Effect of the Cutting Edge Preparation on the Surface Integrity after Dry Drilling

Nowadays, cutting edge preparation is a widely applied tool improvement method, especially when concerns tool's life. However, the effects of the tool treatments on the generated hole surface are still an ongoing investigation. The machined hole is subject to severe contact with the tool, in particular the drill corner and guide, providing an increase of friction and thus, heat generation. Consequently, the surface integrity suffers several alterations. Therefore, this study aims to understand the effect of the cutting edge preparation on the surface integrity of holes. Experiments performed with carbide tools, coated with TiAlN and three configurations of tools (sharpened, polished with abrasive brushes and treated with drag finishing surface treatment) during dry drilling, showed that the tool condition has an important effect on the surface roughness, temperature and subsurface plastic deformation.