Green Ceramic Machining: Determination of the Recommended Feed Rate for Y-TZP Milling

Abstract

Manufacturing of advanced ceramic parts exhibiting complex geometries is laborious and expensive. Traditionally, the machining is carried out on a so-called ‘green ceramic’: a compact composed of ceramic powder held with the help of a binder. This difficulty is due not only to the composition of the material, but also to the lack of methods that determine optimal machining parameters. The goal of this paper is to apply the method based on ductile material behavior to determine a feed rate working range to ensure a machining quality. Indeed, a previous study demonstrated the limits of this method in determining cutting speed. In this case, two material removal mechanisms are observed: a mechanism dominated by pulling of the material and a proper machining mechanism. This demonstrates that the specific cutting energy is a reliable indicator for machining quality assessment. In the studied case, the recommended machining parameters to ensure quality machining of Y-TZP green ceramic with a 3 mm diameter cylindrical tool are: a cutting speed of 250 m/min, a feed per tooth of 0.037 mm/tooth, an axial depth of cut of 0.7 mm, and a radial depth of cut of 3 mm.