Material Extrusion to Manufacture Carbide-Based Advanced Cutting Tools

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing
• Manufacturing Engineering

Background:

• Advanced cutting tools with internal cooling systems can be produced using material extrusion (MEX).
• MEX requires preparing hardmetal and cermet feedstock into 3D printable filaments.
• Post-shaping processes include debinding and sintering for densification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate defects and microstructural heterogeneities in hardmetal and cermet cutting tools produced by MEX.
• To compare the properties of MEX-produced tools with those made by traditional pressing and sintering.

Main Methods:

• Material extrusion (MEX) 3D printing of hardmetal (WC-Co) and cermet (Ti(CN)/WC-Ni/Co) filaments.
• Debinding and sintering of printed green parts.
• Microstructural analysis and hardness testing.
• Comparison with conventionally manufactured (pressing and sintering) samples.

Main Results:

• MEX is a viable method for producing hardmetal cutting tools, yielding similar microstructures and hardness to pressing and sintering.
• Cermet (Ti(CN)/WC-Ni/Co) filaments produced by MEX were heterogeneous.
• MEX-produced cermet microstructures were heterogeneous, leading to a significant decrease in hardness compared to conventionally manufactured samples.

Conclusions:

• Material extrusion (MEX) shows promise for manufacturing hardmetal cutting tools.
• Further development is needed to create homogeneous filaments for cermets to ensure consistent properties and performance.
• MEX offers potential for advanced cutting tool geometries but requires material-specific optimization.