Laser texturing of tungsten carbide tools: the effects on tribological performance when machining Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The research aims at evaluating the performance of laser textured (various arrays of dimples and grooves) tungsten carbide inserts when dry turning Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The tribological characteristics of the textured surfaces produced on equivalent carbide blocks were initially assessed using multi pass scratch tests. Pronounced smearing of material was prevalent at the textured regions with a lower friction coefficient (~16-60% reduction compared to other textured patterns) measured within the dimple patterns with a higher density of micro-holes. In the machining trials, lower tangential and axial cutting forces of up to 10% and 50%, respectively were obtained in certain trials when employing the textured tools, together with reduced built-up layer formation on the rake surface compared to the untextured inserts. Additionally, lower workpiece Ra and Sa (by up to 34% and 26%, respectively) were recorded in the majority of trials involving the textured inserts in contrast to the untextured tools.