Review Paper on Development of Nano Inserts for Machining HRSA Materials for Aerospace Applications

In the current scenario, cutting tool industries use the powder material tungsten carbide of 60-80 microns grain size to produce cutting inserts. There are a lot of scopes to improve the properties of cutting tool materials to enhance their ability to machine challenging materials like heat resistant super alloys (HRSA). Reducing the grain size of cutting tool material powder to nano level may help to increase the strength, substrate hardness, Fracture toughness, and thermal conductivity of the cutting insert. This review studies different strategies used to develop nano powders for the cutting tool application. We observed that most of the studies focused on the latest powders used in cutting tool industries like tungsten carbide, boron carbide powders which are reduced as nano powders, pressed, and sintered with different techniques like hot isostatic pressing (HIP), Spark plasma sintering. Finally, the current research gaps and the future challenges in understanding the development of nano powders for cutting tool applications are critically discussed, providing an interpretation of the possible directions for scientific development in this field.