools, respectively,
for the same group of material in as-cast state. The side flow
and debris of the built-up edge (BUE) left over the machined
surface are caused by the greater roughness of the surface
produced by the pCBN tools, as shown in Fig. 7a. The formation of BUE and side flow on the surface produced by the
pCBN tools may be attributable to the higher cutting temperature during the machining when the pCBN tools were used.
The pCBN material has lower thermal conductivity (80
110 W/(mK)) than the bCBN material (160200 W/(mK))
due to its binder materials (10 % AlN/addition (WB2)
contained in pCBN) [4]. The thermal conductivity of the binder material is much lower than that of CBN. In addition to the
higher temperature in the toolworkpiece interface, the existence of minor vibration during the process is another reason
for the greater roughness on the surface. Figure 5 demonstrates that the amplitudes of vibration induced by the pCBN
tools were clearly higher than the ones produced by the bCBN
tools during the machining.
Figure 6c, d shows the interactions of the cutting speeds
and cutting tools on surface roughness when cutting hardened
workpieces with higher C-Si content. The results reveal that
the cutting speed levels had a significant effect on surface
roughness when the pCBN tools were used. The surface
roughness deteriorated when the cutting speed reduced from

Fig. 6 Increases in surface roughness (Ra) produced by pCBN and bCBN tools

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 7 3D surface profiles produced by a pCBN and b bCBN cutting tools on as-cast workpieces in group 2

160 to 120 m/min. However, cutting speed had little effect on

surface roughness when the bCBN tools were used.
4.4 Tool wear
Figure 8 presents the tool wear values for both pCBN and
bCBN cutting tools after four sample materials were machined
within a certain cutting length (160 m). The flank wear on
both types of cutting tool generally increased when the workpiece material changed from as-cast to hardened state for both
groups of materials. The materials with lower C-Si caused
greater flank wear on both cutting tools than the materials with
higher C-Si due to their higher matrix hardness. Greater tool
wear was observed on the bCBN tools than on the pCBN tools
after the machining of all types of sample materials, as shown
in Fig. 8e, f. The worn appearances on both cutting tools also
exhibited noticeable differences during the machining of these
materials (Fig. 8a, d). Microscopy revealed that the cutting
edge was very rough after the cut and severe edge chipping
was found on the cutting edge of the pCBN tools after machining as-cast and hardened workpieces, which made the
Fig. 8 Flank wear on cutting
tools after 160-m cutting length;
wear rates generated on pCBN
and bCBN tools when machining
four different materials in c and d

primary cutting edge become dull, as shown in Fig. 8c, d. This

is also the reason for the rougher surface produced by the
pCBN tools than by the bCBN tools. Severe chipping on the
cutting edge could be the result of a relatively large carbide
size present in the work materials.
Crater wear on the pCBN tools was relatively minor in
comparison with that of the bCBN tools, as shown in Fig. 9.
The appearance of the cutting edge on the pCBN tools suggests that abrasion may dominate on pCBN tools during the
machining of high-chromium white cast iron. In comparison,
both flank wear and crater wear were observed on the bCBN
tools for all the tests carried out in this investigation, as shown
in Fig. 8a, b, and edge appearance was relatively smooth. This
indicates that mechanical and chemical wear may dominate in
the wear of bCBN tools during the machining of highchromium white cast iron.
Figure 9 reveals the profiles of crater wear on the pCBN
and bCBN tools after the machining of the test materials. The
depth of crater on the pCBN tools was relatively shallow in
comparison with that of the bCBN tools. Figure 9a demonstrates the typical profile of craters on the bCBN tools, where

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

Fig. 9 Crater wear on cutting tools. a Wear profile; b crater depth along the cutting edge; c crater depth on pCBN and bCBN tools; d EDX analysis of
area X

the crater depth varies along the cutting edge, as shown in

Fig. 9a, b. Interestingly, the greatest crater depth was found
in the region of the cutting edge corresponding to minimum

chip thickness, while the shallowest crater depth was observed

in the region of the cutting edge associated with maximum
chip thickness. The fundamental mechanism of crater wear is

Fig. 10 Adhesion layers generated on a pCBN tools and b bCBN tools; and EDX analyses of adhesion layers on tool wear regions (c) and (d)

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

chemical wear, which is related to the local contact temperature between the chip and the cutting tool. This suggests that
the local contact temperature is higher at the area of minimum
chip thickness than at the area of maximum chip thickness, as
a result of longer chip contact time in this area caused by the
thinner chip. Crater wear on bCBN is primarily induced by
chemical wear, in which iron oxide and chromium content
forms and reacts with boron nitride, causing depletion of
bCBN from the rake face [4]. The presence of iron oxide
and chromium element were discovered by EDX analysis of
galling on the rake face of the bCBN tools after the machining,
as shown in Fig. 9d.
Although SEM analysis shows the nature of the abrasion,
adhesion and chemical wear on both types of CBN tools after
the machining of high-chromium white cast iron, different
morphologies were observed on the wear surfaces produced
by the pCBN and bCBN tools. Figure 10a, b show closed
views of SEM observation of the CBN tools after the turning
of high-chromium white cast iron for 1.4 min or 160 m cutting
length at a cutting speed of 160 m/min. Wear surfaces are
characterized by ridges and groves oriented in the cutting
speed direction, which is similar to phenomena discovered
by Barry and Byrne [17]. The ridges and groves on the flank
face show a typical abrasion wear appearance. The cause of
this may be that the tool material was severely abraded by the
hard carbide particles of the workpiece material, which led to
CBN grains becoming detached from the bond and leaving
shallow grooves on the tool flank face.
Figure 10 also shows an adhesion layer that formed on the
cutting edges. The adhesion layer covered most of the cutting
area on the pCBN tools (Fig. 10a) while only a thin adhesion
layer was observed on the crater area of the bCBN tools. The
adhesion layer could be a mixture of solutions from the binder
materials on the pCBN and from the work material [18, 19],
which is associated with the high cutting temperature between
the workpiece and the cutting tools. For the bCBN tools, however, the adhesion materials were formed by the solution of the
work materials. Since the thermal conductivity of pCBN is
much lower compared with bCBN [20], the cutting temperatures generated in the interface between the workpiece and
cutting tool were much higher when pCBN was used. This
may explain the reason for the greater amount of adhesion
material covering the wear region on the pCBN tools than
on the bCBN tools.
In addition, greater crater wear was found on the bCBN
tools after the machining and chemical wear is believed to
be the major reason for this type of wear [20]. The boron
element in CBN tools is prone to reacting with the chromium
and iron oxide in the workpieces under the proper temperature
and pressure. Unlike with the pCBN tools, the thin adhesion
layer covering the rake face of the bCBN tools increased the
chemical wear during the machining. Absence of a binder in
the bCBN grade may lead to more intensive chemical wear if

the alloying of the material being machined facilitates such

chemical reactions. The results from EDX analysis of the
composition of the adhesion layer deposited on the tool face
are shown in Fig. 10c, d. The EDX analysis indicates that the
elements containing in the adhesive layer include major elements from workpiece, which suggests that the adhesive layer
is primarily formed by workpiece material. The intensity of
aluminium and oxygen on the layer are also much stronger
although only a small amount of aluminium was claimed to be
contained in the material.

5 Conclusions
The pCBN and bCBN cutting tools tested demonstrated different performances in the machining of high-chromium white
cast iron in terms of cutting forces, surface quality, tool wear
rate and process stability. The cutting forces produced by
bCBN tools increase faster than the forces produced by pCBN
tool. The pCBN tool exhibited a lower wear rate and a longer
tool life, while the bCBN tool material demonstrated a better
surface finish and process stability. Greater surface roughness
was obtained on the surfaces produced by the pCBN tools and
lesser surface roughness was measured when the bCBN tools
were used. Carbon silicon (C-Si) content in high-chromium
white cast iron materials also has a noticeable effect on both
cutting forces and wear rates. Lower C-Si in as-cast workpieces results in higher cutting forces and higher wear rates
for both types of CBN tool than materials with higher C-Si.
After the hardening treatment, the same trends with the cutting
forces and wear rates were observed for both lower and higher
C-Si content materials, although both types of materials had
roughly the same level of hardness.
Lower tool wear rates and relatively small amounts
of crater wear were seen when machining with the
pCBN tools. Greater flank wear and crater wear were
found on the bCBN tools after machining. Chipping
along the cutting edge was the major type of tool deterioration, especially when hardened material with low
carbon silicon content was machined. Large amounts
of crater wear generated on the bCBN tools during the
tests could be attributable to the chemical wear induced
by higher local temperatures in the contact between
chips and the tool rake face. Absence of a binder in
the bCBN grades may lead to more intensive chemical
wear if the alloying of the material being machined
facilitates such chemical reactions.

Acknowledgments This research is part of the Sustainable Production

Initiative (SPI), a strategic research programme that is a collaboration
between Lund University and Chalmers. The authors would like to thank
Xylem AB for providing the work materials and support.

Int J Adv Manuf Technol

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