Coatings made of tungsten carbide and tantalum carbide for machining tools

Continuous evolution of cutting parameters has been a constant requirement for the manufacture of machining tools. This has promoted the development of new technologies to reduce the production time as well as cost without affecting the competitiveness. In the present work, high speed tools have been coated with WC and TaC by means of chemical vapour deposition and tested in a high speed milling machine. Damages on the tips of these cutting tools were analysed by scanning electron microscope. These observations show that the coating is heterogeneous and affected by the type and composition of various phases formed. Results indicate that the coating made from WC is more highly resistant to attrition than that made of TaC. Surfaces that have been machined by the coated tools are evaluated by means of the average roughness parameter