Friction, Wear and Cutting Performances of Nano Cemented Carbide Cutter

Performances, e.g. friction and wear, grinding and cutting, of nano-cemented carbides (WC-7Co and WC-10Co) are important for its development and potential applications. In this paper, the friction and wear of nano-cemented carbide was evaluated on a CJS111A tribo-meter. Cutting tests on Al/SiCP composite material using the nano-cemented carbide cutter sharpened by ELID (Electrolytic in Process Dressing) grinding were conducted to investigate its cutting performance and abrasive mechanism. The nano-cemented carbide cutter showed lower friction coefficient and higher wear resistance than that of common cemented carbide cutter. The abrasive mechanism of WC-10Co was characterized by fish-scale plastic flow. It was found that the nano-cemented carbide cutter had good grinding performance because the grinding mechanism was mainly contributed by plastic removal of material. An analysis of the used nano-cemented carbide cutter indicated that its abrasion mechanisms was cutting edge breakage and grain pull-out conducted by discontinuous impulsive force. The essence of cutting Al/SiCp is interrupted cutting. The nano-cemented carbide cutter was good for operation of interrupted cut at low speed.