A comparative analysis of ceramic and cemented carbide end mills

Milling of ferrous metals is usually performed by applying cemented carbide tools due to their high hardness, temperature and wear resistance. Recently, ceramic tool materials have been on the rise and enhanced the efficiency in machining. As ceramics are brittle-hard materials, tool manufacturing requires a sound knowledge in order to meet the tool requirements such as sharp cutting edges and wear resistance. In this study, milling tools made of the high performance ceramic SiAlON were compared to tools made from cemented carbide. For both tool materials, the influence of a prepared cutting edge was investigated. Both the tool manufacturing process and the cutting edge preparation processes are presented, followed by the application of those tools within milling experiments. In order to evaluate the efficiency of both tool types, the cutting forces and the cumulative process energy demand were analyzed. Additionally, surface roughness of the machined workpieces and tool wear were examined. It was found that the ceramic tools, although process forces were higher than for cemented carbide tools, exhibited by far lower energy consumption, less tool wear and finally generated lower surface roughness. © 2020, The Author(s)

Performance and Wear of Diamond Honing Stones

Honing is one of the most precise processes for the production of tribologically highly loaded cylindrical bores in different areas of technology. The honing stone specifications influence the process performance to a large extent. During machining, the honing stones are in permanent contact with the workpiece and subject to high mechanical loads. High strength steel and latest coating materials cause additional stress on the honing stones and induce increased wear. The objective is to determine process information for these material properties to support an effective process design. In experiments, the performance and the wear rates of several honing stone specifications were investigated. In this publication, the observed wear mechanisms are analysed and influencing factors for reduced wear are outlined