Effect of micro-textures on cutting fluid lubrication of cemented carbide tools

Severe friction at the cutter-chip interface increases tool surface wear and reduces tool life. The friction could be reduced by introducing cutting fluids between cutter and chip. The lubrication of cutting fluids depends on its penetration. The ability of cutting fluids to penetrate into the cutting zone can be enhanced by the surface texture of the cutters. In this paper, microgroove-liked textures with different groove width were fabricated on the rake-face of the cemented carbide YS8 cutters with femtosecond laser. The effect of micro-textures on the lubrication of cutting fluids in cutting zone was investigated in cutting H13 hot die steel tests with textured and non-textured cutters under full lubrication. Results showed that micro-textures enhanced penetration of the cutting fluid, improved the lubrication in the cutter-chip interface, and significantly reduced cutting force and tool wear compared to untextured tools. The micro-textured tool with groove width of 50 μm had the best performance among all tested tools. Mechanism responsible was found that cutting fluids can continuously penetrate into the cutting contact area through the sufficient space provided by the microgrooves on the rake-face.