Patterned Coated Cutting Tool Crater Wear

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Coated cemented carbide cutting tools face limitations in wear resistance, particularly crater wear resistance, which can be improved but at the expense of other properties like resistance to flaking, leading to suboptimal performance in machining operations.

Innovation Solution

A coated cutting tool with a substrate featuring patterned recesses that are partly filled with a surface coating, increasing the effective coating thickness and wear resistance without compromising other properties, and the patterned surface area is strategically placed on critical wear areas like the rake and flank faces.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the thickness of the alumina layer is increased to improve crater wear resistance, then resistance to crater wear on the rake face is improved, but resistance to flaking of the coating on the edge line or flank face deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecrater wear resistanceVSAvoidresistance to flaking
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by creating a patterned surface with recesses only in the crater area where enhanced wear resistance is needed. The coating thickness is increased locally within the recesses of the patterned surface, providing improved crater wear resistance only where required, while maintaining the original coating thickness and flaking resistance in other areas of the cutting tool.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent segments the cutting tool surface into different zones: a patterned surface area with recesses in the crater region, and non-patterned areas elsewhere. This segmentation allows different coating thicknesses to be applied to different functional zones, optimizing performance for each specific wear mechanism while avoiding the trade-offs of uniform thickness increase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

2Strength

If post treatments are used to remove alumina layer from edge line to improve resistance to flaking, then resistance to flaking is improved, but crater wear resistance is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresistance to flakingVSAvoidcrater wear resistance
Core Design Contradiction:
StrengthVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by creating the patterned surface with recesses on the substrate before applying the coating. This pre-structuring of the surface allows the coating to be deposited with varying thickness in different areas, with thicker coating in the recesses of the crater region, thereby achieving both flaking resistance and crater wear resistance without requiring post-treatment removal of coating.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the coating thickness is increased uniformly to improve wear resistance, then wear resistance is improved, but other properties such as resistance to flaking deteriorate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvewear resistanceVSAvoidresistance to flaking
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements local quality by varying the coating thickness spatially across the cutting tool surface. The patterned surface with recesses enables thicker coating deposition specifically in the crater area where wear resistance is most needed, while maintaining thinner coating in other areas, thereby achieving localized optimization without the negative effects of uniform thickness increase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

The tool exhibits enhanced crater wear resistance and delamination resistance due to increased coating volume and non-parallel coating/substrate interface orientation, maintaining performance across all areas without impairing other properties.

Implementation Method 1

a surface coating deposited on the substrate and covering at least a portion of the substrate

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPhysical Vapour Deposition: Physical Vapour Deposition

Data Source

PatentEP2909359B1Coated cutting tool with patterned surface area
Publication Date: 2016.08.24 SANDVIK INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AB
  • EP2909359B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2909359B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2D
  • EP2909359B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present invention relates to a coated cutting tool and a method of making such cutting tool, wherein the tool comprises a substrate and a surface coating deposited on the substrate and covering at least a portion of the substrate, the surface coating having a thickness Tc. The substrate comprises a plurality of recesses into the substrate within a patterned surface area within the coated portion of the substrate wherein each recess is at least partly filled by the surface coating.