The Role of Thermal Shock on Tool Life of Selected Ceramic Cutting Tool Materials

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Abstract
The introduction of Si3N4‐ and Al2O3‐based tools has greatly increased the speed of metal removal and the productivity of metal‐cutting operations. High‐speed machining elevates the temperature at the tool/workpiece interface and subjects the tool to considerably higher stress, resulting from increased mechanical forces and thermal gradients. Under these circumstances, the thermal shock resistance of tool materials would be expected to play a more important role in determining the tool life and should be more prominently considered in both material design and applications. It was of interest to devise a series of controlled thermal shock machining tests and to assess the modes of ceramic cutting‐tool wear. The resistance of ceramic cutting‐tool materials to wear or fracture under these conditions is discussed in terms of thermal shock parameters.