How well does coated tungsten steel milling cutter perform in difficult-to-machine materials?
Publish Time: 2025-05-28
In modern manufacturing, with the continuous emergence of new materials, many workpiece materials have become "difficult-to-machine materials" due to their high strength, high hardness and high temperature resistance. These materials are widely used in aerospace, automobile manufacturing, mold industry and other fields. Traditional cutting tools often face problems such as severe wear, low cutting efficiency and short life when facing such materials. Therefore, how to improve cutting efficiency and extend tool life has become the focus of industry attention. Coated tungsten steel milling cutter has shown excellent performance in machining difficult-to-machine materials with its excellent physical and chemical properties.Characteristics and challenges of difficult-to-machine materialsDifficult-to-machine materials usually include titanium alloys, high-temperature alloys (such as nickel-based and cobalt-based alloys), stainless steel, hardened steel and composite materials. These materials have high strength, hardness and wear resistance, and are prone to generate large cutting forces and heat during the cutting process, resulting in rapid wear and even chipping of the tool. In addition, some materials will harden in high temperature environments, further exacerbating the difficulty of cutting. Therefore, for the processing of such materials, the tool is not only required to have good wear resistance and thermal stability, but also to have strong impact resistance to cope with complex cutting conditions.Advantages of coated tungsten steel milling cutterCoated tungsten steel milling cutter is to coat one or more layers of high-performance coating on the surface of cemented carbide (i.e. tungsten steel) substrate to improve the comprehensive performance of the tool. Common coatings include TiN (titanium nitride), TiCN (titanium carbonitride), TiAlN (titanium aluminum nitride) and the latest nano-composite coatings. These coatings can effectively improve the hardness and oxidation resistance of the tool surface, while reducing the friction between the chips and the tool, thereby reducing the cutting temperature and extending the tool life. Compared with uncoated tungsten steel milling cutters, coated tools have significantly improved cutting speed, feed rate and processing accuracy.Application in titanium alloy processingTitanium alloys are widely used in aerospace engine blades, aircraft structural parts and other fields due to their low density, high strength and strong corrosion resistance. However, titanium alloys have poor thermal conductivity and extremely high local temperatures during cutting, which can easily lead to tool adhesion and diffusion wear. Coated tungsten steel milling cutter has better adaptability in titanium alloy processing due to its excellent heat resistance and chemical stability. For example, milling cutters with TiAlN coating can maintain stable cutting performance at high temperatures, reduce the bonding effect between the tool and the workpiece, and thus achieve higher cutting efficiency and longer tool life.Performance in high-temperature alloy processingHigh-temperature alloys are mainly used in key components in high-temperature environments such as gas turbine blades and turbine disks, and their cutting difficulty is much higher than that of ordinary steel. Since high-temperature alloys can still maintain high strength at high temperatures, higher requirements are placed on the wear resistance and hot hardness of the tool. Coated tungsten steel milling cutter can effectively resist oxidation wear and diffusion wear caused by high temperature by optimizing the coating structure and thickness. In addition, some advanced multi-layer or nano-coating technologies can also enhance the tool's resistance to crack propagation, making it stable under high-speed cutting conditions.Advantages in stainless steel and hardened steel processingStainless steel and hardened steel are also typical difficult-to-process materials. The former is prone to cold work hardening, while the latter increases cutting resistance due to high hardness. When processing such materials, coated tungsten steel milling cutter not only provides higher wear resistance, but also reduces cutting force and prevents tool chipping by reducing friction. Especially for stainless steel materials, the coating can also play a certain anti-adhesion role, preventing chips from adhering to the tool surface, thereby improving the surface quality of the machined surface and increasing production efficiency.Overall, coated tungsten steel milling cutter shows obvious technical advantages in the cutting process of difficult-to-process materials. It not only improves processing efficiency, but also significantly extends the service life of the tool and reduces production costs.
