Tool wear appearance and failure mechanism of coated carbide tools in micro-milling of Inconel 718 super alloy

Purpose – The paper aims to study the wear and breakage characteristics of coated carbide cutting tools through micro-milling slot experiments on superalloy Inconel 718. Design/methodology/approach – During the micro-milling process, the wear and breakage appearance on the rake face and flank face of the cutting tools, as well as the failure mechanism, have been studied. Furthermore, the wear and breakage characteristics of the micro-cutting tools have been compared with the traditional milling on Inconel 718. Findings – The main failure forms of the micro tool when micro-milling Inconel 718 were tool tip breakage and coating shed on the rake and flank faces of the cutting tool and micro-crack blade. The main causes of tool wear were synthetic action of adhesive abrasion, diffusion wear and oxidation wear, while the causes of abrasive wear were not obvious. Practical implications – The changing trend in tool wear during the micro-milling process and the main reasons of the tool wear are studied. The findings will facilitate slowing down the tool wear and prolonging the tool life during micro-milling Inconel718. Originality/value – The results of this paper can help slow down the tool wear and realize high efficiency, high precision and economical processing of small workpiece or structure of the nickel-based superalloy.