Effect of Grain Refinement and Composition on the Wear of Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools

Tool life tests of continuous cutting superalloy GH2132 were carried out by WC/Co cemented carbide cutting inserts of different grain size and cobalt content, and flank surface wear morphology of the cutting inserts were observed by ZEISS continuous zoom stereo microscope and microphotograph system. The results show that grain size and cobalt content strongly influence the cutting tool life and tool wear, grain refinement and proper cobalt content are help to improve the tool life and the wear resistance of WC/Co cemented carbide. The wear mechanisms of different grain size and cobalt content of ultrafine cemented carbide tools were adhesion and notch, among them, adhesive was the main wear mechanism at higher cutting speeds.