Geometrical aspects of ion beam and plasma-based stripping processes for refurbishing cutting tools

Abstract

Stripping of hard coatings is an essential technological step in the refurbishment of various cutting tools, such as carbide drills, endmills, routers, etc. The dry ion etching method of coating stripping may give significant advantages over conventional wet chemical etching. In this work, a novel ion plasma and ion beam-based method of film stripping are discussed in terms of etching uniformity. Thin film etching rate distribution is experimentally studied over the transverse cross-section of TiN and TiAlCrN coated drill bits. Furthermore the results are discussed in terms of simplified mathematical models of the film removal by ion sputtering. Advantages of the directional ion beam method over the field driven plasma immersion method are concluded.

Reconditioning of Diamond Coated Tools and Its Impact on Cutting Performance for CFRP Laminates

“…The beam size of CDIS was ~100 mm in diameter and covered the whole coated length of the processed tools, so that the whole coating was etched with a good uniformity along the vertical axis. In addition, the tools were rotated planetary in order to provide an even ion/radical flux exposure in the horizontal plane, which was previously shown to result in a good etching uniformity inside the flutes [20].…”