Wear Behaviors of PCBN Tools in Interrupted Turning Hardened Steel with Tool’s Chamfer Angle and Edge Preparation Considered

Abstract

The performance and wear mechanisms of one type of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) cutting tool with two different cutting edge micro geometries (marked as PCBN 169T and PCBN 169S) have been investigated in this paper. Interrupted turning of round GCr15 steel has been selected as the test method. The experimental results indicate that PCBN 169S has a greater thermal wear resistance than PCBN 169T at high cutting speeds. It is believed that edge preparation can shorten or eliminate the initiative wearing stage, improve the impact resistance, reduce the occurrence of chipping or dilapidation, and extend tool life. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to evaluate wear mechanisms of PCBN tools. Our results show that the dominant wear mechanisms for PCBN 169T and PCBN 169S are mechanical and chemical wear.