Investigations on the machinability performance of Al2O3/TiCN CVD coated carbide tools in sustainable high-speed hard-turning of AISI 4340 alloy steel

This study investigates the effectiveness of CVD coated carbide inserts in turning hardened AISI 4340 steel at high-machining speed V = 300, 350 m min−1 under sustainable dry cutting environment. Experiments were executed in accordance to Taguchi L4 orthogonal array and crucial machinability aspects tool life, tool wear progression and mechanism, cutting force, and surface roughness were evaluated in detail. The results of this study revealed that Al2O3/TiCN coating successfully inhibited the faster progression of tool wear at low cutting speed (300 m min−1), feed rate (0.05 mm rev−1) and depth of cut (0.1 mm), thus delivering the highest tool life of 19.25 min and lowest cutting force of 76.8 N. However, better surface finish of 0.305 μm was obtained at high cutting speed (350 m min−1), low feed rate (0.05 mm rev−1), and high depth of cut (0.1 mm). Nevertheless, at high cutting speed (350 m min−1) and feed rate (0.1 mm rev−1), involvement of intense thermal-mechanical effects suppressed the effectiveness of coating and tool completed its useful life at 9.24 min. Severe flaking on the cutting edge was observed at high machining parameters. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis revealed that adhesion, oxidation, and small scale chipping and abrasion were the primary wear mechanisms attributing in competing the tool life criteria (Vb = 300 μm) in all cutting conditions. Furthermore, it was established that the cutting force and surface roughness increased with increasing tool flank wear due to coating delamination, material adhesion and tool chipping. This research emphasizes the significant potential of adopting Al2O3/TiCN coated carbide inserts for high-speed industrial hard-turning of AISI 4340 steel.