Cutting performance and wear mechanism of zirconia toughened alumina ceramic cutting tools formed by vat photopolymerization-based 3D printing

Zirconia toughened alumina (ZTA) cutting tools are widely used for machining hard and wear-resistant materials. However, the processing of ZTA ceramic cutting tools with complex shapes using traditional methods is difficult and time-consuming. Until now, to the best of our knowledge, commercial ceramic cutting tools do not contain grooves because it is very difficult to process grooves on the ceramic cutting tool, resulting from the feature of high hardness and brittle attribute of ceramics. This study investigated high-performance, complex-shaped zirconia-toughened alumina (ZTA) ceramic cutting tools equipped with a chip breaker for the first time. The investigated samples were prepared using vat photopolymerization based 3D printing combined with a hot isostatic sintering process. The relative density of 99.34%, Vickers hardness of 17.98 ± 0.20 GPa, bending strength of 779 ± 47 MPa and fracture toughness of 5.41 ± 0.29 MPa m1/2 of the ZTA cutting tools were obtained. The effects of three cutting parameters, namely the cutting speed vc, feed rate f, and back cutting depth ap, on the cutting performances of the cutting tools were investigated, and the wear mechanisms of the cutting tools were examined. We believe that our study makes a significant contribution to the literature because this study provides an in-depth investigation of the properties and wear mechanisms of ZTA ceramic cutting tools with chip breaker grooves. The findings of this study provide insight into the preparation of high-performance, complex-shaped ZTA ceramic cutting tools. Further, the preparation methods investigated in this study and the evaluation of the properties of the fabricated specimens in comparison with a commercially available cutting tool illustrate the potential advantages that may be obtained via the further development of these materials.