Wear comparison of unstructured and structured tungsten carbide

Abstract

Surface structuring is a recognised technique to improve frictional properties of interfering surfaces. A sufficient number of studies have confirmed the successful application of structuring on mechanical seals, golf balls, engine cylinder, sliding bearings, hard disk drives, etc. Lately, structuring is applied to metal cutting tools. This study identifies the information regarding the manufacturing process with the vision to improve the machining performance. For this, a comparative analysis of friction and dry sliding wear behaviour of structured and unstructured tungsten cemented carbide was assessed. Tests were performed at different sliding speed at the constant normal load of 40 N. Results show that structuring carbide can improve friction and wear performance by 23%. Also, structuring can decreased the coefficient of friction by 7%. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis was conducted to quantify elements concentration. Microhardness tests were performed and results revealed the improvement in hardness of structured carbide. The case study confirms that structuring cutting tools can effectively elevate machining performance and improve environmental sustainability. This research is noteworthy for tool manufactures, engineering component/ machine designers and biomedical engineers, as it highlights the comprehensive understanding of structuring carbide.