Three dimensional topographic studies on worn surfaces of coated cemented carbide tools with different workpiece materials

Different worn surfaces were observed when machining different types of workpiece materials using similarly coated cemented carbide inserts. This study focuses on the flank wear within the coating. A clear difference in wear patterns were observed on worn surfaces depending on the workpiece material used. The worn surface was characterized by 3D surface topography using white light interferometry. Additionally, TEM studies were used to increase the understanding between the relations of the workpiece materials to the resulting worn surfaces. The added information from the worn surfaces and TEM investigations can help in better understanding the wear mechanism when machining different workpiece materials.