Study on the Wear of Cutting-Tools Used in Dry Machining of Cu-10wt%Al-5wt%Ni-5wt%Fe Alloy

Aluminium bronze alloys are special copper alloys that have a machinability rate from 20 to 40% compared to free cutting brasses, so the cutting parameters and type of tools suitable for machining of these materials may be very different for other copper alloys. Also, due to the relative high costs of the raw material, the absence of contamination of the chips by cutting fluids improve its intrinsic resales value and encourage the use of machining process without coolant. The aim of this work is to evaluate the tool wear mechanisms in the finishing machining of the Cu-10wt%Al-5wt%Ni-5wt%Fe aluminium-bronze alloy with carbide and cermet inserts at different cutting speeds under dry machining condition. The turning of material showed lower surface roughness in higher speed conditions and better dimensional stability at lower speeds. It was observed the formation of continuous chips, but of little volume occupied. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses of tool wear show the adhesion as the main tool wear mechanism, followed by abrasion. At the lower cutting speed, the adhesion wears affected significantly the surface finish, reducing the tool life in comparison to the higher speeds.