Wear maps for some uncoated cutting tools

Abstract

The method of using maps and diagrams to present wear rates and wear mechanisms, as well as showing the relationships between them, has been applied to cutting tools. In this summary paper, wear maps obtained earlier for uncoated high-speed steel (HSS) cutting tools are presented together with maps for uncoated carbide cutting tools. Within the two-dimensional area of a wear map defined by two easily controlled machining parameters, namely feed rate and cutting speed, the rates of tool wear, and the wear mechanisms observed during actual dry turning operations, are displayed. The presence of safety zones and least-wear regimes in these maps suggests that it may be possible to optimize actual machining operations so that compromises between rates of material removal, for an acceptable level of productivity, and tool costs can be reached. The concept of using machining-regions maps for practical tool-wear minimization during machining is also discussed.