PROPERTIES AND DRY CUTTING PERFORMANCE OF DIAMOND-COATED TOOLS

An increasing consciousness of a responsibility towards the environmen t together with stricter pollution control requirements demand ''green '' manufacturing processes. Dry machining will be an important techniq ue in achieving this goal in the future. In this study, investigations are presented on diamond-coated tools and their suitability concernin g dry machining an AlSi10Mg-hypoeuteetic casting alloy; this alloy is commonly applied for components ill the automotive industry. For these investigations, diamond-coated tools were provided from several suppl iers. First, the samples were characterized with regard to their film morphology and adhesion. After this, the samples were tested in dry tu rning and milling operations under normal field test conditions and th e results from these tests are discussed with regard to the samples' d ry machining behaviour. The investigations showed that optimized diamo nd-coated tools possess great potential for dry turning and milling op erations compared with PCD and K10. Furthermore, the results indicate a consistent qualitative correlation between the properties of the dia mond film and the performance in both dry turning and dnr milling appl ications. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.