Selection and treatments tool materials

The various tool manufacturers assign many names and numbers to their products. While many of these
names and numbers may appear to be similar, the applications of these tool materials may be entirely
different. In most cases, the tool manufacturers will provide tools made of the proper material for each
given application. In some particular applications, a premium or higher priced material will be justified.

This does not mean that the most expensive tool is always the best tool. Cutting tool users can’t afford
to ignore the constant changes and advancements that are being made in the field of tool material
technology. When a tool change is needed or anticipated, a performance comparison should be made
before selecting the tool for the job. The optimum tool is not necessarily the least expensive or the most
expensive, and it is not always the same tool that was used for the job last time. The best tool is the one
that has been carefully chosen to get the job done quickly, efficiently, and economically.

A cutting tool must have the following characteristics in order to produce good quality and economical
parts:

Hardness — harness and strength of the cutting tool must be maintained at elevated temperatures, also
called hot hardness (Figure 1.1)

Toughness — toughness of cutting tools is needed so that tools don’t chip or fracture, especially during
interrupted cutting operations.

Wear Resistance — wear resistance means the attainment of acceptable tool life before tools need to be
replaced.

The materials from which cutting tools are made are all characteristically hard and strong. There is a
wide range of tool materials available for machining operations, and the general classification and use of
these materials are of interest here.

Tool Steels and Cast Alloys

Plain carbon tool steel is the oldest of the tool materials dating back hundreds of years. In simple terms,
it is a high-carbon steel, which contains about 1.05% carbon. This high carbon content allows the steel to
be hardened, offering greater resistance to abrasive wear. Plain high carbon steel served its purpose
well for many years. However, because it is quickly over tempered (softened) at relatively low cutting
temperatures (300 to 500°F), it is now rarely used as cutting tool material except in files, saw blades,
chisels, etc. The use of plain high carbon steel is limited to low heat applications.

High Speed Tool Steel: The need for tool materials that could withstand increased cutting speeds and
temperatures led to the development of high-speed tool steels (HSS). The major difference between HSS
and plain high carbon steel is the addition of alloying elements to harden and strengthen the steel and
make it more resistant to heat (hot hardness).

Some of the most commonly used alloying elements are manganese, chromium, tungsten, vanadium,
molybdenum, cobalt, and niobium. While each of these elements will add certain specific desirable
characteristics, it can be generally state that they add deep hardening capability, high hot hardness,
resistance to abrasive wear, and strength, to HSS. These characteristics allow relatively higher machining
speeds and improved performance over plain high carbon steel.

The most common HSS used primarily as cutting tools are divided into the M and T series. The M series
represents tool steels of molybdenum type and the T series represents Tungsten. Although there seems
to be a great deal of similarly among these HSS, each one serves a specific purpose and offers significant
benefits in its special application.

An important point to remember is that none of the alloying elements for either series of HSS is in
abundant supply and the cost of these elements is skyrocketing. In addition, U.S. manufacturers must
rely on foreign countries for supply of these very important elements.

Some of the HSS are now available in powdered metal (PM) form. The difference between powdered
and conventional metals is in the method by which they are made. The majority of conventional HSS is
poured into an ingot, and then, either hot or cold, worked to the desired shape. Powdered metal is
exactly as its name indicates. Basically the same elements that are used in conventional high-speed steel
are prepared in a very fine powdered form. These powdered elements are carefully blended together,
pressed into a die under extremely high pressure, and then sintered in an atmospherically controlled
furnace. (The PM method of manufacturing cutting tools is explained later in this chapter.)

HSS Surface Treatment: Many surface treatments have been developed in an attempt to extend tool life,
reduce power consumption, and to control other factors that affect operating conditions and costs.
Some of these treatments have been used for many years and have proven to have some value. For
example, the black oxide coatings that commonly appear on drills and taps are of value as a deterrent to
build-up on the tool. The black oxide is basically ‘dirty’ surface that discourages the build-up of work
material.
One of the more recent developments in coatings for HHS is titanium nitride by the physical vapor
deposition (PVD) method. Titanium nitride is deposited on the tool surface in one of several different
types of furnace at relatively low temperature, which does not significantly affect the heat treatment
(hardness) of the tool being coated. This coating is known to extend the life of a cutting tool significantly
or to allow the tool to be used at higher operating speeds. Tool life can be extended by as much as three
times, or operating speeds can be increased up to 50%.

Cast Alloys: The alloying elements in HSS - principally cobalt, chromium, and tungsten - improve the
cutting properties sufficiently, that metallurgical researchers developed the cast alloys, a family of
materials without iron.

A typical composition for this class was 45% cobalt, 32% chromium, 21% tungsten, and 2% carbon. The
purpose was to obtain a cutting tool with hot hardness superior to HSS.

When applying cast alloy tools, their brittleness should be kept in mind and sufficient support should be
provided at all times. Cast alloys provide high abrasion resistance and are thus useful for cutting scaly
materials or those with hard inclusions.

Cemented Tungsten Carbide

Henri Moissan discovered tungsten carbide in 1893 during a search for method of making artificial
diamonds. Charging sugar and tungsten oxide, he melted tungsten sub-carbide in an arc furnace. The
carbonized sugar reduced the oxide and carburized the tungsten Moissan recorded that the tungsten
carbide was extremely hard, approaching the hardness of diamond and exceeding that of sapphire. It
was more than 16x as heavy as water. The material proved to be extremely brittle and seriously limited
its industrial use.

Commercial tungsten carbide with 6% cobalt binder was first produced and marketed in Germany in
1926. Production of the same carbide began in the U.S. in 1928 and in Canada in 1930.

At this time, hard carbides consisted of the basic tungsten carbide system with cobalt binders. These
carbides exhibited superior performance in the machining of cast iron, nonferrous, and non-metallic
materials, but were disappointed when used for the machining of steel.
Most of the subsequent developments in the hard carbides have been modifications of the original
patents, principally involving replacement of part or all of the tungsten carbide with other carbides,
especially titanium carbide and/or tantalum carbide. This led to the development of the modern multi-
carbide cutting tool materials permitting the high speed machining of steel.

A new phenomenon was introduced with the development of the cemented carbides, again making
higher speeds possible. Previous cutting tool materials, products of molten metallurgy, depended largely
upon heat treatment for their properties and these properties could, in turn, be destroyed by further
heat temperatures, these products of molten metallurgy failed.

A different set of conditions exist with the cemented carbides. The hardness of the carbide is greater
than the of most other tool materials at room temperature and it has the ability to retain its hardness at
elevated temperatures to a greater degree, so that greater speeds can be adequately supported.

Manufacture of Carbide Products

The term “tungsten carbide” describes a comprehensive family of hard carbide compositions used for
metal cutting tools, dies of various types, and wear parts. In general, these materials are composed of
the carbides of tungsten, titanium, tantalum, or some combination of these, sintered or cemented in a
matrix binder, usually cobalt.

Blending: The first operation after reduction of the tungsten metal powder is the milling of tungsten and
carbon prior to the carburizing operation. Here, 94 parts by weight of tungsten and six parts by weight
of carbon - usually added in the form of lampblack - are blended together in a rotating mixer or ball mill.
This operation must be performed under carefully controlled conditions in order to insure optimum
dispersion of the carbon in the tungsten. Carbide blending equipment - better known as a ball mill - is
shown in figure 1.2.

In order to provide the necessary strength, a binding agent, usually cobalt is added to the tungsten in
powder form and these two are ball milled together for a period of several days, to form a very intimate
mixture. Careful control of conditions, including time, must be exercised to obtain a uniform,
homogeneous product. (See figure 1.3)

Compacting: The most common compacting method for grade powders involves the use of a die, made
to the shape of the eventual product desired. The size of the die must be greater than the final product
size to allow for dimensional shrinkage that takes place in the final sintering operation. These dies are
expensive, and usually made with tungsten carbide liners. Therefore, sufficient number of the final
product (compacts) are required, to justify the expense involved in manufacturing a specific die. Carbide
compacting equipment - better known as a pill press - is shown in figure 1.4, and various pill pressed
carbide parts are shown in figure 1.5.

If the quantities are not high, a larger briquette, or billet, may be pressed. This billet may then be cut up
(usually after pre-sintering) into smaller units and shaped or preformed to the required configuration,
and again, allowance must be made to provide for shrinkage. Ordinarily pressures used in these cold
compacting operations are in the neighborhood of 30,000 PSI. Various carbide-preformed parts are
shown in figure 1.6.

A second compacting method is the hot pressing of grade powders in graphite dies at the sintering
temperature. After cooling, the part has attained full hardness. Because the graphite dies are
expendable, this system is generally used only when the part to be produced it too large for cold
pressing and sintering.

A third compacting method, usually used for large pieces, is isostatic pressing. Powders are placed in a
closed, flexible container that is then suspended in a liquid in a closed pressure vessel. Pressure in the
liquid is built up to the point where the powders become properly compacted. This system is
advantageous for pressing large pieces, because the pressure acting on the powders operates equally
from all directions, resulting in a compact of uniform pressed density.

Sintering: A cobalt compact is heated in a hydrogen atmosphere or vacuum furnace in temperatures

ranging from 2,500 to 2,900°F, depending on the composition. Both time and temperature are carefully
adjusted in combination, to effect optimum control over properties and geometry. The compact will
shrink approximately 16% on linear dimensions, or 40% in volume. The exact amount of shrinkage
depends on several factors, including particle size of the powders, and the composition of the grade.
Control of the size and shape is most important and is least predictable during the cooling cycle. This is
particularly true with those grades of cemented carbides with higher cobalt contents.

With cobalt having a lesser density than tungsten, it occupies a greater part of the volume than would
be indicated by the rated cobalt content of the grade. And, because cobalt contents are generally a
much higher percentage of the mass in liquid phase, extreme care is required to control and predict with
accuracy the magnitude and direction of shrinkage. Figure 1.7 shows carbide parts being loaded into a
sintering furnace, and a more detailed schematic diagram of the cemented tungsten carbide
manufacturing process is shown in figure 1.8.