Considerable research has been conducted over recent decades on the role of non-metallic inclusions and their link to the machinability of different steels. The present work reviews the mechanisms of steel fractures during different mechanical machining operations and the behavior of various non-metallic inclusions in a cutting zone. More specifically, the effects of composition, size, number and morphology of inclusions on machinability factors (such as cutting tool wear, power consumption, etc.) are discussed and summarized. Finally, some methods for modification of non-metallic inclusions in the liquid steel are considered to obtain a desired balance between mechanical properties and machinability of various steel grades.

This work reports on hard part turning of carburizing steels using a PCBN cutting tool in fine machining. Emphasis is on the link between composition of the inclusions in work material and wear mechanisms of the cutting tool. A Ca-treated machinability improved 20NiCrMo steel was included together with three other carburizing steels with different inclusion characteristics. Machining tests were conducted to examine cutting tool life and its balance between excessive flank wear or crater wear. The wear mechanisms were examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) and a secondary electron (SE) detector. The longest tool life was obtained when cutting the Ca-treated steel. The improved machinability is linked to the deposition of complex (Mn,Ca)S and (Ca,Al)(O,S) protective slag layers that form on the rake face of the cutting tool during machining. Cutting in this steel also resulted in a typical ridge formation in the tool edge crater. Transfer of workpiece material to the rake face crater is characteristic in hard part turning of steel with high cleanliness. This is suggested to be related to the lack of the sulphides that lubricate conventional machinability treated steels, and that the crater wear of low-sulphur steel is more pronounced than for steels with higher sulphur content.

QC 20150421

This study focused on the evaluation of the machinability of different carburising steel grades by using a cemented carbide cutting tool during semi finishing of steel. The effect of the steel composition, microstructure and inclusion characteristics on the cutting tool wear in the soft part turning was evaluated for a reference steel R (0.028% S, 0.0009% O), a clean C steel (0.003% S, 0.0005% O), and an UC ultra clean steel (0.002% S, 0.0004% O). An improved cutting tool life of about 10-25% was obtained when machining the reference steel R. The favorable machining performance of this steel was attributed to its higher content of non-metallic inclusions, larger grain size and lower micro hardness than that of the clean steels.

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