Wear mechanisms of WC-Co cemented carbide tools and PVD coated tools used for shearing Cu-alloy wire in zipper production

• To form the individual elements, that together form a zipper, a pre-formed Cu-alloy wire is sheared using cemented carbide tools. The wear caused by the relatively soft copper alloy on the much harder tool is generally quite slow. However, millions of elements are to be sheared so eventually the wear becomes unacceptable and the tool needs to be exchanged. To improve product quality, as well as minimize down time and material consumption, the tool life needs to be prolonged. To achieve this the wear process needs to be better understood. Uncoated tools used for an increasing number of shearing events have been studied in detail using high resolution SEM and EDS, to map the propagating wear and get an insight into the wear mechanisms. Transfer of material from the Cu-alloy to the tool occurs and the wear is highly concentrated to specific areas. This wear occurs on a very fine scale, limited to within individual WC grains at each event. Tools coated with PVD CrC and PVD CrN have been studied for comparison with the uncoated cemented carbide. Both coatings successfully protect the cemented carbide tool from wear, however occasional flaking occurs and then the cemented carbide becomes exposed and subsequently worn. The differences in performance and wear mechanisms between the uncoated and coated tools are discussed, with focus on the capability of the coatings to prolong the tool life.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Bearbetnings-, yt- och fogningsteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Manufacturing, Surface and Joining Technology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Cemented carbide

Cutting

Shearing

Wear

Cu-alloy

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)