Tool wear study in a lathe made of cementitious material

A comparative investigation of the wear of uncoated cemented carbide tool inserts during dry turning in two types of lathe, namely a ferrocement bed lathe and a cast iron bed lathe, has been carried out in this study. The cutting tests were performed in accordance to the International Standard Organisation, ISO 3685-1977 turning test with single-point cutting tools and the workpieces used were ASSAB 760, a hot rolled medium carbon steel. The criterion selected in determining the tool life was based on the flank wear and the selection of the cutting conditions is to ensure that the wear is significant at a suitable time interval. The results showed that performance of the tool in terms of its useful life was higher when used on the ferrocement bed lathe. Lower flank wear was observed for the ferrocement bed lathe as compared to the lathe with a cast iron bed under the same cutting conditions and duration. This phenomenon can be attributed to the higher damping capacity of the ferrocement bed lathe, which enhances the cutting stability and hence reduces the flank wear due to tool vibration.