Crater and flank wear resistance of cutting tools having micro textured surfaces

• Cutting tools having textured surfaces are developed for improving their crater and flank wear resistance.
• The developed tools show excellent wear resistances in cutting of medium carbon steels.
• A mechanism for suppressing the wear on the textured tool surface is discussed.
• Wear resistances of the developed tools have a strong correlation with geometries of the texture.
• Optimal texture dimension differs depending on cutting conditions.

We have proposed cutting tools with various textured surfaces to increase cutting tool life. Our previous studies have developed cutting tools having periodical stripe-grooved surfaces on their rake face formed using femtosecond laser technology, which displayed high crater wear resistance in cutting of steel materials. In this study, the mechanism for suppressing the crater wear on the tool surface and the relationship between texture dimensions and wear resistance were investigated to provide a guideline for developing tools with textured surfaces. Furthermore, we newly introduced the textured surfaces into a flank face of cutting tools to improve flank wear resistance. Face milling experiments on steel materials exhibited that the newly developed tool having the textured flank face significantly reduced the flank wear. Moreover, the influences of texture dimensions and cutting conditions on the flank wear resistance were also discussed.