Cutting tool material explained

Cutting tool materials are materials that are used to make cutting tools which are used in machining (drill bits, tool bits, milling cutters, etc.) but not other cutting tools like knives or punches.

Cutting tool materials must be harder than the material of the workpiece, even at high temperatures during the process.

The following properties are required for cutting tool materials:[1]

There is no material that shows all of these properties at the same time. Very hard materials, have lower toughness and break more easily. The following cutting tool materials are used:

It is nearly as hard as diamond.

The hardest known material, but can only be used up to 600 °C and can't be used to machine steel.

References

  1. Fritz Klocke: Manufacturing Processes 1 - Cutting, Springer, 2011, p. 95.
  2. Web site: Uses of Alumina in The Field of Ceramics . Ross . Lisa . Precise Ceramics . July 12, 2024.
  3. Kumar . A.S. . Durai . A.R. . 2003 . Machinability of hardened steel using alumina based ceramic cutting tools . International Journal of Refractory Metals and Hard Materials . 21 . 3-4 . 10.1016/S0263-4368(03)00004-0.
  4. Amrute . Amol . Jeske . Kai . 2020 . Hydrothermal Stability of High-Surface-Area α-Al2O3 and Its Use as a Support for Hydrothermally Stable Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis Catalysts . Chem. Mater . 32 . 10 . 4369-4374 . 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c01587. free .

Further reading