Ceramic Cutting Tools: Materials, Development and Performance

Interest in ceramics as a high speed cutting tool material is based primarily on favorable material properties. As a class of materials, ceramics possess high melting points, excellent hardness and good wear resistance. Unlike most metals, hardness levels in ceramics generally remain high at elevated temperatures which means that cutting tip integrity is relatively unaffected at high cutting speeds. Ceramics are also chemically inert against most workmetals.

Ceramic Cutting Tools-Reflections on the Continual Process of Improvement
Tool Life
Selection of Cutting Tool Materials
Aluminum Oxide/Titanium Carbide Composite Cutting Tools
Cermet Cutting Tools
Alumina-Silicon Carbide Whisker Composite Tools
Phase Transformation Toughened Materials for Cutting Tool Applications
Silicon Nitride Cutting Tools
Aluminum Oxide Coatings for Cemented Carbide Cutting Tools
Polycrystalline Diamond and Cubic Boron Nitride
The New Diamond Technology and its Application in Cutting Tools
Machining Economics
Summary and Prospectives on the Future of the Ceramic Tool in Manufacturing Operations
References
Index