Resumo:
The metalworky sector continuous by requires components with higher quality and lower cost. Thus, the productive cells’ flexiblility becomes essential for any competitive business. The cutting tools industry, devices and machining equipments have developed at large scale from the past years up to now. One of the sections which has standed out in the factory business is the material and the cutting tools geometry. Such evolution, along with higher precision and stiffer machines have been utterly important in the replacement, in same cases, of the traditional grinding process with the turning of hardened steel process. This work compares the results obtained in the finish turning of hardened steel ASTM 300M with ceramic (Al2O3 + TiC) and PCBN (CBN + TiN) tools with convencional geometry and wiper geometry, in which the surface finish, tool wear and life are analysed. As a criterion for the end of life of each cutting tool edge a surface finish equal to or higher than Ra=0,6 μm was used, which is compatible with the grinding process. After all quantitative tests, a cost x profit comparison was done for all the tested conditions, in which the ceramic tools with wiper geometry, (using Vc = 150 m/min. and f = 0.20 and 0.30 mm/v) presented lower production costs and lower machining time.
