Ceramic, Cermet,

PCBN, and PCD Cutting

Tools
Session 6
1

Ceramic Cutting Tools

First cutting-tool inserts on market in 1956
Inconsistent: improper use and lack of knowledge

Uniformity and quality greatly improved

Widely accepted by industry
Used in machining of hard ferrous materials and
cast iron
Gain: lower costs, increased productivity
Operate 3 to 4 times speed of carbide toolbits
2

Manufacture of Ceramic Tools

Primarily from aluminum oxide
Bauxite chemically processed and converted into
denser, crystalline form (alpha alumina)
Micro sized grains obtained from precipitation of
alumina or decomposed alumina compound

Produced by either cold or hot pressing

Finished with diamond-impregnated grinding
wheels
3

Manufacturing Process
Cold Pressing
Fine alumina powder compressed into required form
Sintered in furnace at 2912 F to 3092F

Hot Pressing
Combines forming and sintering with pressure and
heat being applied simultaneously

Titanium oxide or magnesium oxide added for

certain types to aid in sintering and retard growth

Ceramic Inserts
Stronger inserts developed
Aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide mixed in
powder form, cold-pressed into shape and sintered

Highest hot-hardness strength and gives

excellent surface finish
Used where no interrupted cuts and with
negative rakes
No coolant required
5

Indexable Insert
Most common
Fastened in mechanical holder
Available in many styles: square, round,
triangular, rectangular
When cutting edge
becomes dull, sharp
edge can be obtained by
indexing (turning) insert
in the holder
Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Permission required for reproduction or display.

Cemented Ceramic Tools

Most economical
Especially if tool shape must be altered from
standard shape

Bonded to steel shank with epoxy glue

Eliminates strains caused by clamping inserts in
mechanical holders

Ceramic Tool Applications

Intended to supplement rather than replace
carbide tools
Extremely valuable for specific applications
Must be carefully selected and used
Can be used to replace carbide tools that wear
rapidly
Never replace carbide tools that are breaking

Ceramics Usage
1. High-speed, single-point turning, boring, and
facing operations with continuous cutting
2. Finishing operations on ferrous and
nonferrous materials
3. Light, interrupted finishing cuts on steel or
cast iron

Ceramics Usage
4. Machining castings when other tools break
down because of abrasive action of sand,
inclusions or hard scale
5. Cutting hard steels up to hardness of
Rockwell c 66
6. Any operation in which size and finish of part
must be controlled and previous tools not
satisfactory
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Factors for Optimum Results

From Ceramic Cutting Tools
1. Accurate and rigid machine tools essential
2. Machine tool equipped with ample power and
capable of maintaining high speeds
3. Tool mounting and toolholder rigidity
important as machine rigidity
4. Overhand of toolholder kept to minimum: no
more than 1 times shank thickness
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5. Negative rake inserts give best results

Less force applied directly to ceramic tip

6. Large nose radius and large side cutting edge

angle on ceramic insert reduces its tendency to
chip
7. Cutting fluids generally not required, if
required, use continuous and copious flow
8. As cutting speed or hardness increases, check
ratio of feed to depth of cut
9. Best to use toolholders with fixed or adjustable
chipbreakers
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Advantages of Ceramic Tools

Machining time reduced due to higher cutting
speeds
Increased productivity because heavy depths of
cut can be made at high surface speeds
Lasts from 3 to 10 times longer than plain carbide
tool and exceed the life of coated carbide tools
More accurate size control of workpiece

13

Advantages of Ceramic Tools

Retain their strength and hardness at high
machining temperatures [in excess of 2000F]
Withstand abrasion of sand inclusions

Better surface finish

Heat-treated materials as hard as Rockwell c
66 can be readily machined

14

Disadvantages of Ceramic Tools

Brittle and therefore tend to chip easily
Satisfactory for interrupted cuts only under ideal
conditions
Initial cost of ceramics higher than carbides.
Require more rigid machine than is necessary for
other cutting tools
Considerably more power and higher cutting
speeds required for ceramics to cut efficiently
15

Ceramic Tool Geometry

Material to be machined
Operation performed
Condition of machine

Rigidity of work setup

Rigidity of toolholding device

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Cutting Speeds
Use highest cutting speed possible that gives
reasonable tool life
Two to ten times higher than other cutting
tools
Less heat generated due to lower coefficient
of friction between chip, work, and tool surface
Most of heat generated escapes with chip

17

Ceramic Tool Problems

Tool should be large enough for job
Cannot be too large but easily be too small

Style (tool geometry) should be right for type

of operation and material
Table 32.4 in text lists tool problems and their
possible causes

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Grinding Ceramic Tools

Grinding not recommended
May be resharpened with proper care
Resinoid-bonded, diamond-impregnated wheels
recommended
Coarse-grit wheel for rough grinding
220-grit for finish grinding

Hone or lap cutting edge after grinding to

remove any notches
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Cermet Cutting Tools

Developed about 1960
Made of various ceramic and metallic
combinations
Two types
Titanium carbide (TiC)-based materials
Titanium nitride (TiN)-based materials

Cost-effective replacement for carbide and

ceramic toolbits
Not used with hardened ferrous metals or nonferrous
metals
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Characteristics of Cermet Tools

Great wear resistance (permit higher cutting
speeds than carbide tools)
Edge buildup and cratering minimal
High hot-hardness qualities
Greater than carbide but less than ceramic

Lower thermal conductivity than carbide because

heat goes into chip
Fracture toughness greater for ceramic but less
for carbide tools
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Cermet Tool Advantages

Surface finish better than carbides under same conditions
often eliminates finish grinding
High wear resistance permits close tolerances for extended
periods
Cutting speeds higher than carbides (same tool life)
Tool life longer than carbine tools (same cutting
speed)
Cost per insert less than coated carbide inserts
and equal to plain carbide inserts
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Use of Cermet Tools

Titanium carbide cermets hardest
Used to fill gap between tough tungsten carbide
inserts and hard, brittle ceramic tools
Used for machining steels and cast irons

Titanium carbide-titanium nitride inserts used

for semifinish and finish machining of harder
cast irons and steels (less than 45 Rc)

23

Manufacture of Polycrystalline
Cutting Tools
Two distinct types
Polycrystalline cubic boron nitride
Polycrystalline diamond

Manufacture of blanks basically same

Layer of polycrystalline diamond or cubic
boron nitride (.020 in. thick) fused on cementedcarbide substrate by high temperature (3275F), high
pressure (1 million psi)
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Polycrystalline Mass
Created from substrate composed of tiny grains
of tungsten carbide cemented tightly together
Cobalt binder

High-heat, high-pressure conditions

Cobalt liquefies, flows up and sweeps around
diamond or cubic boron nitride abrasive
Serves as catalyst that promotes intergrowth

25

High Pressure
High Temp
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Polycrystalline Cubic Boron

Nitride Tools
Structure of cubic boron nitride feature
nondirectional, consistent properties
Resist chipping and cracking
Provide uniform hardness
Abrasion resistance in all directions

Qualities built into turning and milling buttingtool blanks and inserts
Can operate at higher cutting speeds, and take
deeper cuts
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Types and Sizes of PCBN Tool

Blank Insert Shapes Available

Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Permission required for reproduction or display.

28

Main Properties of PCBN

Hardness

Impact resistance, high strength, hardness in all

directions (random orientation of tiny CBN crystals)
Highest Hot Hardness of all tools

Abrasion Resistance

Maintain sharp cutting edges much longer

Second only to Diamond

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Main Properties of PCBN

Compressive Strength

Maximum stress in compression material will take

before ruptures

Thermal Conductivity

Allow greater heat dissipation or transfer

30

Types of PCBN Tools

Tipped inserts
Available in most carbide insert shapes
Usually most economical
Only one cutting edge (can be reground)

Full-faced inserts
Layer of PCBN bonded to cemented-carbide
Available as triangles, squares and rounds
Can downsize repeatedly

Brazed-shank tools
Made by machining pocket in proper-style of
tool shank and brazing PCBN blank in place
31
Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Four General Types of

Metal Cut
1. Hardened ferrous metals ( >45 Rc)

Hardened steels
Cast irons

2. Abrasive ferrous metals (180-240 Brinell)

Pearlistic gray cast iron and Ni-Resist

3. Heat-resistant alloys
4. Superalloys (jet engine parts)
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Advantages of
PCBN Cutting Tools
High Material-Removal Rates
Cutting speeds (250 to 900 ft/min) and feed rates
(.010 to .020 in.) result in removal rates three time
carbide tools with less tool wear

Cutting Hard, Tough Materials

Capable of machining all ferrous materials with
Rockwell C hardness of 45 and above
Also used to machine cobalt-base and nickel-base
high temperature alloys (Rockwell c 35)
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More Advantages
High Quality Products
Wear very slowly

Uniform Surface finish

Surface finishes in range of 20 to 30 in. possible
during roughing operations
Finishing surfaces in single-digit micro-inches

Lower Cost per Piece

Reduced Machine Downtime
Increased Productivity
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Polycrystalline Diamond Tools

Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) layer fused to
cemented-carbide substrate
.020 in. thick

Highly efficient cutting tool

Increased production when machining abrasive
nonmetallic, nonferrous materials

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High Pressure
High Temp
36

Types and Sizes of PCD Tool

Blank Insert Shapes Available

37

Types and Sizes of PCD Tools

Catalyst-bonded PCD available in three
microstructure series
Coarse PCD blanks
Medium-fine PCD blanks
Fine PCD blanks

Basic difference between types is size of

diamond particle used to manufacture blank

38

Properties of PCD Tools

Composite materials found in base provide
mechanical properties
High thermal conductivity and low coefficient of
thermal expansion

Diamond layer
Hardness, abrasion resistance, compressive
strength, and thermal conductivity
Compressive strength highest of any tool
Thermal conductivity highest of any tool
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Advantages of PCD Tools

Offset their higher initial cost
1. Long tool life
2. Cuts tough, abrasive material
3. High quality parts
4. Fine surface finishes
5. Reduced machine downtime
6. Increased productivity
40

Types of Material Cut

1. Nonferrous metals

2.
3.
4.
5.

Typically soft but have hard particles dispersed

Silicon-aluminum alloys
Copper alloys

Tungsten carbide
Advanced composites
Ceramics
Wood composites
41

Disadvantages of PCD Tools

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Carbon Solubility Potential

Their higher initial cost
Their higher initial cost
Their higher initial cost
Their higher initial cost
Their higher initial cost
42

Electro-Plated Diamond Tools

Process
Polycrystalline Diamond coated with copper or nickel
metal
Copper or nickel mixture electroplated to a metallic
form
Electroplated form then dressed to remove a small
amount of metal to expose PCD within
Form tools can be de-plated and re-plated multiple
times
43

Diamond-Coated Tools
Early 1980s brought new process of chemical
vapor deposition (CVD)
Produce diamond coating few microns thick

Process
Elemental hydrogen dissolved in hydrocarbon gas
around 1330
Mixture contacts cooler metal, carbon precipitates in
pure crystalline form and coats metal with diamond
film (slow 1-5 microns/hr)
44

QQC
Process developed by Pravin Mistry in mid
1990s
Eliminated problems of adhesion, adjusting to
various substrates, coating thickness and cost
Process creates diamond film through use of
laser energy and carbon dioxide as source of
carbon

45

QQC Process
Laser energy directed at substrate to mobilize, vaporize
and reate with primary element (carbone) to change
crystalline structure of substrate
Conversion zone created
beneath substrate surface
Changes metallurgically
to composition of
diamond coating on
surface

Diffusion bonding of
diamond coating to substrate
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Major Advantage of the

QQC Process
Superior bonding and reduced stress form
metallurgical bond between diamond and
substrate
Diamond-coating process can be carried out
in atmosphere (no vacuum needed)
Parts do not require pretreatment or
preheating to be coated

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More Advantages
Only carbon dioxide primary or secondary source
for carbon; nitrogen acts as shield
Diamond deposition rates exceed 1 micron per
second
Process can be used for wide variety of materials
Tool life up to 60 times better than tungsten
carbide and 240 times better than high-speed
steel
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