Abstract: The lifespan, wear form and wear mechanism of four kinds of PCBN cutting tools were studied through dry cutting and wet cutting of quenched steel(45CrNiMov)under given cutting parameters. The morphology and flank wear of PCBN tip in different cutting stroke were observed via SEM and analyzed by EDS. The results show that the wear of flank face in wet cutting is less serious than the case in dry cutting, which means that the cutting tools have better performance when used in wet cutting. The wear forms of PCBN cutting tools include rake wear and flank wear. The rake wear is presented as crater wear and its wear mechanisms are abrasive, oxidation and adhesion, while the wear mechanisms of flank wear are abrasive, oxidation, adhesion and diffusion. And also, we know that the wear amount of rear face decreases, the lifespan of cutting tools become longer with lower CBN content.

Keywords: PCBN cutting tool    dry cutting    wet cutting    lifespan of cutting tools   wear mechanism