抄録
Cemented carbide (WC-Co) tools are widely used in industry as cutting tools. As a binder phase, cobalt has excellent wettability against tungsten carbide (WC), which makes the cemented carbide have very high transverse rupture strength. However, cobalt is rare metal, which is normally imported from a single country, and is concerned about having adverse effects on the environment and human health. It is becoming great importance that the development of novel tools and tool materials by using common metals of non-toxicity. As an alternative material of WC-Co, WC-FeAl of cobalt-free cemented carbide in which iron aluminide as intermetallic compound is used as binder material of WC powders has been proposed. In this research, we conducted machining tests of steel (S45C) by using commercial WC-Co tools and WC-FeAl tools manufactured by different sintering techniques (vacuum sintering or pulse current sintering), and cutting characteristics were compared. It was found that the vacuum sintered WC-FeAl tools were inferior in wear resistance to the WC-Co tools but excellent in adhesion resistance. The pulse current sintered WC-FeAl tools were excellent in adhesion resistance as vacuum sintered WC-FeAl tools. However, those tools had lower cutting resistance and finished surface roughness than the WC-Co tools and vacuum sintered WC-FeAl tools. Furthermore, the tool wear progressed in the pulsed current sintering WC-FeAl tools was larger than that of the vacuum sintering WC-FeAl tools.
