Effect of austempering temperature on machinability of Cu–Ni–Mo alloyed austempered ductile iron for heavy section parts

The machinability of an austempered ductile iron with a suitable chemical composition for heavy sections has been assessed. Austempering heat treatment was carried out at three temperatures, 300, 340 and 375°C, after austenitising at 870°C for 100 min. Drilling tests, tool wear and surface roughness measurements were used to evaluate the machinability. Drilling operation failure, severe tool wear and the poorer surface roughness of the specimens austempered at lower temperatures indicated that austempering at higher temperatures clearly resulted in better machinability. The machinability of testpieces austempered at 375°C, which contained higher fractions of retained austenite, was superior to that of testpieces autenitised at lower temperatures, indicating that hardness is an important factor in assessing machinability in addition to high carbon austenite content.