Tool wear and machining performance of cBN–TiN coated carbide inserts and PCBN compact inserts in turning AISI 4340 hardened steel

PCBN is the dominant tool material for hard turning applications due to its high hardness, high wear resistance, and high thermal stability. However, the inflexibility of fabricating PCBN inserts with complex tool geometries and the prohibitive cost of PCBN inserts are some of the concerns in furthering the implementation of CBN based materials for hard turning. In this paper, we present the results of a thorough investigation of cBN plus TiN (cBN–TiN) composite-coated, commercial grade, carbide inserts (CNMA 432, WC–Co (6% Co)) for hard turning applications in an effort to address these concerns. The effect of cutting speed and feed rate on tool wear (tool life), surface roughness, and cutting forces of the cBN–TiN coated carbide inserts was experimented and analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) technique, and the cutting conditions for their maximum tool life were evaluated. The tool wear, surface roughness, and cutting forces of the cBN–TiN coated and commercially available PCBN tipped inserts were compared under similar cutting conditions. Both flank wear and crater wear were observed. The flank wear is mainly due to abrasive actions of the martensite present in the hardened AISI 4340 alloy. The crater wear of the cBN–TiN coated inserts is less than that of the PCBN inserts because of the lubricity of TiN capping layer on the cBN–TiN coating. The coated CNMA 432 inserts produce a good surface finish (<1.6 μm) and yield a tool life of about 18 min per cutting edge. In addition, cost analysis based on total machining cost per part was performed for the comparison of the economic viability between the cBN–TiN coated and PCBN inserts.