Wear mechanisms of WC-10Ni3Al carbide tool in dry turning of Ti6Al4V

The current investigation studied the possible beneficial effect of Ni3Al binder on WC-based cemented carbides in dry machining of a titanium alloy. The WC-10 wt.% Ni3Al carbide tool was prepared through spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The cutting performance and wear mechanism of WC-10Ni(3)Al in continuous turning of Ti6Al4V were also discussed by analyzing the morphologies and compositions of worn surfaces of the carbide. The commercial available WC-8Co has also been tested under the same conditions for the purpose of comparison. The results showed that the WC-10Ni(3)Al has better cutting performance than WC-8Co, especially at the higher cutting speed of v(c) = 100 m/min. The excellent crater and flank wear resistance of WC-10Ni(3)Al was attributed to its synergistic mechanism of chemical inertness and high hardness induced by the intermetallic alloy Ni3Al binder at elevated temperature. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.