Cutting Tool Design

Tool Materials, Tool Geometry

Sources:  Fundamentals of Modern Manufacturing, Groover  Fundamentals of Tool Design, SME  http://www.feine-klingen.de/PDFs/verhoeven.pdf

Tool Design, 3331

Dr Simin Nasseri Southern Polytechnic State University

Content
    

Tool material selection, Tool failure, Properties of tool materials, Tool materials, Tool geometry.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Tool Materials
The number one error when selecting tooling is calculating monetary savings based on lowest cost per tool, rather than on maximized productivity and extended tool life. To effectively select tools for machining, a machinist or engineer must have specific information about:
      

the starting and finished part shape the workpiece hardness the material's tensile strength the material's abrasiveness the type of chip generated the workholding setup the power and speed capacity of the machine tool

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Cutting Tool Selection

Different machining applications require different cutting tool materials. The ideal cutting tool material should have all of the following characteristics:
    

harder than the work it is cutting high temperature stability resists wear and thermal shock impact resistant chemically inert to the work material and cutting fluid

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Three Modes of Tool Failure

Fracture failure:


Cutting force becomes excessive and/or dynamic, leading to brittle fracture

Temperature failure:


Cutting temperature is too high for the tool material

Gradual wear:


Gradual wearing of the cutting tool (leads to the longest possible use of the tool )

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Tool Materials


Tool failure modes identify the important properties Tool failure modes identify the important properties that a tool material should possess: Toughness - to avoid fracture failure Toughness - to avoid fracture failure Hot hardness - ability to retain hardness at high temperatures Wear resistance - hardness is the most important property to resist abrasive wear

 

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Tool Materials- Most Important Ones

Tools are made of:
 

High Speed Steel (HSS) Cemented carbides

Non-steel Cutting Carbide Grades Steel Cutting Carbide Grades

    

Coated Carbides Cermets Ceramics Synthetic Diamonds Cubic Boron Nitride

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

High Speed Steel (HSS)

 

One of the most important cutting tool materials An alloyed steel with 14-22% tungsten, as well as cobalt, molybdenum and chromium, vanadium. The cobalt component gives the material a hot hardness value much greater than Carbon Steels Highly alloyed tool steel capable of maintaining hardness at elevated temperatures (better than high carbon and low alloy steels)
Two basic types (AISI or American Iron and Steel Institute)  Tungsten-type, designated T- grades  Molybdenum-type, designated M-grades

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

High Speed Steel (HSS)



can cut materials with tensile strengths up to 75 tons/sq.in. at speeds of 50-60 fpm Hardness is in the range of 63-65 C Rockwell




cuts 4 times faster than the carbon steels

Used in all type of cutters, single/multiple point tools, and rotary tools; Especially suited to applications involving complicated tool geometries, such as drills, taps, milling cutters

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Cemented Carbides


Class of hard tool material based on tungsten carbide using powder metallurgy techniques with cobalt (Co) as the binder. The carbide and coated carbide tools cut about 3 to 5 times faster than high-speed steels (Speeds up to 300 fpm are common on mild steels).

Two basic types: Non-steel cutting grades (Used for nonferrous metals and gray cast iron) Steel cutting grades (Used for low carbon, stainless, and other alloy steels)

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Cemented Carbides General Properties

      

High compressive strength but low-to-moderate tensile strength High hardness Good hot hardness Good wear resistance High thermal conductivity High elastic modulus - 600 x 103 MPa (90 x 106 lb/in2) Toughness lower than high speed steel

Each type of carbide affects the cutting tools characteristics differently.



A higher tungsten content increases wear resistance, but reduces tool strength. A higher percentage of cobalt binder increases strength, but lowers the wear resistance.
Southern Polytechnic State University

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Coated Carbides


Cemented carbide insert coated with one or more thin layers of wear resistant materials, such as TiC, TiN, and/or Al2O3. Coating applied by chemical vapor deposition or physical vapor deposition. Coating thickness = 2.5 - 13 Qm (0.0001 to 0.0005 in). Applications: cast irons and steels in turning and milling operations.

 

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Usage of Carbide Cutting Tools

Carbide is used in solid round tools or in the form of replaceable inserts.


Shock-resistant types are used for interrupted cutting. Harder, chemically-stable types are required for high speed finishing of steel. More heat-resistant tools are needed for machining the superalloys, like Inconel and Hastelloy.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Coated Carbide Tool

Photomicrograph of cross section of multiple coatings on cemented carbide tool

(photo courtesy of Kennametal Inc.)

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Cermets


Bonded material containing ceramics and metals, widely used in jet engines and nuclear reactors. Cermets behave much like metals but have the great heat resistance of ceramics. Tungsten carbide, titanium carbide, zirconium bromide, and aluminum oxide are among the ceramics used; iron, cobalt, nickel, and chromium are among the metals. Higher speeds and lower feeds than steel-cutting carbide grades. Better finish achieved, often eliminating need for grinding. Applications: high speed finishing and semifinishing of steels, stainless steels, and cast irons
Southern Polytechnic State University

Properties:
 

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Ceramics


Primarily fine-grained Al2O3, pressed and sintered at high pressures and temperatures into insert form with no binder. Ceramic cutting tools are harder and more heat-resistant than carbides, but more brittle. Applications: high speed turning of cast iron and steel (Mild steels can be cut at speeds up to 1500 fpm).

Two types of ceramic cutting tools are available:

the alumina-based and the silicon nitride-based ceramics. The alumina-based ceramics are used for high speed semi- and final-finishing of ferrous and some non-ferrous materials. The silicon nitride-based ceramics are generally used for rougher and heavier machining of cast iron and the superalloys.
MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri Southern Polytechnic State University

Synthetic Diamonds


Sintered polycrystalline diamond (SPD) - fabricated by sintering very fine-grained diamond crystals under high temperatures and pressures into desired shape with little or no binder. Polycrystalline diamond cutting tools can outlast regular carbide by a factor of 100! Applications: high speed machining of nonferrous metals and abrasive nonmetals such as fiberglass, graphite, and some plastics. Not for steel cutting.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Cubic Boron Nitride



Next to diamond, cubic boron nitride (cBN) is hardest material known. Fabrication into cutting tool inserts same as SPD, or used as coatings. Applications: machining very hard ferrous materials like steel and also nickel-based alloys SPD and cBN tools are expensive (Their cost can be 30 times that of a carbide insert).

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Other Materials

Tool Materials
Carbon Steels  Limited tool life. Therefore, not suited to mass production  Can be formed into complex shapes for small production runs  low cost
 

 

suited to hand tools, and wood working Carbon content about 0.9 to 1.35% with a hardness about 62 HRC Rockwell Maximum cutting speeds about 26 ft/min. dry The hot hardness value is low. This is the major factor in tool life.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Tool Materials
Stellite  a family of alloys made of cobalt, chromium, tungsten and carbon  The material is formed using electric furnaces, and casting technique, and it cannot be rolled, or worked.  The material has a hardness of 60-62C Rockwell without heat treating, and the material has good hot hardness properties  Cutting speed of up to 80-100 fpm can be used on mild steels  The tools that use this method either use inserts in special holders, or tips brazed to carbon steel shanks

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Tool Materials
Cemented Oxides
    

Produced using powder metallurgy techniques Suited to high speed finishing Cutting speeds from 300 to 7500 fpm Coolants are not required High resistance to abrasive wear and cratering

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Classes of Tool Steel

        

W. Water hardening tool steels O: Oil hardening tool steels A: Air hardening die steels D: High carbon, high chromium die steels S: Shock-resisting tool steels H: Hot-work die steels T and M: Tungsten and Molybdenum high speed steels L: Low alloy tool steels F: Finishing steels

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Classes of Tool Steel



http://www.feine-klingen.de/PDFs/verhoeven.pdf

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Classes of Tool Steel

In the discussion of steel selection, the major properties of the steels are considered to be: 1. Wear resistance, 2. Toughness 3. Hot hardness. In the following table a rating of 1 to 10 is used with 10 being the best possible value. High values of these 3 properties indicate:  High wear resistance: More carbides  High toughness: Low %C in the steel  High hot hardness: More alloy carbides
MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri Southern Polytechnic State University

W- Steel: The W stands for water hardening. These steels are similar to the plain carbon 1095 steel and have very low hardenability. Therefore the toughness of the steel is improved significantly if the steel shallow hardened. This means the steel is quenched at a rate that produces martensite only near the surface and allows the core to remain unhardened and therefore tougher.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

L Steel: The L stands for low alloy (composition similar to the AISI alloy steels, (eg L6 is similar to AISI 4340 steel, just the C% is a bit higher).

S Steel: The S stands for shock resisting. The high toughness needed for shock load resistance is obtained by reducing the %C in these steel to low levels (which also results in the low wear resistance and hot hardness of the S steels).

O Steel: The O steel for oil hardening. The key alloying elements are mainly Mn and V. These are responsible for its improved hardenability over the W steels allowing them to generally be oil quenched to through hardness.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

A Steel: The A stands for air hardening. Hardenability of these is improved to the point that they may be air hardened. The key elements are Cr and Mo.

D Steel: These steels are sometimes called High-Carbon, High Chromium steels and the D symbol has no obvious meaning, although usually correlated with the term direct hardening. The steels may be air hardened. They have excellent wear resistance, moderately good hot hardness, but poor toughness.

H Steel: The H stands for hot hardness. These are usually the steels of choice for the die steels of extrusions that are done hot. Here, the combination of low carbon and moderate to high alloy content gives good toughness and hot hardness but only fair wear resistance.
Southern Polytechnic State University

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

M and T Steels: The M and T stand for molybdenum and tungsten additions in these high speed tool steels. The carbides of these 2 elements are stable to quite high temperatures. Therefore, the high level of these alloying elements produces large carbide volume fractions which give good wear resistance and hot hardness, but poor toughness.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Tool Geometry

Tool Geometry
Two categories:


Single point tools: One dominant cutting edge Used for turning, boring, shaping.

Multiple cutting edge tools: More than one cutting edge Used for drilling, reaming, tapping, milling, broaching, and sawing.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Single-Point Tool Geometry

(a) Seven elements of single-point tool geometry; and (b) the tool signature convention that defines the seven elements.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Holding the Tool

Three ways of holding and presenting the cutting edge for a single-point tool: (a) solid tool, typical of HSS; (b) brazed insert, one way of holding a cemented carbide insert; and (c) mechanically clamped insert, used for cemented carbides, ceramics, and other very hard tool materials.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Common Insert Shapes

Common insert shapes: (a) round, (b) square, (c) rhombus with two 80r point angles, (d) hexagon with three 80r point angles, (e) triangle (equilateral), (f) rhombus with two 55r point angles, (g) rhombus with two 35r point angles. Also shown are typical features of the geometry.

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Carbide is used in solid round tools or in the form of replaceable inserts. A collection of metal cutting inserts made of various materials (photo courtesy of
Kennametal Inc.).

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University

Test yourself!
1. High-speed steel cuts faster than carbon steel by a factor of: a. 2 b. 4 c. 8 d. 10 2. High tungsten content in a carbide tool will: a. increase strength, but decrease wear-resistance b. increase wear-resistance, but decrease strength c. allow increased feed speeds while improving heat-resistance d. improve the chemical-resistance of the tool 3. Inconel and Hastelloy require cutting tools that are: a. tough b. wear-resistant c. heat-resistant d. shock-resistant
MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri Southern Polytechnic State University

Test yourself!
4. Ceramic cutting tools are very: a. porous for cutting fluid retention b. shock-resistant c. resistant to wear d. brittle 5. Polycrystalline diamond cutting tools can outlast regular carbide by a factor of: a. 10 b. 20 c. 50 d. 100 6. For machining purposes, cast iron is considered: a. abrasive b. hard c. brittle d. soft
MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri Southern Polytechnic State University

Test yourself!
7. Synthetic diamond tools are suitable for cutting steels:  True  False

8. More carbides in tool steels indicate:  High wear resistance  High toughness  High hot hardness

MET3331, Prof Simin Nasseri

Southern Polytechnic State University