Wear behaviour of diamond coated micro-milling tools during micro machining

Graphite electrodes are used in the die sinking process for manufacturing of micro structured tools in the die and mould fabrication. They are machined using the micro-milling process. During the cutting process graphite grains have strong abrasive effects on the cutting edges and lead to high tool wear. Consequences are short path length lc and geometrical errors. One approach to reduce tool wear is the tool coating with diamond. The diamond coating changes the cutting edge micro geometry which has influences on the process behaviour. In this paper, the wear behaviour of micro-milling tools with diameter D = 0.5 mm and different micro geometries is analysed and discussed. The results show better wear behaviour for prepared and coated tools.