Experimental study on cutting comparison of structured cutting tools in dry cutting of EN19 alloy steel

One of the promising and emerging techniques used to improve the tool chip contact phenomenon is to create micro- and/or nanostructures on the surfaces of cutting tools. The rake face structuring of the cutting tool has been the focus of research, and its benefits are well documented in literature. The effects of structures applied on different faces of the cutting tool have been studied in detail, yet there is a scope on cutting performance comparison of structured tools. This study looks into the cutting performance comparison of three fabricated cutting tools: a cutting tool with the rake face structure, a cutting tool with flank face structure and a tool with both the rake and the flank face structure. Structures on the cutting tools were created with a femtosecond laser system. Orthogonal machining of EN19/AISI/SAE4140 was performed to assess the cutting performance of the fabricated structured tools. Machining performance of structured tools was measured against cutting performance of unstructured tool. Results suggest that structured tools deliver better machining performance. However, improvement in certain machining parameter (forces, compression ratio, contact length, etc.) is linked to the structures created on a specific face of the cutting tool, although each structured side of the tool has a counter effect. Structured cutting tools reduce sticking contact from 52% to 42%–45%. Also, structured cutting tools lower the energy consumption due to decreased compression ratio. Precisely this research classifies the preference on the application of tool structuring for improved performance.</p