Cutting Edge Wear of Tungsten Carbide Tool in Continuous and Interrupted Cutting of a Polymer Composite

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Abstract
An experimental study was conducted to evaluate the performance of C6 tungsten carbide, C2 tungsten carbide, and Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) inserts in cutting Graphite/Epoxy (Gr/Ep) composites. Continuous and interrupted cutting tests under dry conditions were made to cut woven fabric and tape Gr/Ep composites. It was found that continuous cutting mode and high cutting speeds significantly reduce tool life of carbides. Machining of tape Gr/Ep reduces the tool life more than the machining of fabric work pieces. Also, C2 grade carbide inserts had a longer tool life than C6 carbide inserts despite the type of work piece or machining condition used. It was observed that a PCD insert's life was about 100 times of C2 carbide inserts during continuous cutting and at high speeds.