A CERAMIC COMPOSITE CUTTING TOOL INSERT FOR INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY ULTRAHIGH-SPEED MACHINING

IN THE MANUFACTURING OPERATION OF MACHINING, IMPROVED COMPONENTS FOR MACHINE TOOLS IN ULTRA-HIGH SPEED MACHINING HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DRAMATICALLY INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY ANDREDUCE COST. THE ABILITY TO INCREASE SPEED AS WELL AS METAL REMOVAL RATE RESULTS IN SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY AS WELL AS A COST REDUCTION IN MANUFACTURING. A COMPOSITE CUTTING TOOL INSERT OF SIC WHISKERS REINFORCED ALUMINA (AL2O3-SICW) HAS RESULTED IN A BREAKTHROUGH FOR MACHINING NICKEL ALLOYS TO SPEEDS OF 2,000 FT. PER MINUTE AND A FEED RATE UP TO 0.02 INCHES PER MINUTE. A SIGNIFICANTPOTENTIAL EXISTS TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE CERAMIC COMPOSITE CUTTING TOOL INSERTS THROUGH OPTIMIZATION OF THE CERAMIC MATRIX FOR THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY, HARDNESS, COEFFICIENT OF FRICTION, TOUGHNESS AND STRENGTH COUPLED WITH A NEW WHISKER THAT ENHANCES THESE PROPERTIES AS WELL AS CHEMICAL INERTNESS. THE NEW OPTIMIZED CERAMIC COMPOSITE WILL ALSO EXPAND THE METAL ALLOYS INCLUDING CAST IRON WHICH CAN BE MACHINED AT INCREASED SPEEDS AND FEED RATES THAT WILL RESULTIN INCREASED MANUFACTURING PRODUCTIVITY AT REDUCED COST. THIS PROGRAM UTILIZES A STATISTICAL EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TO DEVELOP AN ECONOMICAL OPTIMIZED CERAMIC COMPOSITE COMPOSITION THAT WILL HAVE IMMEDIATE AND WIDE SPREAD COMMERCIAL APPLICATION.