Investigations on Tool Wear Behavior of TiAlVN and TiAlN/TiAlVN Coated Tools in the Milling Inconel 718

Abstract

The constant growth of the aerospace industry has been made possible due to the development and implementation of materials capable of withstanding the service demands of different components. Inconel 718 alloy presents high mechanical resistance, high hardness, tendency to undergo work hardening, and low thermal conductivity, which makes it difficult to machine material. Developing techniques that improve these alloys' machinability are fundamental and, therefore, have been a point of interest and study. Within these techniques is the use of coated tools, which allow the evaluation of optimization and improvement of the milling process's performance and produce parts with superior surface quality. This is the case of TiAlVN and TiAlN/TiAlVN coatings. Based on this, the main goal of this work was to evaluate the properties and wear behavior of TiAlVN and TiAlN/TiAlVN coated tools coated, deposited by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, during the milling of Inconel 718. Indeed, TiAlN coatings doped with vanadium have been little studied and explored, opening a gap in the literature. The coatings produced were analyzed in terms of their composition, morphology, mechanical properties, oxidation resistance, and wear resistance. The parameters that were compared were cutting length and feed per tooth. Both coatings had a stoichiometric chemical composition and a similar morphology. It was observed that the TiAlN/TiAlVN coating had better performance in oxidation tests, and TiAlVN coating had better performance in wear resistance. The wear mechanisms identified were similar in all tools, with the main wear mechanism being abrasive wear with some adhesive wear.