UNIT 1

THEORY OF METAL CUTTING

• Single point cutting tool nomenclature, geometry
• orthogonal and oblique cutting
• Types of chips
• Mechanism of chip formation
 What is Manufacturing Process?
Production or manufacturing can be simply defined as value addition processes by which raw materials of low utility and
value due to its inadequate material properties and poor or irregular size, shape and finish are converted into high utility
and valued products with definite dimensions, forms and finish imparting some functional ability.
Metal Cutting Processes also known as Machining
The process of removal of material from a starting work-part in the form of chips using a suitable means to obtain the
desired shape
Categories:
• Conventional Machining – material removal by a sharp cutting tool, e.g., turning, milling, drilling, grinding.

• Nontraditional processes - various energy forms other than sharp cutting tool to remove material

Metal Cutting features:

 Closer dimensional accuracy
 Surface texture/finish
 Economical
 Complex shape
 Size
 Elements of metal cutting
The basic elements of machining are:
• Workpiece
• Tools
• Chip

Workpiece
• Parent metal from which unwanted material is removed by the cutting action of the tool to obtain a
predetermined shape and size of the component.
• Chemical composition, physical properties also effect the machining process.
Chip
Machining is a process of gradual removal of excess material from the preformed blanks in the
form of chips.
The form of the chips is an important index of machining because it directly or indirectly
indicates:
• Nature and behavior of the work material under machining condition.
• Specific energy requirement (amount of energy required to remove unit volume of work
material) in machining work.
• Nature and degree of interaction at the chip-tool interfaces.

The form of machined chips depends mainly upon:

• Work material.
• Material and geometry of the cutting tool.
• Levels of cutting velocity and feed and also to some extent on depth of cut.

Machining environment or cutting fluid that affects temperature and friction at the chip-tool and
work-tool interfaces.
 Tool
Device used to remove the unwanted metal from workpiece by cutting action
Both material and geometry of the cutting tools play very important roles on their performances in achieving
effectiveness, efficiency and overall economy of machining.
Cutting Tool Classification
Number of major cutting edges (points) involved :
• Single-Point Tools :One cutting edge. Examples – shear tools, lathe tools, planer tools, boring tolls etc.
• Multi point Cutting Tools : More than one cutting edge. Example- milling cutter, drills, brooches, grinding
wheels, abrasive sticks etc.

Type of motion :-
• Linear Motion tools – Lathe, Planing, Shaping Tools….
• Rotary Motion tools - Milling Cutters, Grinding Wheels….
• Linear and Rotary Tools – Drills, Honing tools, boring heads…….
Types of metal cutting processes :
Orthogonal cutting process (Two - dimensional cutting)
• The cutting edge or face of the tool is 90° to the line of action or path of the tool or to the
cutting velocity vector. This cutting involves only two forces .
• The direction of chip flow is perpendicular to the cutting edge
• For same feed and depth of cut the force which shears the metal acts on a smaller areas. So
the life of the tool is less.
• Produces sharp corners.
• Smaller length of cutting edge is in contact with the work.
• Generally parting off in lathe, broaching and slotting operations are done in this method.
Oblique cutting process (Three - dimensional cutting)
• The cutting edge or face of the tool is inclined at an angle less than 90° to the line of action or
path of the tool or to the cutting velocity vector.
• The chip flows on the tool face making an angle.
• The cutting force acts on larger area and so tool life is more.
• Produces a chamfer at the end of the cut.
• For the same depth of cut greater length of cutting edge is in contact with the work.
• This method of cutting is used in almost all machining operations
Methods of Metal Cutting
Operation
• In the metal cutting operation, the tool is wedge-shaped and has a
straight cutting edge. Basically, there are two methods of metal cutting,
depending upon the arrangement of the cutting edge with respect to the
direction of relative work-tool motion:
• Orthogonal cutting or two dimensional cutting
• Oblique cutting or three dimensioning cutting.

Orthogonal Machining Oblique Machining

 CHIP FORMATION

More realistic view of chip formation, showing shear zone rather than shear plane. Also shown is the secondary
shear zone resulting from tool-chip friction.
Four Basic Types of Chip in Machining
1. Discontinuous chip
2. Continuous chip
3. Continuous chip with Built-up Edge (BUE)
4. Serrated chip
 Continuous Chip
• Ductile work materials (e.g., low carbon steel)
• High cutting speeds
• Small feeds and depths
• Sharp cutting edge on the tool
• Low tool-chip friction
• Continuous plastic deformation
of the metal ahead of the tool
• Larger rake angle
Discontinuous chip ( Segmented Chip)
• Brittle work materials (e.g., cast irons)
• Low cutting speeds
• Large feed and depth of cut
• High tool-chip friction
• Small rake angle
• Higher depth of cut
 Continuous with Built-up Edge
• Ductile materials , when high friction exists at the
chip tool interface
• Low-to-medium cutting speeds
• Tool-chip friction causes portions of chip to adhere
to rake face
• BUE formation is cyclical; it forms, then breaks off.
• Small rake angle
• Excessive feed
• Lack of lubrication
 Serrated Chip
• Semicontinuous - saw-tooth
appearance
• Cyclical chip formation of alternating
high shear strain then low shear
strain
• Most closely associated with difficult-
to-machine metals at high cutting
speeds
CHIPS PRODUCED DURING METAL CUTTING

Basic types of chips produced in orthogonal metal cutting, their schematic representation, and photomicrographs of the cutting
zone: (a) continuous chip with narrow, straight, and primary shear zone; (b) continuous chip with secondary shear zone at the
chip-tool interface; (c) built-up edge
(d) segmented or nonhomogeneous chip; and (e) discontinuous chip.
Tool nomenclature
Metal cutting terminology:
1. Rake face: The surface along which the chip flows.
2. Flank: The bottom surface of the tool which is ground to
clear the machined surface on the work piece is called
flank.
3. Clearance: The wedge shaped space between the tool
flank and the machined surface is called the clearance.
4. Undeformed chip thickness: It is the thickness of the
metal removed by the tool, i.e., the depth of cut.
Metal cutting terminology:
5. Rake angle: It is the most important variable in metal
cutting and is the angle between the tool face and the
line perpendicular to the machined surface.
6. Clearance angle: It is the angle between the machined
surface and the bottom slope on the tool.
7. Wedge angle: It is included angle formed between the
tool face and the flank.
 Geometry of single point cutting tools

The word tool geometry is basically referred to some specific angles or slope of the salient faces and
edges of the tools at their cutting point.
 Shank: The portion of the tool bit which is not ground to form cutting edges and is rectangular in
cross section.
 Face: The surface against which the chip slides upward.
 Flank: The surface which face the work piece. There are two flank surfaces in a single point cutting
tool. One is principal flank and the other is auxiliary flank.
 Heel: The lowest portion of the side cutting edges.
 Nose radius: The conjunction of the side cutting edge and end cutting edge. It provides
strengthening of the tool nose and better surface finish.
 Base: The underside of the shank.
 Point : It is the wedge-shaped portion where the face and flank of tool meet.
Rake face is the surface over which the chip, formed in the cutting process,
slides
Rake angle: Angle of inclination of clearance or flank surface from the
finished surface.
Rake angles guide the chips away from the cutting edge
Back rake: Inclination towards shank
Side rake: Measured towards side of the tool.
Positive rake : D Positive rake or increased rake angle reduces compression,
the forces , and the friction, yielding a thinner ,less deformed and cooler
chip
Negative rake: Slopes upwards from the point. Eg: Carbide tip tools
Zero rake : No rake provided on the tool.
Clearance angle: Angle formed by the front or side surfaces of the tool
which are adjacent and below the cutting edge when the tool is held in
a horizontal position.
Cutting edge is a theoretical line of intersection of the rake and the
flank surfaces
Tool signature
• American system (ASA):- defines the principal angles like side rake, back
rake, nose, etc….without any reference to their locations with regard to the
cutting edge.
• British system:- B-S 1886-1952, defines the maximum rake.
Order- back rake, side rake, end relief, side relief, end cutting, side cutting
angle and nose radius.
• Continental system- German or DIN system (DIN-6581), Russian system
(OCT-BKC 6897 and 6898) and Czechoslovakian System (CSN-1226).
Parameters are specified with reference to tool reference planes.
• International system:- internationally adopted system, developed recently.
Incorporates the salient features of tool nomenclature of different systems
in it.
Metal Cutting Theories

Theories are developed encompassing three main

parameters
• Shear angle (φ)
• Rake angle (α)
• Angle of friction (τ)
The most popular theories are:-
1. Earnst- Merchant theory
2. Lee and Shaffer’s theory
Earnst- Merchant theory
Lee and Shaffer’s theory
• Applied Theory of plasticity for an ideal and rigid plastic material for
orthogonal metal cutting
Assumptions
• Workpiece behaves like an ideal plastic material
• Deformation of the metal occurs on a single shear plane.
• Chip does not get hardened.
• Chip separates from the parent material at the shear plane.

Φ +τ –α =45°
Modified :-

Φ +τ –(α + Θ) =45°

Θ - Covers the changes in different parameters on account of the formation of

Built up edge.
CHIP FORMATION
Mechanism of chip formation
Machining is a semi-finishing or finishing process essentially done to impart required or stipulated dimensional
and form accuracy and surface finish to enable the product to:
• Fulfill its basic functional requirements.
• Provide better or improved performance.
• Render long service life.
The form of machined chips depend mainly upon
• Work material
• Material and geometry of the cutting tool Levels of cutting velocity and feed and also to some extent on
depth of cut
• Temperature and friction at the chip-tool and work-tool interfaces.
• Cutting fluid – flow , type, velocity
Knowledge of basic mechanism(s) of chip formation helps to understand the characteristics of chips and to
attain favorable chip forms.
Chip control and chip breakers:

 Formation of continuous chip is desirable for good surface finish, long tool

life and low power consumption.

 Necessary to control and dispose of the chips considering operator’s safety
and protection of the finished part and tool.
 Continuous chips occupy larger space and are difficult to handle because
of their sharp edges with high tensile strength and high temperature.
 Hence for high cutting speed operations, it is necessary to break-up
continuous chips into short pieces, so that they can be easily handled and
disposed.
Cutting action of a chip breaker:
• It can be seen that when the plain tool is used, the chip has a
tendency to flow upwards, curl gradually with large radius of curvature
and thus forming a large continuous chip (Fig a).
• When chip breaker is provided, the chip comes across the
obstruction, changes its direction, reducing its radius of curvature and
gets fractured as it flows (Fig b).
Types of chip breakers:
a) Step type: A small flat step is ground on the face of the tool along the
cutting edge. The depth of the step is about 0.4 to 0.75mm. The step may
be parallel to the edge or at slightly inclined.
b) Clamp type: braze or screw a thin carbide plate or clamp on the face of the
cutting tool. The clamp acts an obstruction to the flowing chip and helps in
curling and breaking into pieces as it flows.
c) Groove type: In this a groove ground as shown if Fig c. on the cutting edge.
The size of the groove depends on the feed rate and depth of cut.
 Tool Failure

Adverse effect of tool failure:-

• Extremely poor surface finish on the workpiece
• Higher consumption of power
• Work dimensions not being produced as specified
• Overheating of cutting tool
• Appearance of a burnishing band on the work surface.
Cutting tool may fail due to one or more reasons
• Thermal Cracking and softening
• Mechanical Chipping
• Gradual wear
I. Crater wear
Thermal Cracking and softening
• Due to fluctuations in temperatures and severe temperature
gradients the tool material is subjected to local expansion and
contraction.
• Cracks are developed due to temperature stresses or thermal
stresses.
Mechanical Chipping
Common reasons are:-
• Cutting pressure
• Mechanical impact
• Excessive wear
• High vibrations and chatter
• Weak tip and cutting edge
Forms of tool wear:
1. Flank wear:
• Due to the rubbing action of the machined surface of the
work material with the flank surface of the tool material.
• Friction plays important role.
• Higher the friction higher the wear.
• Occurs on brittle materials and when the feed is very small.
Forms of tool wear:
2. Crater wear:
 It occurs on the rake face of the tool at
the chip-tool contact area and conforms
to the shape of the chip on the tool face.
 The tool-chip interface area is subjected
to the highest temperature.
 Under this high temperature condition
and the chip pressure at its underside on
the tool face results in crater wear.
 It forms a depression on the tool face.
 Under high cutting speed conditions,
crater wear is the factor which
determines the life of the tool.

MPII – SRIDHAR DR 5/6/2021 49

WEAR PATTERNS ON TOOL

(a) Flank wear and crater wear in a cutting tool; the tool moves to the left(b) View of the rake
face of a turning tool, showing various wear patterns. (c) View of the flank face of a turning
tool, showing various wear patterns. (d) Types of wear on a turning tool: 1. flank wear; 2.
crater wear; 3. chipped cutting edge; 4. thermal cracking on rake face; 5. built-up edge; 6.
catastrophic failure
Tool Failure
Mechanism of Tool Wear:
Wear can be defined as the gradual loss of weight or mass of a
material due to the sliding with another material.
Tool Wear is the gradual loss of weight or mass of the tool due to
the sliding action with the work material during the cutting process,
leading to the loss of sharpness of the cutting edge. The wear rate of the
tool determines the tool life. The higher the wear rate lower is the tool
life.
Hence the tool life is the length of time that a tool is used to
machine till it looses the sharpness of its cutting edge.
The mechanism of the tool wear is different under different
cutting conditions. There are 5 basic types of tool wear that affect a
cutting tool:
1. Adhesion wear
2. Abrasion wear
3. Diffusion wear
4. Chemical and electrolytic wear.
5. Oxidation wear.
1. Adhesion wear:
• Caused by the welding of tool material to the work
material.
• The cutting junction between the work and the tool
forms a friction mechanism.
• When the tool and work get adhered, the junctions get
fractured and small fragments of the tool material are
carried away in the chip or in the machined work
material.
• Takes place under high cutting forces, high temperature
and with less harder material.
2. Abrasion wear:

• Occurs when hard particles on the surface of one material

flow through surface of another material.

• Occurs when hard particles on the underside of chip pass over

the tool face or rake and remove the tool material by
mechanical action.

• Caused as the work material gets work hardened under

cutting action and the tool materials become weak due to high
temperature in cutting.

• Steels, cast iron and nickel-based alloys contain hard carbides,

oxides and nitrides, that cause abrasive wear of the tool.
3. Diffusion wear:

• Occurs when atoms in a crystal lattice move from a

region of high atomic concentration to the region of low
atomic concentration.

• Depends on the temperature, length of contact time and

the contact area between the work and the tool material.

• It occurs where the contact between the work and tool is

intimate and the temperature at the junction is high.

• The rate of diffusion increases exponentially with

increase in temperature.
4. Chemical and Electrolytic wear:
• Caused by the chemical reaction between the tool and
the work piece in the presence of a cutting fluid.
• It is the result of possible galvanic corrosion between
the tool and the work piece.

5. Oxidation wear:
• Caused by the oxidation of the carbide in the cutting
tool due to the high temperature generated at the tool-
work interface.
• It results in the decrease in strength of the tool and
leads to wear of the tool.
• Further the tip of the tool becomes very soft and under
goes a quick failure.
 TOOL LIFE
• Tool life is the time a tool will operate satisfactorily until it is dulled.
• A blunt tool causes chatter in machining, poor surface finish, increase in
cutting forces and power consumption, over heating of tool.

How we can judge tool life?

• Fixed time of failure
• Removal of a set volume of metal
• Production of prescribed no of components
• Machining until destruction of tool
• Use of limiting value of surface finish
• Limiting change in component size
• Observation of wear land pattern
Tool Life Criteria:
A tool life criteria is defined as a predetermined threshold value of a
tool wear measure or the occurrence of a phenomenon. The wear of the
face and flank of a cutting tool is not uniform. Hence it is necessary to
specify the locations and degree of wear to determine the amount of wear
and for further regrinding of the tool.
Common Tool-life Criteria for HSS and Ceramic tools:
The criteria recommended by the ISO to define the effective tool life
for HSS and ceramic tools are as follows:
a) Catastrophic failure
b) Average width of flank wear, VB = 0.3mm (if wear is uniform in zone B)
c) Max width of flank wear, VBmax = 0.6mm (if wear is irregular in zone B)
Common Tool-life Criteria for Sintered-carbide tools:
a) Average width of flank wear = 0.3mm (uniform wear)
b) Maximum width of flank wear, Vbmax = 0.6mm (irregular wear)
c) Depth of crater, KT = 0.06 + 0.3f, where f is feed in mm/revolution
TOOL LIFE:
Tool life can be defined as the period of time up to which the cutting tool
performs efficiently. It can also be defined as the cutting time required to reach a
tool-life criterion, as specified by the ISO standard. The significant factor which
affects tool life when work material, tool material and tool shape are chosen for a
particular operation, is the cutting speed.
Taylor’s Equation for tool life:
The relationship between the cutting speed and the tool life is given by
Taylor’s equation. It is expressed as,
VTn = C
Where, v = cutting speed in m/min
T = tool life in min
n = exponent, a coefficient of the slope of the tool life curve on log-log
sheet. Depends on tool/work material, cutting conditions & environment.
= 0.1 for HSS tool
= 0.4 to 0.55 for ceramic tools
C = a constant, that represents the cutting speed to give a tool life of 1
minute. It depends on tool/work material, tool geometry, depth of cut and feed
rate.
Taylor’s Equation for tool life:
Factors Affecting Tool Life:
1. Cutting Speed:
• Higher cutting speed generates higher temperature at the tool-
material interface, thus reducing tool hardness and hence bringing
down tool life.
• Tool life is directly related to cutting speed, as per Taylor’s eqn.
• A typical variation of tool life with cutting speed for HSS, cast alloy,
tungsten carbide and ceramic tools is shown in Fig.
2. Feed and Depth of cut:
• With fine feed and greater depth of cut, the tool wear increases.
• For maximum tool life optimum feed rate and depth of cut
desirable.
The tool life can be related to the depth of cut, feed rate and
cutting speed by the expression,

Where, V = cutting speed in m/min.

T = tool life in min.
s = feed rate in mm/min.
t = depth of cut in mm.
3. Cutting fluid:
• Use of proper cutting fluid increases tool life.
• Cutting fluid carries away the heat generated at the tool-chip
interface, fine abrasive particles and reduces coefficient of friction.
4. Tool Geometry:
• Tool with larger rake angle becomes weak as it reduces the cross section,
increases heat developed. This results in faster tool rate of tool wear.
• Tool life is maximum at optimum tool angles depending upon the metal to
be cut.
•Clearance angle reduces the tool wear but higher the clearance, lower the
cutting strength, hence faster wear.
• For optimum tool life clearance angle is 10 to 15 degrees, side cutting
edge angle 28 to 30 degrees, and end cutting edge angle 4 to 10 degree.

5. Tool material:
• A tool material which can retain a sharp cutting edge at higher
temperature will have a higher life.
• This depends upon the chemical composition and structure of the tool
material.
• Harder the material higher the tool life.
 Sources of Heat in Metal Cutting
Temperature in metal cutting
2

High temperature
• Reduces strength of the tool and formation of create wear.
• Shortens tool life
• Causes thermal distortion
• Caused dimensional change in work piece making of control
dimensional accuracy difficult
a) Region AB is Primary shear zone plastic deformation
b) Region BC is Secondary shear zone friction
c) Region BD Between tool & work piece
Around the shear plane (Zone 1) / Primary deformation zone
Major work by plastic deformation is done at the shear zone and is the
primary source of heat
Major part of this heat is transferred/ carried by the chip.
Rest is retained in the workpiece

Tool chip interface(Zone 2) / Secondary deformation zone

Friction between chip and tool generates heat.
Part of heat is carried by the chip
Rest is transferred to the tool and the coolant.

Tool workpiece interface(Zone 3)

Friction between the tool flank and workpiece
Heat shared by – Tool, workpiece and coolant
FACTORS AFFECTING HEAT GENERATION
Temperature distribution in work and chip
during orthogonal cutting.
 Cutting Fluids:

Cutting fluids or coolants are the lubricants used in metal

cutting and grinding operations.

A cutting fluid primarily acts as the coolant to carry away

the heat generated and secondly as lubricant to reduce
friction at the tool/chip interface and work/flank interface
regions.

Use of cutting fluid makes cutting operation more efficient,

by reducing tool wear, increasing tool life, improving surface
finish, reducing friction and reducing power required.
 Functions of cutting fluids:

1) To carry away the heat generated

2) To provide proper lubrication

3) To carry away the chips

4) To cool and break the chips

5) To protect the finished surface

 Properties of cutting fluids

1. It should carry away the heat immediately from the work-tool interface.
2. It should provide good lubrication to reduce the coefficient of friction.
3. It should have high flash and fire points.
4. It should be chemically neutral.
5. It should be odorless under normal and high temperature condition.
6. It should be non-corrosive.
7. It should be non-toxic.
8. It should have a low viscosity.
9. It should not get oxidized.
10. It should not be very thick and opaque.
Types of cutting fluids:
• Oil based fluids
a) straight oils
b)soluble oils
• Chemical fluids
a) synthetic oils
b)semi-synthetic oils
• Oil based fluids
b) soluble oils;
1)Soluble oils also referred to as emulsions.
2)Contain 60-90% mineral oil ,remaining is water.
3)Containing more water and less oil gives better cooling.
4)Containing more oil and less water gives good lubricating effect.
Advantages:
 Good lubrication
 Suitable for both ferrous and nonferrous metals.
 Concentrations of oil can be varied for heavy-duty applications.
Disadvantages :
 Presence of water susceptible to rust control problems and bacterial growth
and odourness.
• Oil based fluids
a) straight oils
1)contains 100% petroleum oil or mineral oil and fats ,vegetable oils.
2)used in severe machining operation , where heavy cuts are to be taken and machining hard materials like
titanium ,stainless steel.
Advantages:
 Excellent lubricating property
• Tool life can be increased.
• Easy maintainence.
• Absence of water eliminates odour problems.
Disadvantages
• Costlier
• Poor heat dissipating properties
• Increased fire risk
• Chemical fluids
a) synthetic oils:
1)They do not contain petroleum oil; instead, they contain some synthetic chemicals as substitutes.
2)They generally consist of chemical lubricants and rust inhibitors dissolved in water
Various synthetic chemicals found in this type of oil include:
 Amines and nitrites for rust prevention
 Phosphates and borates for water softening
 Soaps and wetting agents for lubrication.
 Glycols to act as blending agents.
Advantages:
Good corrosion control
Superior cooling property
Greater stability when mixed with hard water.
Disadvantages:
 Synthetic coolants have a tendency to foam and cause
excessive foaming. This results in poor surface finish.
 Lubricating property is not satisfactory.
 Ingredients added for enhance lubricating property
can result in component rusting.
• b) semi synthetic oils:
1)These are the combinations of mineral oil in small amounts varying from 2-30% in a water –dilutable
concentrate and certain synthetic chemicals.
2) Synthetic chemicals consists mainly emulsifiers and water.
3)Since this type oil includes both constituents of synthetic and soluble oils, they possess properties common
to both the type of oils.
Advantages:
 Better cooling and wettability properties.
 Can be used for heavy duty operations
 Lower viscosity of oil helps easy re-circulation of the fluid
 Generate less smoke and provide better control over bacterial growth.
Disadvantages:
Water hardness affects the stability of semi-synthetic oils.
They easily foam.
Lubricating property is not satisfactory.
 Selection of cutting fluids:
Factors to be considered when selecting a cutting fluid

 Cutting speed, feed and depth of cut.

 Cost and life expectancy.
 Type, hardness and microstructure of the workpiece material being
machined.
 Operating temperature range.
 Fluid compatibility with workpiece and machine components.
 Ease of storage and handling while in use.
 Ease of fluid recycling or disposal.
 Shelf – life required.
Heat generation in metal cutting:
During metal cutting, energy spent in plastic deformation is converted into
heat.
Almost 99% of energy supplied is converted into heat.
This results in high temperature in the region of tool cutting edge and chip
tool interface.
This high temperature have a great influence on the rate of tool wear and
friction at the tool chip interface.
In cutting low strength and very ductile materials heat generation is not very
high.
Heat generation is high in cutting ferrous and high strength of materials,
which reduces tool strength resulting in faster tool wear and failure.
Heat generation increases with increase in cutting speed.
Introduction: In metal cutting, the characteristics of both tool and work materials play
important roles. They affect the cutting forces and cutting conditions. For good cutting
action the tool material should be harder than work material.

Properties of tool materials:

1. Hot hardness:
’ It is the ability of a material to retain its hardness at higher temperatures, developed
due to high friction.
’ The hardness of the material reduces with increase in temperature.
’ Very few materials have the ability to retain hardness at higher cutting speeds and
temperatures.
2. Wear resistance:
• It is the property of a material to withstand excessive wear under abrasive conditions.

• A harder material will naturally have a higher wear resistance, however, it depends upon
the relative hardness of the work tool materials.

• It is desirable to have a high wear resistance for a tool material for a longer tool life.
3. Toughness:
• It is the ability of the material to absorb energy in its plastic
range.
• Higher the toughness higher is the capacity of the material to
absorb shocks and impact loads
• It is a combination of optimum strength and ductility.
• Tool materials should have high toughness.

4. Coefficient of friction:
• Must be low for minimum tool wear and good surface finish.

5. Chemical stability:
• Must be stable or inert with respect to work material, so as to
reduce tool wear and increase tool life.

6. Economy:
• It should result economical process.
Types of Tool materials:
1. Plain carbon steels
2. Alloy steels
3. High speed steels
4. Cast cobalt alloys
5. Carbides (cemented or sintered)
6. Ceramics (Aluminium oxide)
7. Cermets
8. Coated tools
9. Diamonds and PCD
10. Cubic Boron Nitrides (CBN)
11. Abrasives
Plain Carbon steels:
• Are usually high carbon steels.
• Used for turning, drilling, planing, reaming and others metal cutting
applications.
• Carbon ranges from 0.8 t0 1.5%.
• On heat treatment (hardening and tempering) they attain high
hardness, strength and toughness.
• Lose hardness at high temperatures of about 2500C.
• Suitable for low speed and low temperature applications.
• Used for ductile and soft materials like MS, Al, & Cu.
• Suitable for medium depth of cut and roughing operation.
ADVANTAGES:
• Easy to fabricate and achieve hardness.
• Highly cost effective.
• Suitable for general purpose engineering applications.
DIS ADVANTAGES:
• Low hot hardness and low wear resistance.
• Hardness decreases with increase in temperature.
• Applicable only for ductile materials.
• Not suitable for high depth of cut.
Alloy Steels:
• Low/medium steel tool- up to 1% carbon and alloying
elements up to 5%.
• Alloying elements are Tungsten, vanadium, molybdenum
and chromium.
• These elements impart harden ability, hot hardness,
improve toughness and wear resistance.
• Since hardness reduces with temperature, suitable for low
speed metal cutting operations.
ADVANTAGES:
• Work satisfactorily for medium cutting speeds and slightly
harder materials.
• Perform better compared to plain carbon steels.
DISADVANTAGES:
• Can retain hardness up to a temperature of 3500C.
• High cost and difficult to fabricate.
High speed steels:
Most widely used tool material in engg.
Highly alloyed tool steel.
Can retain hardness even at high speed where temperature
is as high as 6500C, hence name high speed steel.
Hardness of the range of 65HRC.
Cutting speed ranges from 15 to 30m/min.
Types of HSS tools:
a) 18-4-1 HSS:
 High tungsten steel containing 18% W, 4%Cr and 1% Va.
 Highly efficient of all HSS tools.
 Possesses good wear resistance and heat resistance.
b) 6-6-4-2 HSS:
 High molybdenum steel containing 6% Mo, 6% W, 4% Cr, and 2% Va.
 Has high toughness and strength.
c) Super HSS:
 Has high hot hardness and wear resistance at higher cutting speeds, hence
the name Super HSS.
 Contains 15% Co, 10-20% W, 2-4% Cr and 2-4% Va.
 Offers higher cutting efficiency, can take heavier cuts and function at higher
temperatures.
Alloying elements and their effects:
The effects of the alloying elements are given below:
1. Carbon (C): Carbon about 0.7-1.5% imparts basic hardness and strength in the
tool steel, by forming the hard martenstic structure.
2. Tungsten (W): In the range of 12 to 18%, improves the hot hardness property
of the tool, as it provides tempering beyond tempering temperature.
3. Chromium (Cr): In the range of 4-4.5%, contributes to hot hardness.
4. Vanadium (V): In the range of 1 to 5%, forms vanadium carbide which is highly
abrasion resistant, imparts good wear resistance.
5. Molybdenum (Mo): Less than 0.9%, helps to retain the sharp cutting edge at
high temperatures and improve toughness.
6. Cobalt (Co): In the range of 5 to 12%, improve the hardenability and wear
resistance.
Applications:
• Used in the form of drills, reamers, taps milling cutters and as single point
cutting tools.
• HSS can be processed by three methods: cast, wrought and sintered.
• These tools can be coated and surface treated to improve hardness, wear
resistance and overall performance.
ADVANTAGES:
High hot hardness.

High wear and abrasive resistance.

Improved hardenability and toughness.

Overall better machining performance, cutting efficiency

with longer tool life.

DISADVANTAGES:
Expensive.

Difficult to fabricate and process.

Cast cobalt alloys and stellites:
These are non-ferrous cast alloys made of cobalt, chromium and tungsten.
Consists of 38 to 53% Co, 30 to 35% Cr, 10 to 20% W, with 1.5 to 2.5% C.
Hardness in the range of 58 to 65HRC, possess high hot hardness and wear
resistance.
Cannot be forged into shapes because of high hardness and brittleness.
These are cast and ground into small shapes.
These tools in the form of tips are mounted on the tough steel shanks by
brazing or fastening.
Most suitable for high speed, high feed continous roughing operations.
ADVANTAGES:
Has high wear resistance.

Retain hardness up to 10000C.

Can be used at very high cutting speeds.

DISADVANTAGES:
Very brittle and cannot be used under impact machining conditions.

Not tough as HSS tools, hence not suitable for interrupted cutting
operations.
Carbides (Cemented or Sintered Carbides):
These are nonferrous, carbon base cutting tool materials with other
elements.
Have high hardness, high thermal conductivity and low thermal
expansion.
These are sintered or cemented carbides and are manufactured by
powder metallurgy.
Tungsten Carbide (WC):
Is a metal matrix composite material, in which tungsten-carbide
particles (1.5mm) are bonded together in cobalt matrix.
Pure tungsten (94% by weight) powder is mixed with pure carbon
(6%) under high temperature (15000C).
These hard particles mixed with cobalt and blended in large mills, so
that the cobalt matrix surrounds the WC particles.
This powder is then pressed into insert forms and
presintered at about 7500C.
These presintered blanks are machined to the required
shape.
Finally, these inserts are sintered in high temperature vacuum furnace to
achieve the full strength and the hardness, which are ground and honed.
Titanium is added to improve hot hardness and tantalum minimizes wear.
Typical carbide tool will have 82% tungsten and 10% titanium carbide and 8%
cobalt.
Most suitable for machining steels, CI and high strength nonferrous alloys.
These are superior to HSS tools.
Carbide inserts are available in square, triangle, round and diamond shape.
These are brazed or fastened on the tool shanks.
Titanium Carbide (TiC):
These inserts are made by blending TiC particles in a nickel-molybdenum alloy
matrix.
Has higher wear resistance than WC tools, but lower toughness because of
absence of cobalt.
Suitable for high machining of hard steels and cast irons.

ADVANTAGES:
High hardness and wear resistance hence higher tool life.
Can be used under very high cutting speeds.

DISADVANTAGES:
Very expensive and difficult to fabricate.
Very brittle and have low toughness.
Ceramics:
These are pure Aluminium oxide (Al2O3), hardness 92-94 HRA.
Manufactured by cold pressing or sintering.
It involves compacting Aluminium oxide powder under high pressure
(300bar), the resulting product is termed as billet.
Billet is baked at about 12000C and this operation is termed as
sintering.
This product in the form of tool tips used as cutting material.
Ceramic tips are as hard as the carbide inserts, but brittle, hence they
require more rigid and tougher shanks.
ADVANTAGES:
Have high compressive strength and high hardness.
Have high wear resistance, hence longer tool life.
Can withstand high temperature.
DIS ADVANTAGES:
Very brittle and hence not suitable for cutting under impact loads.
Cannot withstand vibrations and shocks.
Have low thermal conductivity.

Cermets:
These are new class of cutting tools used for finishing operation.
Cermet stands for ceramic + metal.
Made of ceramic and metal binders such as nickel, cobalt, Tin, TaN, TiC or other
metal carbides.
Typical cermet consists of 70% Al2O3 and 30% TiC.
Produced by hot and cold pressing.
cermets
ADVANTAGES:
Higher hot hardness and oxidation resistance.
Yield superior surface finish on steel materials, due to high chemical
stability and to machine with low crater wear and built-up-edge.
DISADVANTAGES:
Have low toughness.
Low thermal conductivity.
High thermal expansion.
May lead to thermal cracking in interrupted machining operations.
Coating Materials:
Materials such as titanium nitride (TiN), titanium carbide (TiC), titanium
carbonitride (TiCN) and aluminium oxide (Al2O3) are used as coating
materials for Dies and HSS tools.
The coating thickness is of the order of 2 to 10 μm.
The important properties required for coating materials are:
a. Hot hardness.
b. Good bonding characteristics with the base material (substrate).
c. Low thermal conductivity.
Coating becomes more effective when substrate material has optimum strength,
hardness, toughness and thermal conductivity.
Coated tools perform better in metal cutting and have life 2 to 3 times of the normal
uncoated tools.
 TiN coating is extensively used on carbide inserts and HSS tools, such as single point tool, drill bits
and milling cutters.
TiN coating gives golden color finish to the tools and offers high hot hardness, low coefficient of
friction, good bonding to the base and hence improved life.
TiC coating are commonly used on WC inserts. It offers better cutting efficiency, improved flank
wear resistance and tool life.

Multiphase coating:
Two or three layers are coated.
Suitable for machining steel and cast iron.
Gives optimum performance and better tool life.
The first TiC layer bonds well with substrate, gives strength and wear resistance.
The intermediate Al2O3 layer improves chemical stability
and resistance to abrasion wear.
The outermost TiC layer has high wear resistance, low
coefficient of friction, low thermal conductivity and helps to
reduce built-up-edge.
Coating is usually deposited via thermal chemical vapour
deposition technique ,physical vapour deposition technique.
Advantages of Coatings:
Have high hardness can perform better at very high speeds.

Coatings act as barrier to the diffusion process that occurs due to adhesion
wear.

Offer higher cutting efficiency and higher life.

Limitations of coatings:
Not suitable for cutting actions with high abrasion wear.

Not suitable for intermittent cutting actions.

Not suitable for tool regrinding operations.

Single Crystal Diamond:
Natural or single crystal diamond is the hardest of the available cutting tool
material.
Can be shaped to shape of a cutting tool.
Can cut materials at very high speeds and at higher temperature.
Has the ability to maintain sharp cutting edge, useful for high surface finish
and dimensional accuracy.
ADV:
Very hard, incompressible and has low coefficient of friction.
Can be used to cut very strong metallic and non-metallic materials.
DISADV:
Expensive, and because of hardness difficult to process to the required
shape.
ADVANTAGES:
Offer better quality, higher toughness and improved wear
resistance.
Offer high cutting efficiency, long tool life, reduced cutting
costs.
Suitable for high cutting speed, light and uninterrupted
finishing operations.
DISADVANTAGES:
More expensive, may cause BUE problem.
Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN):
It is an artificial diamond and is the second hardest material available next to
diamond.
Produced by transforming the crystal structure of carbon from hexagonal to
cubic under high temperature and pressure conditions.
Available in round, triangle and square shapes.
CBN layers are usually mounted on the tungsten carbide inserts.
CBN layers give required wear resistance and hardness for cutting action.
CBN is less reactive at the tool chip interface with metals such as hardened
steels, chilled cast iron and many super alloys.
CBN can retain hardness even at high temperatures, can be used to machine
at very high speeds.