Performance of femtosecond laser-textured cutting tools deposited with WS2 solid lubricant coatings

Nano-scale surface texturing was made on the rake face close to the main cutting edge of the WC/TiC/Co carbide tools with femtosecond laser, these textured tools were then deposited with WS2 solid lubricant coatings. Microstructural and fundamental properties of the textured tools deposited with and without WS2 coatings were examined. Dry cutting tests were carried out with the rake face textured tools (TT), the rake face textured tools deposited with WS2 coatings (TT-WS2), and the conventional carbide tools (CT). Results show that the cutting forces, the cutting temperature, and the friction coefficient at the tool-chip interface of the TT and TT-WS2 tools were significantly reduced compared with that of the conventional carbide tool (CT). The rake face textured tool deposited with WS2 coatings had the most improved cutting performance. The reduced contact length at the tool-chip interface was found to be the main reason for the decrease of friction of the TT rake face textured tool. The thin lubricating film of WS2 solid lubricant on the textured rake face of the TT-WS2 tool contributed to the decrease friction and adhesion between chip-tool interface. It is suggested that deposition of lubricating film on the textured rake face is an effective way to improve the cutting performance of conventional carbide tools in dry cutting. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.