Enhancement of carbide tool performance during dry machining through a combination of laser surface texturing and tungsten disulfide soft coatings

Critical friction at the tool-chip interface has a significant impact on Severe friction between the cutting tool wear and machined surface integrity. One effective method of alleviating friction is the administration of a lubricant on the surface between the tool and chip. The effectiveness of this process can be enhanced by creating some textures on the surface of the cutting tools. This paper investigates the effects of WS2 soft coating and micro-textures on improving the cutting performance of uncoated tools. To accomplish this task, first, laser surface technology was implemented to produce various microtextured shapes on the rake face of the cutting tools. Then, a thin layer of a WS2 low friction coating was applied onto the unmodified and developed tools via physical vapor deposition. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the consequent textured WS2 coated surfaces were evaluated. Ball-on-desk tests and machining tests under dry conditions were performed on the investigated surfaces. Results show a maximum reduction of cutting forces by 24%, cutting temperatures of 50%, friction coefficient by 13%, tool wear by 50%, and machined surface roughness by 66% compared with that of the untextured WS2 coated tool.