Al2O3 cutting properties improvement

Abstract

Alumina base ceramic tools have mainly been used as environmentally-friendly cutting tools, because they have particularly high temperature limit and allow dry cutting without or with limited quantity of coolant. The main negative aspects of alumina ceramic inserts are their brittleness, poor resistance to thermal shocks. However, actually there are new technological possibilities improving the ceramic cutting materials properties. The presented results of studies showed the significant influence of alumina based compacts composition on its properties improvement. Selected properties were investigated for alumina compacts with MgO, ZrO2, TiC, TiN or Ti(C, N) addition.