Use of a CO2 laser for thermal effect simulation on sintered carbide inserts

In order to study the thermal behavior of sintered carbide inserts during interrupted cutting, thermal cycles have been carried out by using a CO2 high-power laser with different conditions to simulate the actual cutting stress. It has been pointed out that the use of a laser is adequate for this purpose and that, even should the thermal fractures themselves not cause the collapse of the inserts, the thermal actions alone will be responsible for the growth of microfractures which weight heavily in predicting tool life. (Author)