Wear Studies of Tungsten Carbide Cutting Tools Using Micro-Beam Techniques

Abstract

Particle accelerator based μ-PIXE and μ-RBS techniques along with optical microscopy, SEM and EDS were employed to examine the worn faces of uncoated tungsten carbide inserts used for cutting free machining steel. The study is concentrated on the deposited manganese sulfide onto the rake and flank faces of the tool tips, and on the changes in the tool matrix composition arising from the prevailing wear mechanisms. The manganese and iron distributions on the worn faces of the tool tips showed a very good reproducibility for similar cutting conditions. Evidence of the decomposition of tungsten carbide in the crater and the diffusion and/or oxidation of the freed tungsten is presented. The strength of the μ-PIXE and μ-RBS versus conventional techniques is demonstrated by the ability of the former techniques to resolve the structure and the composition of deposited layers in three dimensions.