Comparative Study of some Machining Characteristics during Hard Turning of Alloy Steel with Untreated and Cryotreated Cermet Inserts

Abstract

Enhanced tool life of cutting inserts are most suitable condition for higher productivity of a manufacturing industry. Several methods are found and employed for higher tool life of cutting inserts among which cryogenic treatment is considered as the most significant method but no adequate researches have been found concerning the impact of cryogenic treatment on cermet inserts especially in hard turning operation. Hence, in the current experimental investigation, the comparative assessment of various responses such as flank wear, crater wear, chip morphology, and chip compression ratio were carried out during machining of hardened steel with both untreated and cryo-treated cermet inserts under dry cutting condition. Wear on the rake faces and flank faces were studied using advanced optical microscope, while chip morphology was studied using SEM. The experimental result demonstrated that the uncoated deep cryotreated with tempered cermet insert delivered better results in comparison to other cermet inserts. Deep cryogenically treated with tempered insert was found to be more suitable during machining of hardened steel because of the enhancement of wear resistance, micro hardness and toughness.