EFFECTS OF WORK MATERIALS ON CUTTING PERFORMANCE OF DIAMOND-COATED CEMENTED CARBIDE TOOLS

Diamond-coated cemented carbide tools, a new type of woodcutting tool, were made by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition method. Conti nuous milling tests with coated and uncoated tools were carried out on five kinds of work materials: particleboard, medium-density fiberboar d, plywood, and air-dried and wet melapi (Shorea spp.). Tool-edge appe arance, edge recession, cutting-surface roughness, and cutting-power c onsumption are discussed. The results showed that for all of the work materials, the coated tools were superior to the uncoated tools in red ucing edge recession, and differences in surface roughness produced by the coated and uncoated tools were not significant. Power cutting con sumption for the coated tools, however, was higher than for the uncoat ed in cutting MDF and in surface milling particleboard. With further s tudy and improvements in the coating method, diamond-coated tools coul d find application in the cutting of various wood and wood-based mater ials.