Finish cutting of carbide mold with a thermally affected layer using a diamond tool

This paper deals with finish cutting of the thermally affected layer on cemented carbide using a diamond tool for efficient machining of the carbide mold with high accuracy and good surface without polishing. Cutting experiments were carried out using a PCD tool and an ultra-precision cutting machine. The effects of the thermally affected layer on the surface roughness and tool wear were investigated. The results indicated that the tool wear and surface roughness decreased when cutting the mixture of the affected layer and matrix with large cut depth. Furthermore, the tool wear using a single-crystal diamond tool was less than that with the PCD tool.