Theoretical analysis of the possibility of manufacturing a metal sealing ring on the CNC machine tool. Selecting the most appropriate technology and manufacturing process analysis, involving selection of materials, tools and machining conditions.

The report aims to investigate the influence of chemical reactions on comb crack formation and propagation in coated cemented carbide milling inserts with different compositions. A series of novel experimental techniques have been developed and applied to understand oxidation and corrosion effects on comb cracks. Furthermore microstructure changes in the region of the comb cracks on worn milling inserts were studied by high resolution microscopy. It has been observed that the main effect of the oxidation and corrosion on comb cracks is connected to an attack of the binder phase, affecting its composition, distribution and morphology. Different comb crack types for dry and wet milling have been observed. In the presence of cooling media (wet machining) inserts present lateral cracks (fatigue induced) connected to the principal comb crack, which form at regions where the binder has been strongly corroded. Despite the addition of Cr and (Ta,Nb)C enhance both the oxidation and corrosion attack resistance have a minor effect on the formation and propagation of comb cracks. Schematic models based on the experimental results and scientific discussions are presented to understand the influence of oxidation and corrosion in the formation and propagation of comb cracks.

In a diffusion couple, the intimacy of the contact between the two parts is of high importance for the results. In a tribological contact, matter can transfer from one part to another and a very intimate contact is formed. A new method for investigating a tribological diffusion couple created in this way and consisting of rock and a cemented carbide (CC) drill bit button, is developed in this thesis. This is done as further studies of this couple can contribute to the understanding of drill bit wear in rock drilling. A complete experimental route, including sample preparation, tribological contact, heat treatment and analysis of samples, is presented. Heat treatment of samples was conducted both in an atmosphere of flowing argon and inside an evacuated and sealed quartz vacuum ampule. Heat treatment in flowing argon was rejected as an oxide formed on the sample surface.  Samples in quartz ampules were heat treated at either 1000 °C for 2 h or 21 h, or at 1100 °C for 2 h. Samples were repeatedly imaged with Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and analysed with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) during the process. As Si and W have characteristic X-ray peaks in close proximity, the need for a detection method other than EDS to detect diffused Si in CC arose. Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (WDS) performed well in that respect. Diffused Si could be found in the superficial Co pockets of the CC structure, by analysis with WDS.

High performance cutting tools are essential in many industry areas. Cemented carbides (WC-Co) are common materials used for these applications due to the excellent mechanical properties. The mechanical properties of the material are manly dependent on the WC grain size distribution.To be able to tailor the material properties it is important to be able to characterize and control the WC grain size.In this study a quantitative method for WC grain size distribution measurements has been developed using the automated electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) technique. The EBSD system was optimized for a fast and accurate measurement. Using the method approximately 2000-3000 WC grains can be measured in approximately 25 minutes. This will give reliable statistics and information about the material.The method was used to compare materials produced with three different milling methods; traditional 30l ball mill, method A and B. Two WC raw materials with different initial particle sizes, one coarser and one finer, was milled aiming for similar grain sizes in the sintered structure. The results showed some tendency for a larger fraction of large grains in the materials produced using the ball mill compared to the materials produced with method A and B. The difference between the milling methods was larger using a raw material with a coarser initial particle size.The developed quantitative method was successfully used to compare grain size distributions of different materials in a fast and quantitative way. The differences between the materials were small and materials with similar grain size distribution and mechanical properties could be produced using both the traditional ball mill method and method A and B.

When slow wear mechanisms are studied it is important to examine slower processes, such as diffusion. Such processes can have a significant impact over time and can cause other phases to form, which can have a large effect on the wear. This thesis has investigated the diffusion that is believed to take place between brass and cemented carbide tools. This was done to further the understanding of the slow atomic wear which if properly understood, could lead to solutions that would increase the lifetime of the tools. The diffusion pairs were made from a tribological contact and then heat treated to speed up the diffusion process. Different temperatures and times were tested, from 400 °C for 3 h to 700 °C for 24 h. The samples were analysed with SEM and EDS both before and after the heat treatment, to see if diffusion had taken place. However, because of many unexpected processes and reactions the analysis could not confirm that diffusion had taken place. The transportation of Cu at the higher temperatures was much faster than expected, and in some samples, Cu could not be detected after the heating. Since the surface was so mobile, the slower diffusion process did not have time to take place. Many improvements for future experiments are suggested to be able to observe the diffusion, such as depositing a thin film or adding more work material.

The cutting tool inserts are used in different machining processes and are most often made out of cemented carbide and have different geometries depending on application. During the machining process, the insert is subjected to elevated temperatures and high pressure which cause the insert to be worn out. Depending on the cutting conditions different wear mechanism and wear types appear on the insert. One of the most common wear types are flank wear but according to experts there is a lack of publication in this area and there are not sufficient information about how flank wear affects the thermo-mechanical loads that act on the insert. The present project was performed together with AB Sandvik Coromant with the aim to develop a fundamental understanding of loads on worn cemented carbide inserts during metal cutting. An additional aim is to investigate to which degree of detail the thermo-mechanical loads on the flank wear land (VB) can be modeled with regards to e.g. the angle between the wear land and the cutting direction. This was executed by modeling a worn insert in CAD and then importing the model to the software AdvantEdge, to simulate the cutting process. The results from the simulations are presented with TecPlot as figures showing the temperature and pressure distributions on the insert as well as plots generated in MATLAB showing the contact pressure. While analysing the results it was partly found that varying the VB affected the distribution of load and stresses. It was also found that the temperature decreased as the angle of the flank wear decreased. The highest temperatures were present was along the part of the rake face closest to the cutting edge, as well as at the bottom of the VB. Possible future outlooks in this area of work is to investigate how to get a more refined mesh on the workpiece, in order to optimize the cutting process and its results.

Titanium alloys are major materials used in the airplane industry, and prospects show that airplane production will double in the next 20 years. Consequently, the demand for cutting tools for machining of titanium alloys will increase. The primary problem when machining titanium alloys is their low thermal conductivity. Crater wear is the main factor limiting tool life, and is generally caused by thermal diffusion due to high temperatures in the tool-chip interface. This master’s thesis was performed in collaboration with Sandvik Coromant, with the prospect to increase knowledge of how diffusion and chip formation influences crater wear progression. The aim was to study tool wear of cutting tools when turning Ti–6Al–4V. This was done by testing two different rake face geometries, both coated and uncoated, at cutting speeds of 30–115 m/min. Diffusion was investigated to learn about the impact it has on crater wear. Chips were examined to investigate chip formation and shear strain. The coated modified rake face insert showed less crater wear only for the initial few seconds of machining. Uncoated inserts with a modified rake face showed higher diffusion rate and faster crater wear progression than did standard inserts. The standard inserts showed twice as long tool life as did the modified inserts. No significant differences in the chip formation mechanism were found between modified and standard inserts. Cracks were found within shear bands that were thinner than usual, which suggest that the generation of cracks allows less shear deformation.

In this study, the ageing effects on powder used for cemented carbide insert production are examined. Ageing is throughout this study, defined as the time dependent change of the magnetic properties: coercive field strength and saturation magnetization. Testing is done using eight different powder compositions stored in both air and in an argon cabinet for 10 weeks, where sampling is done at specific intervals. Samples are stored in vacuum sealed bags for a combined sintering at the last phase of the test. Magnetic properties are assumed to be dependent on the amount of oxides needed to be reduced by taking carbon from the material itself during the vacuum stage of the sintering. To achieve interpretive results, this study also tested available sintering furnaces (DMK and DEK) by sintering trays with patterns of test pieces. This shows that DEK furnaces are much better for the ageing tests performed in this study, since less variation of the magnetic properties are measured because of the symmetrical heat gradient over each tray. Ageing tests strongly suggest that the cause of ageing comes from water absorbed by the PEG in the powder composition. Changing the molecular weight of the PEG seems to have an effect on the powder's ageing sensitivity. Measurements performed in this study show less ageing for Cr-rich DA-powders than for cubic carbide rich DQ-powders.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:58:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 RamsesOCL_DISSERT.pdf: 6940131 bytes, checksum: ccaad3b0fc7afbcfa4cdd535d7f2c612 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-07-29 / This work presents the results, analyses and conclusions about a study carried out with objective of minimizing the thermal cracks formation on cemented carbide inserts during face milling. The main focus of investigation was based on the observation that milling process is an interrupted machining process, which imposes cyclic thermal loads to the cutting tool, causing frequent stresses changes in its superficial and sub-superficial layers. These characteristics cause the formation of perpendicular cracks from cutting edge which aid the cutting tool wear, reducing its life. Several works on this subject emphasizing the thermal cyclic behavior imposed by the milling process as the main responsible for thermal cracks formation have been published. In these cases, the phenomenon appears as a consequence of the difference in temperature experienced by the cutting tool with each rotation of the cutter, usually defined as the difference between the temperatures in the cutting tool wedge at the end of the cutting and idle periods (T factor). Thus, a technique to minimize this cyclic behavior with objective of transforming the milling in an almost-continuous process in terms of temperature was proposed. In this case, a hot air stream was applied into the idle period, during the machining process. This procedure aimed to minimize the T factor. This technique was applied using three values of temperature from the hot air stream (100, 350 e 580 oC) with no cutting fluid (dry condition) and with cutting fluid mist (wet condition) using the hot air stream at 580oC. Besides, trials at room temperature were carried out. Afterwards the inserts were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope, where the quantity of thermal cracks generated in each condition, the wear and others damages was analyzed. In a general way, it was found that the heating of the idle period was positive for reducing the number of thermal cracks during face milling with cemented carbide inserts. Further, the cutting fluid mist application was effective in reducing the wear of the cutting tools. / Este trabalho apresenta os resultados, an?lises e conclus?es de um estudo realizado com objetivo de minimizar o processo de forma??o e evolu??o de trincas de origem t?rmica em insertos de metal duro usados no fresamento frontal. O foco principal da pesquisa baseou-se na observa??o de que, por ser um processo de corte interrompido, o fresamento imp?e um carregamento t?rmico c?clico ? ferramenta de corte, conduzindo a frequentes varia??es de tens?es nas camadas superficial e sub-superficial de seu gume cortante. Tal caracter?stica leva ? forma??o de trincas no substrato, perpendiculares a aresta de corte, as quais auxiliam na acelera??o do desgaste e no fim de vida da ferramenta. Muitos trabalhos foram publicados sobre o assunto enfatizando a ciclagem t?rmica imposta pelo processo de fresamento como a principal causa da forma??o das trincas t?rmicas. Neste caso, o fen?meno surge como conseq??ncia da diferen?a de temperatura sofrida pela ferramenta de corte a cada giro da fresa, normalmente definida pela diferen?a entre as temperaturas no gume cortante imediatamente ao final das fases ativa e inativa (fator T). Assim, prop?s-se neste trabalho uma t?cnica que visa amenizar esta ciclagem t?rmica caracter?stica, por aproximar o fresamento frontal de um processo quase cont?nuo do ponto de vista t?rmico. Neste caso, um jato de ar quente foi aplicado na fase inativa da fresa durante todo o processo de usinagem, com objetivo de minimizar o fator T. Esta t?cnica foi aplicada usando tr?s valores de temperatura do jato de ar, 100, 350 e 580 ?C na condi??o a seco e 580?C na condi??o com fluido de corte aplicado por n?voa. Al?m disso, tamb?m foram realizados ensaios a temperatura ambiente. Ao final dos ensaios de fresamento, os insertos foram conduzidos a um microsc?pio eletr?nico de varredura, onde a quantidade de trincas t?rmicas geradas em cada condi??o, o desgaste e demais avarias foram analisadas. De maneira geral, observou-se que o aquecimento da fase inativa forneceu resultados positivos na redu??o da quantidade de trincas t?rmicas no fresamento frontal com insertos de metal duro. Al?m disso, a aplica??o de fluido de corte por n?voa foi eficaz na diminui??o do desgaste das ferramentas de corte ensaiadas.

The goal of this work is to understand how the wear and deformation mechanisms of hardmetalinserts change when the cobalt binder phase is replaced with a dierent metal or analloy. The focus is on inserts for steel turning. The work presented in this licentiate thesisconsists of the rst steps.Cobalt is the most common binder phase in hardmetal tools based on tungsten carbide asthe hard phase. Metallic cobalt powder, present during the manufacturing, has been associatedwith lung diseases and an increased risk for lung cancer if inhaled. Therefore it is importantto investigate alternative binders as one possible solution.This work studies binder phase alloys from the iron-nickel-cobalt system. These alloyscan be either austenitic, martensitic or a mixture of the two phases. By changing the binderphase composition to change the crystal structure it is possible to tailor the macroscopic mechanicalproperties of the material. It is also possible to tailor the composition in such a waythat the binder is transformation toughening, forming martensite as a response to mechanicaldeformation.The majority of inserts for steel turning are coated, and it is important to investigate if thehardmetals with alternative binder can be coated and if the coating adhesion is sucient forsteel turning.Four dierent alternative binder alloys and one reference with cobalt binder coated bychemical vapour deposition were investigated by scratch testing to determine the adhesion.The scratch test adhesion was sucient on all samples, but signicant variations in coatingadhesion were found.One alternative binder with 86wt%Ni and 14wt%Fe and a reference with cobalt binder manufacturedto mimic state of the art turning inserts were tested in steel turning. The alternativebinder grades had a lower resistance to plastic deformation and this was attributed to earlyaking of the coating due to a lower coating adhesion. Focused ion beam and scanning electronmicroscopy were used to study the deformation of the hard metal in the used cuttinginserts.