Ceramic cutting tool development history
With the development of the new technological revolution, it is required to continuously improve the cutting productivity and reduce the production cost, especially the development of the numerical control machine tool, requires the development of the new cutting tool which is higher than the carbide cutting tool. Recently a variety of high strength, high hardness, corrosion resistance, wear and high temperature difficult to cut the increasing number of new materials. According to the literature estimates, such materials have accounted for more than 50% of the total international processing., Carbide tool for many of these new materials, processing is difficult. On the other hand, the international production of cemented carbide has reached 20 000-25 000 t. Annual consumption of large amounts of metal, such as W, Co, Ta and Nb and so on. The mineral resources of these metals are declining, the price increases, according to a few days ago consumption rate, will not take decades, some resources will be depleted. Ceramic cutting tools is in this context developed.
As early as 1912-1913, the United Kingdom and Germany have been the emergence of alumina ceramic tool, but its production began in 1950 on the application. Because of its strength, low toughness, a longer period of time is limited to do continuous cutting finishing., And cutting speed and feed are low. It was not until 1968 that the second-generation ceramic cutting tool, a composite alumina tool, was significantly improved in strength and toughness compared to alumina tools, enabling the cutting of a wide variety of workpieces at higher speeds and at higher feed rates And has been widely used.
The 20th century, the late 70s to the early 1980s, the international emergence of the third generation of ceramic tools – silicon nitride ceramic tool. Such ceramic knives have a higher toughness, impact resistance, high temperature strength and thermal shock resistance than the composite alumina tool. Ceramic inserts in the industrialized countries of the output growth.
China since the 20th century, 60 years began mass production of composite alumina blade, the current annual production capacity of 14-15 million. Although the ceramic silicon oxide blade since the 20th century, began to study in the 1970s, due to poor performance, can not meet the demand. In recent years, with the field of high-temperature structural ceramics continue to deepen, so that the performance of silicon nitride ceramics have been greatly improved, so that silicon nitride ceramic cutting tools in China’s rapid development