TEMPERATURE EVALUATION OF CUTTING TOOLS DURING MACHINING OF HARDENED BEARING STEEL USING POLYCRYSTALLINE CUBIC BORON-NITRIDE AND CERAMIC CUTTING TOOLS

In this work some of the most popular techniques used to evaluate the temperature in cutting tools during machining are briefly reviewed. Th e experimental work used two different techniques to assess the temper ature generated during turning of hardened bearing steel using polycry stalline cubic boron nitride and ceramic cutting tools: the thermal ra diation method and the implanted thermocouple method. Additionally, a finite volume analysis was conducted to estimate the temperature distr ibution in the cutting tool. The results suggested that the temperatur e increased with the cutting speed, feedrate, depth of cut, and tool w ear, and an increase in the thermal conductivity of the tool material caused an elevation in the temperature of the cutting tool and a reduc tion in the temperature of the chip. Temperatures as high as 1550 degr ees C were estimated in the cutting zone when finish turning using a h igh cubic boron nitride concentration cutting tool. (C) 1997 The Insti tute of Materials.