Tool life improvement by surface texturing

BACKGROUND: Every metal machining operation has difficulties associated with heat localized in the cutting area, leading to various problems such as tool wear, increased roughness, etc. Today, it is important to look for environmentally friendly and cost-effective solutions by technologies that reduce or eliminate the use of cooling lubricants. Surface texturing has proven to be a promising method for improving the tribological properties of the tool face. Microtextures can have various geometry and shape and are usually created either on the approach surface or the face of the cutting tool. Texture quality largely depends on the processes. The basic methods for improving tribological properties are chip capturing, contact length reduction, and improved lubricity, which ultimately helps to reduce cutting force, tool wear, and roughness of the workpiece. It is known that, in drilling, the cutting action occurs inside the hole, and it is always difficult to minimize the effect of friction at the interface of the tool and the workpiece as cutting fluids can hardly enter the processing area due to the upward movement of the chips sliding along the groove surface. This problem can be solved by functionalizing the drilling tool surface using microtextures. AIM: In this paper, a drilling tool with microtextures on the groove and edge created by laser machining is used to reduce sliding friction. METHODS: We assessed the influence of geometry (radius, height, and location) of microtextures on wear during sliding friction by laboratory and field tests. CONCLUSIONS: The textured tool was found to be more effective than the non-textured one. The study showed that the main methods allowing to improve the performance of drilling tools with microtextured surfaces are the contact length reduction, the wear debris capturing, and lubrication micro-layering in the cutting mode. The study will be useful for further development of this subject.