Cutting Performance of WC-Co Alloys Modified by Nano-Additives

In this paper, the microstructure of WC-Co alloys with and without nano-additives was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hardness and fracture toughness was tested by using a Vickers hardness tester and a universal testing machine. The cutting test was carried out at different feed velocities (250 r/min and 320 r/min), and the contact pairs are cutting tools and 45# steel bars. Results showed that the hardness and fracture toughness of WC-Co cemented carbides with nano-additives are higher than that of WC-Co cemented carbides without nano-additives, and they are increased 10.21% and 19.69%, respectively. The flank worn width and crater width of cutting tools decrease greatly with the addition of nano-additives. For the nano-modified specimen with WC grain size of 7 μ m, both the flank worn width and crater width are the minimum after the cutting process. And there are little built-up layers and some pile-up regions on the flank face leading to high cutting performance for the nano-modified cemented carbides. There are some melted regions on the flank face of cutting tools without nano-additives, and the WC grains on the cross section of alloys without nano-additives show severe fragmentation. The wear type of WC-Co is flank wear, and the wear mechanism is abrasive, adhesion and oxidation wear.