High-precision hard turning of cemented carbides

Usual technologies for machining sintered WC-Co cemented carbides are grinding and electrical discharge machining (EDM). Hard turning is used nowadays in the cemented carbide industry only as roughing process. This paper focus on the tool wear mechanisms in the hard turning of sintered cement carbides with CVD diamond and PCD tools. It is shown that temperature plays a major role on tool wear and thus represents an important parameter for a process optimisation concerning high part qualities.