Friction and wear behaviors of the carbide tools embedded with solid lubricants in sliding wear tests and in dry cutting processes

Micro-holes were made on the surface of WC/TiC/Co carbide, MoS2 solid lubricants were filled into these micro-holes. Reciprocating sliding tests and dry cutting tests were carried out with this carbide tools. Results showed that the friction coefficient of conventional carbide is much higher than that of the carbide embedded with solid lubricants in sliding tests. The cutting forces, temperature, and friction coefficient at the tool–chip interface of the tool embedded with solid lubricants were reduced compared with that of the conventional tool. Two mechanisms responsible were found, the first one is explained as the formation of self-lubricating film at the tool–chip interface, which was released from the micro-hole and smeared on the rake, and served as lubricating additive; the other one was explained by the reduced contact length at the tool–chip interface, which contributes to the decrease of direct contact area between the chip and rake face.

Research highlights
► Micro-holes filled MoS2 solid lubricants were made on the surface of the cemented carbide tool.
► The cutting performance of this tool was improved compared with that of the conventional one.
► Two mechanisms responsible were found. It is suggested that this tool is an effective way to decrease friction during dry cutting processes.