Investigation of coated and uncoated carbide cutting tool wear in dry turning of en aw 2007 aluminum alloy

The automotive, aerospace and marine industries make extensive use of aluminum and its alloys to produce a wide variety of components. This prompts research work related to improving manufacturing processes using these materials. One of the main problems in this area is the durability of cutting tools. This article describes the results of tests on wear of the coated and uncoated carbide cutting tools during turning of EN AW 2007 aluminum alloy. The tests were carried out under dry conditions and at higher cutting speeds. On the face rake, the VBB indicator (average width of the flank wear) and on the rake face, the KB indicator (crater width on the rake face) were evaluated. Only for the uncoated insert, the break-in period, steady-state wear region and intensive wear were observed and the limited alue of the VBB indicator was obtained after 36 minutes of the tool life. The TiAlN+TiN coated insert, as well as TiCN achieved very short tool life periods of 16 and 24 minutes, respectively. Compared to the uncoated and the TiCN coated insert, a VBB increase of about 170% was obtained for the TiAlN+TiN coated insert after 16 minutes. In contrast, an increase in the VBB of almost 60% was obtained for the TiCN coated insert after 24 minutes, compared to the uncoated insert. Compared to the uncoated insert, an increase of 12.1% in the KB value was obtained for the TiCN coated insert, and 18.2% for the TiAlN+TiN coated insert. The main wear mechanism of the tested cutting inserts was the phenomenon of adhesion. Abrasion wear is observed on the surfaces of the TiAlN+TiN and TiCN coated inserts. The TiCN coated insert also showed coating delamination. The build-up edge (BUE) phenomenon is observed on the surfaces of the TiAlN+TiN coated and uncoated inserts.