Experimental study on cutting performance of microwave sintered Ti(C, N)/Al2O3 cermet tool in the dry machining of hardened steel

A kind of Ti(C, N)/Al2O3 composite cermet tool was prepared by microwave sintering. The cutting performance and wear mechanisms were investigated via high speed dry cutting of hardened steel 40Cr (AISI 5140) in comparison with those of two kinds of conventional cemented carbide tools YS8 and YT15. The optimal cutting parameters were obtained by orthogonal array and range analysis, in which the optimum objectives were material removal, surface roughness, and tool life. The results indicated that the optimal cutting parameters of the cermet tool were the cutting speed of 120 m/min, the depth of cut of 0.3 mm, and the feed rate of 0.1 mm/rev. Compared to the cemented carbide tools, the tool life of the cermet tool is 64.5 min, which is about 115.0% higher than YS8 and 168.8% than YT15. The average surface roughness is 1.27 mu m, which is about 15.9% lower than that of the cemented carbide tools. The cermet tool shows much better cutting performance than those of cemented carbide tools. The failure mode of the microwave sintered Ti(C,N)/Al2O3 cermet tool was micro-chipping, and the wear mechanisms were mainly abrasion wear and adhesive abrasion.