Wear Mechanism of Cemented Carbide Tool in High Speed Milling of Stainless Steel

Adhesion of cutting tool and chip often occurs when machining stainless steels with cemented carbide tools. Wear mechanism of cemented carbide tool in high speed milling of stainless steel 0Cr13Ni4Mo was studied in this work. Machining tests on high speed milling of 0Cr13Ni4Mo with a cemented carbide tool are conducted. The cutting force and cutting temperature are measured. The wear pattern is recorded and analyzed by high-speed camera, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). It is found that adhesive wear was the dominant wear pattern causing tool failure. The process and microcosmic mechanism of the tool’s adhesive wear are analyzed and discussed based on the experimental results. It is shown that adhesive wear of the tool occurs due to the wear of coating, the affinity of elements Fe and Co, and the grinding of workpiece materials to the tool material. The process of adhesive wear includes both microcosmic elements diffusion and macroscopic cyclic process of adhesion, tearing and fracture.