No.8（2013）6.Improvement of diamond tool life in ultra precision cutting of mold steel

Kengo Fujimaki, Yasuyuki Hirano, Tsuyoshi Yokosawa

  In general, diamond tools such as cutting tools or grinding wheels are not appropriate for the machining of mold steel because iron has a chemical affinity for the carbon at the high temperature caused by the machining heat. This paper experimentally demonstrates a significant improvement of single-crystal diamond tool life in the ultra precision cutting of mold steel by using an ultrasonic elliptical vibration system and selecting an optimum kind of mold steel as the workpiece material. The cutting surface roughness of the mold steel (improved SUS420J2) was 10 nmRa without employing a polishing process using abrasives. The carbide particles of high carbon mold steel (improved SUS440C) abrasively wore the cutting edge of the diamond tool.

Keywords
Ultra precision cutting, Single-crystal diamond cutting tool, Mold steel, Tool wear

Back to Contents