Performance of P10 TiN coated carbide tools when end milling AISI H13 tool steel at high cutting speed

A study was undertaken to investigate the performance of P10 TiN coated carbide inserts in semi-finishing and finishing end milling of hardened AISI H13 tool steel (50±3 HRC) at high cutting speed regime. The effects of cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut on the tool life were studied experimentally. For the tested range of milling conditions, the result shows that the tool life is highly affected by the feed rate and depth of cut. However, the tool life is not affected significantly by the cutting speed that is contrary to the findings of the previous researchers. This may be due to the fact that the main contributions to the tool failure were initiated by fracturing and cracking when high feed rate and depth of cut were used. Furthermore, in milling operation, the intermittent process produces fluctuated temperatures, and loading and unloading cutting forces lead to cracking and fracturing of cutting edges especially when higher cutting forces are produced.