Patent Application
20090041612
The present invention is generally directed to methods of making composite articles, such as tool blanks, cutting inserts, spade drill inserts, and ballnose endmills, having a composite construction including regions of differing characteristics or properties. The method of the present invention finds general application in the production of cutting tools and may be applied in, for example, the production of cemented carbide rotary tools used in material removal operations such as turning, milling, threading, grooving, drilling, reaming, countersinking, counterboring, and end milling. The cutting inserts of the present invention may be made of two similar cemented carbide materials but different grades.
Cutting inserts employed for metal machining are commonly fabricated from composite materials due to their attractive combinations of mechanical properties such as strength, toughness, and wear resistance compared to other tool materials such as tool steels and ceramics. Conventional cutting inserts made from composite materials, such as cemented carbides, are based on a “monolithic” construction, i.e., they are fabricated from a single grade of cemented carbide. In this manner, conventional monolithic cutting tools have the same mechanical and chemical properties at all locations throughout the tool.
Cemented carbides materials comprise at least two phases: at least one hard ceramic component and a softer matrix of metallic binder. The hard ceramic component may be, for example, carbides of any carbide forming element, such as titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, and niobium. A common example is tungsten carbide. The binder may be a metal or metal alloy, typically cobalt, nickel, iron or alloys of these metals. The binder “cements” the ceramic component within a matrix interconnected in three dimensions. Cemented carbides may be fabricated by consolidating a powdered metal of at least one powdered ceramic component and at least one powdered binder.
The physical and chemical properties of cemented carbide materials depend in part on the individual components of the metallurgical powders used to produce the material. The properties of the cemented carbide materials are determined by, for example, the chemical composition of the ceramic component, the particle size of the ceramic component, the chemical composition of the binder, and the ratio of binder to ceramic component. By varying the components of the metallurgical powder, tools, such as inserts, including indexable inserts, drills and end mills can be produced with unique properties matched to specific applications.
In applications of machining today's modern metal materials, enriched grades of carbide materials are often desired to achieve the desired quality and productivity requirements. However, cutting inserts fabricated from a monolithic carbide construction using the higher grades of cemented carbides are expensive to fabricate, primarily due to the high material costs. In addition, it is difficult to optimize the composition of the conventional monolithic indexable cutting inserts comprising a single grade of carbide material to meet the different demands of each location in the insert.
Composite rotary tools made of two or more different carbide materials or grades are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,511,265. At this time, composite carbide cutting inserts are more difficult to manufacture than rotary cutting tools. First, the size of cutting inserts are, typically, much smaller than rotary cutting tools; second, the geometry, in particular cutting edges and chip breaker configurations of today's cutting inserts are complex in nature; and third, a higher dimensional accuracy and better surface quality are required. With cutting inserts, the final product is produced by pressing and sintering product and does not include subsequent grinding operations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,952 issued in 1983 presents an innovative idea to make composite cemented carbide tool by first manufacturing a slurry containing a mixture of carbide powder and a liquid vehicle, then creating a layer of the mixture to the green compact of another different carbide through either painting or spraying. Such a composite carbide tool has distinct mechanical properties between the core region and the surface layer. The claimed applications of this method include rock drilling tools, mining tools and indexable cutting inserts for metal machining. However, the slurry-based method can only be applicable to indexable cutting inserts without chip breaker geometry or the chip breaker with very simple geometry. This is because a thick layer of slurry will obviously alter the chip breaker geometry, in particular widely used indexable cutting inserts have intricate chip breaker geometry required to meet the ever-increasing demands for machining a variety of work materials. In addition, the slurry-based method involves a considerable increase in manufacturing operations and production equipment.
For cutting inserts in rotary tool applications, the primary function of the central region is to initially penetrate the work piece and remove most of the material as the hole is being formed, while the primary purpose of the periphery region of the cutting insert is to enlarge and finish the hole. During the cutting process, the cutting speed varies significantly from a center region of the insert to the insert's outer periphery region. The cutting speeds of an inner region, an intermediate region, and a periphery region of an insert are all different and therefore experience different stresses and forms of wear. Obviously, the cutting speeds increase as the distance from the axis of rotation of the tool increases. As such, inserts in rotary cutting tools comprising a monolithic construction are inherently limited in their performance and range of applications.
Drilling inserts and other rotary tools having a monolithic construction will, therefore, not experience uniform wear and/or chipping and cracking at different points ranging from the center to the outside edge of the tool's cutting surface. Also, in drilling casehardened materials, the chisel edge is typically used to penetrate the case, while the remainder of the drill body removes material from the casehardened material's softer core. Therefore, the chisel edge of conventional drilling inserts of monolithic construction used in that application will wear at a much faster rate than the remainder of the cutting edge, resulting in a relatively short service life. In both instances, because of the monolithic construction of conventional cemented carbide drilling inserts, frequent tool changes result in excessive downtime for the machine tool that is being used.
There is a need to develop cutting inserts, optionally comprising modern chip breaker geometry, for metal machining applications and the methods of forming such inserts.
Embodiments of the present invention include a method of producing a composite article, comprising introducing a first powdered metal grade from a feed shoe into a first portion of a cavity in a die and a second powdered metal grade from the feed shoe into a second portion of the cavity, wherein the first powder metal grade differs from the second powdered metal grade in chemical composition or particle size. The first powdered metal and the second powdered metal may be consolidated to form a compact. In various embodiments, the metal powders are directly fed into the die cavity. Also, in many embodiments, the method of the present invention allows substantially simultaneous introduction of the two or more metal powders into the die cavity or other mold cavity.
A further embodiment of the method of producing a composite article comprises introducing a first powdered metal grade from a first feed shoe into a first portion of a cavity in a die and a second powdered metal grade from a second feed shoe into a second portion of the cavity, wherein the first powder metal grade differs from the second powdered metal grade in at least one characteristic.
Other embodiments of the present invention comprise composite inserts for material removal operations. The composite inserts may comprise a first region and a second region, wherein the first region comprises a first composite material and the second region comprises a second composite material and the first composite material differs from the second composite material in at least one characteristic. More specifically, composite inserts for modular rotary tools are provided comprising a central region and a periphery region, wherein the central region comprises a first composite material and the periphery region comprises a second composite material and the first composite material differs from the second composite material in at least one characteristic. A central region may be broadly interpreted to mean a region generally including the center of the insert or for a composite rotary tool, the central region comprises the cutting edge with the lowest cutting speeds, typically the cutting edge that is closest to the axis of rotation. A periphery region comprises at least a portion of the periphery of the insert, or for a composite rotary tool, the periphery region comprises the cutting edge with the higher cutting speeds, typically including a cutting edge that is further from the axis of rotation. It should be noted that the central region may also comprise a portion of the periphery of the insert.
Unless otherwise indicated, all numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, time, temperatures, and so forth used in the present specification and claims are to be understood as being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the present invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques.
Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, may inherently contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
The reader will appreciate the foregoing details and advantages of the present invention, as well as others, upon consideration of the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention. The reader also may comprehend such additional details and advantages of the present invention upon making and/or using embodiments within the present invention.
a through 1d depict an embodiment of a square indexable cutting insert of the present invention comprising three regions of composite materials;
a through 2d depict an embodiment of a square indexable cutting insert of the present invention comprising two regions of composite materials;
a through 3d depict an embodiment of a diamond shaped indexable cutting insert of the present invention comprising three regions of composite materials;
a through 4d depict an embodiment of a square indexable cutting insert of the present invention comprising two regions of composite materials;
a through 5d depict an embodiment of a diamond shaped indexable cutting insert of the present invention comprising four regions of composite materials;
a and 10b depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a and 11b depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a and 12b depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a and 13b depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a through 14d depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
d depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a through 16d depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a through 17d depict an embodiment of a feed shoe for use in embodiments of the method of the present invention;
a through 18d depict an embodiment of a feed shoe equipped with a rack and pinion for use in an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a through 22d depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a through 23d depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention;
a through 24c depict an embodiment ball nose insert of the present invention and an embodiment ball nose insert of the present invention in a tool holder;
a and 25b depict an embodiment spade drill insert of the present invention and an embodiment spade drill insert of the present invention in a tool holder;
a and 26b depict an embodiment ball nose insert of the present invention;
a and 27b depict an embodiment spade drill insert of the present invention;
a and 28b depict an embodiment cutting insert of the present invention;
a and 29b depict an embodiment spade drill insert of the present invention comprising two regions of composite materials;
a through 30c depict an embodiment round shaped cutting insert of the present invention comprising two regions of composite materials;
a and 31b depict an embodiment round shaped cutting insert of the present invention comprising two regions of composite materials;
a and 32b depict an embodiment of the method of the present invention which may be used to produce the round shaped indexable cutting insert of
a and 33b depict an embodiment of a gear that may be used in the method of
a and 34b depict an embodiment of a method of the present invention wherein the gear of
The present invention provides composite articles, such as cutting inserts, rotary cutting inserts, drilling inserts, milling inserts, spade drills, spade drill inserts, ballnose inserts and method of making such composite articles. The composite articles, specifically composite inserts, may further comprise chip forming geometries on either the top or bottom surfaces, or on both the top and bottom surfaces. The chip forming geometry of the composite article may be a complex chip forming geometry. Complex chip forming geometry may be any geometry that has various configurations on the tool rake face, such as lumps, bumps, ridges, grooves, lands, backwalls, or combinations of such features.
As used herein, “composite article” or “composite insert” refers to an article or insert having discrete regions differing in physical properties, chemical properties, chemical composition and/or microstructure. These regions do not include mere coatings applied to an article or insert. These differences result in the regions differing with respect to at least one characteristic. The characteristic of the regions may be at least one of, for example, hardness, tensile strength, wear resistance, fracture toughness, modulus of elasticity, corrosion resistance, coefficient of thermal expansion, and coefficient of thermal conductivity. As used herein, a “composite material” is a material that is a composite of two or more phases, for example, a ceramic component in a binder, such as a cemented carbide. Composite inserts that may be constructed as provided in the present invention include inserts for turning, cutting, slotting, milling, drilling, reaming, countersinking, counterboring, end milling, and tapping of materials, for example.
The present invention more specifically provides composite articles and composite inserts having at least one cutting edge and at least two regions of composite materials that differ with respect to at least one characteristic. The composite inserts may further be indexable and/or comprise chip forming geometries. The differing characteristics may be provided by variation of at least one of the chemical composition and the microstructure among the two regions of cemented carbide material. The chemical composition of a region is a function of, for example, the chemical composition of the ceramic component and/or binder of the region and the carbide-to-binder ratio of the region. For example, one of two cemented carbide regions of a rotary tool may exhibit greater wear resistance, enhanced hardness, and/or a greater modulus of elasticity than the other of the two regions.
Embodiments of the present invention include a method of producing a composite article comprising introducing a first powdered metal grade from a feed shoe into a first portion of a cavity in a die and a second powdered metal grade from the feed shoe into a second portion of the cavity, wherein the first powder metal grade differs from the second powdered metal grade in at least one characteristic. The powdered metal grade may then be consolidated to form a compact. The powdered metal grades may individually comprise hard particles, such as a ceramic component, and a binder material. The hard particles may independently comprise at least one of a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions thereof. The binder may comprise at least one metal selected from cobalt, nickel, iron and alloys thereof. The binder also may comprise, for example, elements such as tungsten, chromium, titanium, tantalum, vanadium, molybdenum, niobium, zirconium, hafnium, ruthenium, palladium, and carbon up to the solubility limits of these elements in the binder. Additionally, the binder may contain up to 5 weight percent of elements such as copper, manganese, silver, aluminum, and ruthenium. One skilled in the art will recognize that any or all of the constituents of the cemented hard particle material may be introduced in elemental form, as compounds, and/or as master alloys. Further embodiments may include introducing a third powdered metal grade from the feed shoe into the cavity.
Sintering the compact will form a composite article having a first region comprising a first composite material and a second region comprising a second composite material, wherein the first composite material and the second composite material differ in at least one characteristic. The characteristic in which the regions differ may be at least one of the group consisting of composition, grain size, modulus of elasticity, hardness, wear resistance, fracture toughness, tensile strength, corrosion resistance, coefficient of thermal expansion, and coefficient of thermal conductivity.
The first and second composite materials may individually comprise hard particles in a binder, wherein the hard particles independently comprise at least one of a carbide, a nitride, a boride, a silicide, an oxide, and solid solutions thereof and the binder material comprises at least one metal selected from cobalt, nickel, iron and alloys thereof. In certain embodiments, the hard particles may individually be a metal carbide. The metal of the metal carbide may be selected from any carbide forming element, such as titanium, chromium, vanadium, zirconium, hafnium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, and niobium. The metal carbide of the first composite material may differ from the metal carbide of the second composite material in at least one of chemical composition and average grain size. The binder material of the first powdered metal grade and the binder of the second powdered metal grade may each individually comprise a metal selected from the group consisting of cobalt, cobalt alloy, nickel, nickel alloy, iron, and iron alloy. The first powdered metal grade and the second powdered metal grade may individually comprise 2 to 40 weight percent of the binder and 60 to 98 weight percent of the metal carbide by total weight of the powdered metal. The binder of the first powdered metal grade and the binder of the second powdered metal grade may differ in chemical composition, weight percentage of the binder in the powdered metal grade, or both. In some embodiments, the first powdered metal grade and the second powdered metal grade includes from 1 to 10 weight percent more of the binder than the other of the first powdered metal grade and the second powdered metal grade.
Embodiments of the cutting insert may also include hybrid cemented carbides, such as, but not limited to, any of the hybrid cemented carbides described in copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/735,379, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Generally, a hybrid cemented carbide is a material comprising particles of at least one cemented carbide grade dispersed throughout a second cemented carbide continuous phase, thereby forming a composite of cemented carbides. The hybrid cemented carbides of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/735,379 have low contiguity ratios and improved properties relative to other hybrid cemented carbides. Preferably, the contiguity ratio of the dispersed phase of a hybrid cemented carbide may be less than or equal to 0.48. Also, a hybrid cemented carbide composite of the present invention preferably has a dispersed phase with a hardness greater than the hardness of the continuous phase. For example, in certain embodiments of the hybrid cemented carbides used in one or more zones of cutting inserts of the present invention, the hardness of the dispersed phase is preferably greater than or equal to 88 HRA and less than or equal to 95 HRA, and the hardness of the continuous phase is greater than or equal to 78 and less than or equal to 91 HRA.
It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the following discussion of the present invention also may be adapted to the fabrication of composite inserts having more complex geometry and/or more than two regions. Thus, the following discussion is not intended to restrict the invention, but merely to illustrate embodiments of it.
In certain embodiments, the ceramic components may comprise less than 5% cubic carbides, such as tantalum carbide, niobium carbide and titanium carbide, or, in some applications less than 3 wt. % cubic carbides. In embodiments of the present invention, it may be advantageous to avoid cubic carbides or only include low concentrations of cubic carbides because cubic carbides reduce the strength transverse rupture strength, increase the production costs, and reduce the fracture toughness of the final article. This is especially important for tools used to machine hard work pieces where the machining results in a shearing action and the strength of the drill should be the greatest. Other disadvantages include reduced thermal-shock resistance due to a higher thermal-expansion coefficient and lower thermal conductivity and reduced abrasive wear resistance.
One skilled in the art, after having considered the description of present invention, will understand that the improved rotary tool of this invention could be constructed with several layers of different cemented carbide materials to produce a progression of the magnitude of one or more characteristics from a central region of the tool to its periphery. A major advantage of the composite articles and composite inserts of the present invention is the flexibility available to the tool designer to tailor properties of regions of the tools to suit different applications. For example, the size, location, thickness, geometry, and/or physical properties of the individual cemented carbide material regions of a particular composite blank of the present invention may be selected to suit the specific application of the rotary tool fabricated from the blank. Thus, for example, the stiffness of one or more regions of the insert may be increased if the insert experiences significant bending during use. Such a region may comprise a cemented carbide material having an enhanced modulus of elasticity, for example, or the hardness and/or wear resistance of one or more cemented carbide regions having cutting surfaces and that experience cutting speeds greater than other regions may be increased; and/or the corrosion resistance of regions of cemented carbide material subject to chemical contact during use may be enhanced.
Embodiments of the composite inserts may be optimized to have a surface region of a carbide material of harder grade to achieve better wear resistance and the core region as a carbide material of tougher grade to increase shock or impact resistance. Therefore, the composite indexable carbide cutting inserts made from the present invention have dual benefits in reduced manufacturing cost and improved machining performance.
The cutting insert 1 of
a to 2d illustrate a composite indexable cutting insert 11 with built-in chip breakers on the topside only. The cutting insert 11 may be indexed four times.
Embodiments of the composite carbide indexable cutting inserts are not limited to the cutting inserts 1 and 11 shown in
Based on the principle of this invention,
Based on the principle of this invention, a further embodiment as shown in
a to 5d comprise a further embodiment of a composite indexable cutting insert with built-in chip breakers on both top and bottom sides. The cutting insert 41 has a diamond shape and may be indexed four times (two times on each side). As shown in
It should be emphasized that the shape of indexable cutting inserts may be any positive/negative geometrical styles known to one skilled in the art for metal machining applications and any desired chip forming geometry may be included.
The manufacturing methods used to create the novel composite carbide indexable cutting inserts, with or without chip breaker geometry, of this invention are based on conventional carbide powder processing methods. In an embodiment of the method of the present invention, the powdered metal grades may be introduced into a portion of a cavity of die by a single feed shoe or multiple feed shoes. In certain embodiments, at least one of the feed shoes may comprise at least two feed sections to facilitate filling of each portion of the cavity with the same shoe. Embodiments of the method may further include introducing partitions into the cavity to form the portions of the cavity of the die. The partitions may be attached to the shoe or introduced into the cavity by another portion of the apparatus. The partitions may be lowered into the cavity by a motor, hydraulics, pneumatics or a solenoid.
a and 10b schematically illustrate the conventional carbide powder pressing setup.
For different constructions of the composite cutting inserts provided in this invention, different manufacturing methods may be used. The processes are exemplified by two basic types of composite constructions of the cutting inserts, mainly depending on the split plane (single or multiple/horizontal and vertical). As used herein, a “split plane” is an interface in a composition article or composite insert between two different composite materials. The first basic type of composite inserts with two different composition materials 99 and 100 is schematically demonstrated in
A second basic embodiment of composite insert with two different composite materials 109 and 110 is schematically demonstrated in
The combinations of above-described two basic embodiments of composite constructions provided in this invention may then create various types of more complex composite constructions comprising multiple split planes that may be perpendicular to and split planes (single or multiple) that may be parallel to the pressing center axial line. As shown in
a to 14d are representative schematics (not shown to scale) of an embodiment of a manufacturing method for fabricating the composite cutting inserts of the first basic embodiment of the composite construction provided in this invention. As shown in
a to 16d is a schematic representation (not to scale) depicting another embodiment of the manufacturing method for fabricating the composite carbide indexable cutting inserts of a second basic embodiment of composite construction provided in this invention, specifically, a composite carbide cutting insert similar to that in the previous
Other than the above-described preferred manufacturing methods, which are mainly based on the movement of the bottom punch and the multiple carbide powder filling systems, another preferred manufacturing method shown in
Using a composite cutting insert having the second basic embodiment of composite construction (defined in
Shown in
Shown in
As shown in
It should be addressed here that the manufacturing methods for making the composite cutting inserts provided in this invention are not limited to the above-described manufacturing methods shown in
An additional embodiment of a method of producing the composite rotary tools of the present invention and composite blanks used to produce those tools comprises placing a first metallurgical powder into a void of a first region of a mold. Preferably, the mold is a dry-bag rubber mold. A second metallurgical powder is placed into a second region of the void of the mold. Depending on the number of regions of different cemented carbide materials desired in the rotary tool, the mold may be partitioned into additional regions in which particular metallurgical powders are disposed. The mold may be segregated into regions by placing a physical partition in the void of the mold to define the several regions. The metallurgical powders are chosen to achieve the desired properties of the corresponding regions of the rotary tool as described above. A portion of at least the first region and the second region are brought into contact with each other, and the mold is then isostatically compressed to densify the metallurgical powders to form a compact of consolidated powders. The compact is then sintered to further densify the compact and to form an autogenous bond between the first and second, and, if present, other regions. The sintered compact provides a blank that may be machined to include a cutting edge and/or other physical features of the geometry of a particular rotary tool. Such features are known to those of ordinary skill in the art and are not specifically described herein.
Such embodiments of the method of the present invention provide the cutting insert designer increased flexibility in design of the different zones for particular applications. The first green compact may be designed in any desired shape from any desired cemented hard particle material. In addition, the process may be repeated as many times as desired, preferably prior to sintering. For example, after consolidating to form the second green compact, the second green compact may be placed in a third mold with a third powder and consolidated to form a third green compact. By such a repetitive process, more complex shapes may be formed, cutting inserts including multiple clearly defined regions of differing properties may be formed, and the cutting insert designer will be able to design cutting inserts with specific wear capabilities in specific zones or regions.
One skilled in the art would understand the process parameters required for consolidation and sintering to form cemented hard particle articles, such as cemented carbide cutting inserts. Such parameters may be used in the methods of the present invention, for example, sintering may be performed at a temperature suitable to densify the article, such as at temperatures up to 1500° C.
Another possible manufacturing method for fabricating the composite cutting inserts of this invention is shown in principle in
Embodiments of the article of the present invention also include inserts for rotary tools. Modular rotary tools typically comprise a cemented carbide insert affixed to a cutter body. The cutter body may, typically, be made from steel. The insert of the rotary tool may be affixed to the cutter body by a clamp or screw, for example. The components of a typical modular ballnose endmill 300 are shown in
Embodiments of the invention also include composite inserts for a modular rotary tool. The composite inserts may comprise at least a central region and a periphery region, wherein the central region comprises a first composite material and the periphery region comprises a second composite material. The first composite material may differ from the second composite material in at least one characteristic. The characteristic may be at least one characteristic selected from the group consisting of composition, grain size, modulus of elasticity, hardness, wear resistance, fracture toughness, tensile strength, corrosion resistance, coefficient of thermal expansion, and coefficient of thermal conductivity, and the composite materials may be as described above. The composite inserts may be a ballnose endmill insert, a spade drill insert, or any other rotary tool insert. For example,
In further examples,
In certain embodiments, the composite insert may comprise a composite material having a modulus of elasticity within the central region that differs from the modulus of elasticity of the second composite material within the periphery region. In certain applications, the modulus of elasticity of the central region may be greater than the modulus of elasticity of the periphery region. For example, the modulus of elasticity of the first composite material within the central region may be between 90×106 to 95×106 psi and the modulus of elasticity of the second composite material within the periphery region may be between 69×106 to 92×106 psi.
In certain embodiments, the composite insert may comprise a composite material having a hardness or wear resistance within the central region that differs from the hardness or wear resistance of the second composite material within the periphery region. In certain applications, the hardness or wear resistance of the periphery region may be greater than the hardness or wear resistance of the central region. These differences in properties and characteristics may be obtained by using cemented carbide materials comprising a difference in binder concentration. For example, in certain embodiments, the first composite material may comprise 6 to 15 weight percent cobalt alloy and the second composite material may comprise 10 to 15 weight percent cobalt alloy. Embodiments of the rotary tool cutting inserts may comprise more than two composite materials or comprise more than two regions, or both.
Further embodiments of the inserts of the present invention are shown in
a and 29b illustrate an embodiment of a composite spade drill insert 440 that has cemented carbide grade at the cutting tip 441 in the central region 442 and another different cemented carbide material at the periphery region 443. The cutting speeds in the central region 442 along the central region cutting edge 444 will be slower than the cutting speeds along the periphery region cutting region 445.
a, 30b, and 30c illustrate an embodiment of a composite indexable cutting insert 450 with an angled side surface 453 that has a cemented carbide grade at the entire periphery region 452 and a different cemented carbide grade at the central region 451. The central region 451 may comprise a tough cemented carbide grade that supports the more wear resistant grade of at the cutting edge of the periphery region 452. Further,
A novel manufacturing method is also provided for producing composite cutting inserts with one composite material at the entire periphery region and another different composite material at the central portion. A feed shoe may be modified to fill a cavity in a die, such that one composite grade is distributed along the periphery and a different composite material is distributed in the central region. The shoe may be designed to feed by gravity in the concentric regions of the cavity where the powdered metal is distributed by multiple feed tubes or by one feed tube designed to fill each region. Another embodiment of a method of the present invention is shown in
a and 32b schematically illustrate a motorized powder feed shoe mechanism 500 for producing a typical round cutting insert with the composite construction as shown in
Details of the above large gear 523 are shown in
a and 34b demonstrates (not to scale) an integrated feed shoe system 540 with two feed hoppers. The feed shoe system 540 is driven by a kind of linear precision position unit through the driving shaft 541, thus the feed shoe system 540 can be precisely located above the periphery cavity 542 and the center cavity 543. The feed shoe system 540 is equipped with a feed hopper unit 544 for feeding the metal powders into the periphery cavity 542 and another feed hopper unit 545 for feeding the metal powders into the center cavity 543. Both the feed hopper units 544 and 545 are supported by the hopper base 550. The thin cylindrical splitter 546 is positioned at the top surface of the bottom punch 547. The metal powders 560 from the feed hopper unit 545 are introduced directly into the center cavity 543 while the metal powders 562 from the feed hopper unit 544 are introduced into the periphery cavity 542 by the multiple blades 563 that dispense the metal powders 562 uniformly into the periphery cavity 542 through the controlled rotation of the large gear 564. Preferably, all the metal powders are fed directly into the cavity.
In
It is to be understood that the present description illustrates those aspects of the invention relevant to a clear understanding of the invention. Certain aspects of the invention that would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and that, therefore, would not facilitate a better understanding of the invention have not been presented in order to simplify the present description. Although embodiments of the present invention have been described, one of ordinary skill in the art will, upon considering the foregoing description, recognize that many modifications and variations of the invention may be employed. All such variations and modifications of the invention are intended to be covered by the foregoing description and the following claims.
This application is a divisional application of prior application Ser. No. 11/206,368, filed Aug. 18, 2005.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 11206368 | Aug 2005 | US |
| Child | 12179999 | US |
