Wear and MnS Layer Adhesion in Uncoated Cutting Tools When Dry and Wet Turning Free-Cutting Steels

Abstract

Free-cutting steels are developed to produce large quantities of parts with low mechanical behavior, mainly for automotive sector. These alloys contain phosphorous, lead, sulfur, and manganese that help to improve the machinability and surface roughness. However, due to the toxicity of lead, steel mills in recent years have been focusing on non-toxic steels to produce minimum environmental pollution and better machinability. The present work investigates the tool wear during dry and wet turning of free-cutting steels (SAE 1212, SAE 12L14, and SAE 1215) by using uncoated hard metal inserts at three cutting speeds. Additionally, a EDS analysis was performed to determine the presence of Mn and S elements at the rake face of the cutting tool that can induce a higher adhesion of manganese sulfide (MnS). The results show that the SAE 12L14 steel has the best performance in terms of tool life at different cutting speeds. This difference is maximum at the lowest cutting speed, which gradually decreases with the increase of the cutting speed. The wear behavior is evaluated in the three steel alloys at each cutting speed and, consequently, the tool wear exhibits a slightly better performance in the dry machining condition for higher cutting speeds (180 and 240 m/min), independent of the steel alloy. Finally, EDS analysis confirms the presence of Mn and S elements at the rake face of the inserts machined in dry condition. Hence, MnS is expected to interpose between the machined surface and cutting tool surface to behave similar to tribofilm by reducing the wear on the cutting edge.