CUTTING INSERT AND A METHOD OF MANUFACTURING A CUTTING INSERT

Abstract

A cutting insert for a cutting tool includes a cutting edge of PCBN or PCD formed in a corner region in a transition between a side surface and a chamfer formed in an upper side of the cutting insert. A chip breaker is formed in the chamfer inside of the cutting edge, extending between a lower chamfer portion and an upper chamfer portion. The chip breaker includes a chip breaker bottom connected to the lower chamfer portion and a chip breaker wall extending from the upper chamfer portion to the chip breaker bottom. An upper transition is formed between the upper chamfer portion and the chip breaker wall. As seen in a top view, the upper transition follows a smoothly curved path including a convex middle portion. As seen in cross-section, perpendicular to the cutting edge, the chip breaker wall and the chip breaker bottom form a smooth concave profile.

Claims

1. A cutting insert for a cutting tool, comprising: an upper side having a top surface around which at least one chamfer extends; a lower side including a bottom surface, wherein a centre axis extends perpendicularly through the top surface and the bottom surface; a side surface extending between the upper side and the lower side; at least one cutting edge formed in a corner region of the cutting insert in a transition between the side surface and the at least one chamfer, wherein at least the corner region comprises a superhard sintered body comprising polycrystalline cubic boron nitride or polycrystalline diamond; and a chip breaker formed in the at least one chamfer inside of the cutting edge, extending between a lower chamfer portion of the at least one chamfer close to the cutting edge and an upper chamfer portion of the at least one chamfer close to the top surface, wherein the chip breaker includes a chip breaker bottom connected to the lower chamfer portion, and a chip breaker wall extending at least partly from the upper chamfer portion to the chip breaker bottom, wherein an upper transition is formed above the chip breaker wall, extending at least partly between the upper chamfer portion and the chip breaker wall, and wherein, as seen in a top view, the upper transition follows a smoothly curved path including a convex middle portion extending inside a nose radius portion of the cutting edge, wherein as seen in a section perpendicular to the cutting edge, the chip breaker wall and chip breaker bottom together form a smooth concave profile.

2. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the lower chamfer portion has a width which is the same or essentially the same along the cutting edge.

3. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the smooth concave profile has a radius shaped portion.

4. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the upper transition is a radius shaped transition.

5. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein a lower transition between the chip breaker bottom and the lower chamfer portion is a radius shaped transition.

6. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the smoothly curved path includes, on each side of the convex middle portion, a concave portion with at least one radius of curvature.

7. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the smoothly curved path includes, on each end of the chip breaker, a concave end portion.

8. The cutting insert according to claim 7, wherein the concave end portion has a smaller radius of curvature than at least a neighbouring portion of the smoothly curved path.

9. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein, as seen in a top view, an angle α is formed between a main extension of the lower chamfer portion and a main extension of the chip breaker wall, wherein 10°≤α≤30°.

10. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the chip breaker bottom forms a plane extending at an angle β with respect to a plane having a normal vector parallel to the centre axis, wherein −15°≤β<35°.

11. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the chip breaker bottom includes surface features in the form of protrusions and/or depressions.

12. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the cutting insert is entirely formed from the superhard sintered body.

13. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the cutting insert includes a cemented carbide body to which the superhard sintered body is bonded.

14. The cutting insert according to claim 1, wherein the cutting insert is indexable with at least two identical and alternately usable cutting edges.

15. A method of manufacturing a cutting insert according to claim 1, comprising the steps of: forming at least one superhard sintered body; optionally, brazing the at least one superhard sintered body onto a pre-shaped cemented carbide body to form an insert blank; grinding the at least one superhard sintered body or the insert blank to form the top surface, the bottom surface, the side surface and the at least one chamfer; and forming the chip breaker in the at least one superhard sintered body, wherein laser etching is used in the forming of the chip breaker.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0042] The invention will in the following be described by means of example with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0043] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cutting insert according to a first embodiment,

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a partial perspective view of the cutting insert in FIG. 1,

[0045] FIG. 3 shows a partial top view of the cutting insert in FIG. 1,

[0046] FIG. 4 shows a section along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3,

[0047] FIG. 5 shows a partial perspective view of a cutting insert according to a second embodiment,

[0048] FIG. 6 shows a partial top view of the cutting insert in FIG. 5,

[0049] FIG. 7 shows a section along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6,

[0050] FIG. 8 shows a detail of the cutting insert shown in FIG. 1,

[0051] FIG. 9 shows a detail of the cutting insert shown in FIG. 5,

[0052] FIG. 10 shows a partial perspective view of a cutting insert according to a third embodiment,

[0053] FIG. 11 shows a partial top view of the cutting insert in FIG. 10,

[0054] FIG. 12 shows a section along the line XII-XII in FIG. 11,

[0055] FIG. 13 shows a partial perspective view of a cutting insert according to a fourth embodiment,

[0056] FIG. 14 shows a partial top view of the cutting insert in FIG. 13,

[0057] FIG. 15 shows a perspective view of a cutting insert according to a fifth embodiment,

[0058] FIG. 16 shows a partial top view of the cutting insert in FIG. 15,

[0059] FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of a cutting insert according to a sixth embodiment,

[0060] FIG. 18 shows a partial top view of the cutting insert in FIG. 17, and

[0061] FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating a method of manufacturing a cutting insert according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0062] Cutting inserts according to several different embodiments are shown in FIGS. 1-18. It is to be noted that the same reference sign designates the same or a similar element in all shown embodiments.

[0063] A cutting insert 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention and intended for use in a turning tool is shown in FIG. 1. The cutting insert 1 comprises an upper side 2 with the basic shape of a parallelogram. A planar top surface 3 and a chamfer 4 extending around the top surface 3, at a chamfer angle θ of 25° with respect to the top surface 3 (see FIG. 4), are provided on the upper side 2. Opposite to the upper side 2, a lower side 5 comprising a planar bottom surface (not shown), parallel to the top surface 3, is provided. A centre axis C extends perpendicularly through the top surface 3 and the bottom surface. A side surface 6 extends between the upper side 2 and the lower side 5.

[0064] The cutting insert 1 is indexable with two alternately usable and identical cutting edges 7 provided in opposite corner regions of the upper side 2. Each cutting edge 7 is formed in a transition between the side surface 6 and the chamfer 4. For ease of understanding, only one of the corner regions will be described in detail herein.

[0065] The corner region is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 2-4. A corner region of a cutting insert 1 according to a second embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 5-7. The cutting insert 1 according to the first and the second embodiments are identical apart from the design of the corner regions. In both embodiments, the cutting insert 1 comprises a superhard sintered body 8 comprising polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN) or polycrystalline diamond (PCD), in which the cutting edge 7 is formed and in which a chip breaker 9 is provided. The superhard sintered body 8 is in this case brazed onto a pre-shaped cemented carbide body 22.

[0066] The chip breaker 9 extends inside the cutting edge 7, closer to the centre axis C, and forms a depression in the chamfer 4. It thereby divides the chamfer 4 into a lower chamfer portion 10 close to the cutting edge 7 and an upper chamfer portion 11 close to the top surface 3, both extending at the chamfer angle θ with respect to the top surface 3. A planar chip breaker bottom 12, parallel to the top surface 3, extends inward from the lower chamfer portion 10 to a chip breaker wall 13, which in turn extends from the chip breaker bottom 12 to the upper chamfer portion 11. The lower chamfer portion 10 has a width W which is the same along the cutting edge 7. The cutting edge 7 comprises, in the first and second embodiments, a nose radius portion 15 and wiper edges 21, for generation of a smooth surface on the workpiece, formed on each side of the nose radius portion 15. In these embodiments, a nose radius R.sub.n is 1.2 mm.

[0067] The chip breaker 9 is formed as a smoothly curved surface without any sharp corners or edges where chips may be obstructed during machining.

[0068] FIGS. 4 and 7 are sectional views of a bisecting plane of the nose radius portion 15. The chip breaker wall 13 comprises a radius shaped portion 24 extending from the chip breaker bottom 12 toward the upper chamfer portion 11, so that the chip breaker wall 13 and the chip breaker bottom 12 together form a smooth concave profile. The radius shaped portion 24 is in the form of a circular arc having a radius of curvature r.sub.1 of 0.2 mm (first embodiment, see FIG. 4) and 0.1 mm (second embodiment, see FIG. 7), respectively. Furthermore, an upper transition 16 in the form of a convex radius shaped transition having a radius of curvature r.sub.2 of 0.05 mm (FIG. 4) and 0.03 mm (FIG. 7), respectively, is formed between the upper chamfer portion 11 and the chip breaker wall 13. A lower transition 17, also in the form of a convex radius shaped transition, having a radius of curvature r.sub.3 of 0.02 mm (FIG. 4) and 0.03 mm (FIG. 7), respectively, is formed between the chip breaker bottom 12 and the lower chamfer portion 10.

[0069] In both the first and the second embodiment, but particularly in the second embodiment, the chip breaker wall 13 comprises a linear portion 23 extending between the radius shaped portion 24 and the upper transition 16 inside the nose radius portion 15. The linear portion 23 of the chip breaker wall extends at a linear portion angle s with respect to the top surface 3 (see FIG. 7). The size of the linear portion angle ε is 90°.

[0070] The upper transition 16 follows a smoothly curved path 14 without sharp corners as can be seen in the top views in FIGS. 3 and 6.

[0071] In the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-4, the smoothly curved path 14 comprises a convex middle portion 18 extending inside the nose radius portion 15 of the cutting edge 7 and having a radius of curvature R.sub.1 of 0.55 mm. It further comprises concave portions 19a, 19b extending on each side of the convex middle portion 18 inside the wiper edges 21. Concave and convex are herein understood as being with respect to a point on the chip breaker bottom 12 between the respective portion and the cutting edge 7, i.e. the convex middle portion 18 is outwardly curved with respect to such a point and the concave portions 19a, 19b are inwardly curved with respect to such points, respectively. The concave portions 19a, 19b are in this embodiment formed with three different radii of curvature, R.sub.2=13 mm, R.sub.3=2.3 mm and R.sub.4=2.2 mm. This is shown in FIG. 8, showing a projection of the smoothly curved path 14 on a plane having a normal vector parallel to the centre axis C.

[0072] In the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5-7, the smoothly curved path 14 comprises a convex middle portion 18 extending inside the nose radius portion 15 of the cutting edge 7 and having a radius of curvature R.sub.1. It further comprises concave end portions 20a, 20b having a relatively small radius of curvature R.sub.5 of 0.05 mm connecting the chip breaker 9 to the chamfer 4. Between the convex middle portion 18 and the concave end portions 20a, 20b, slightly concave portions 19a, 19b having a relatively large radius of curvature extend inside the wiper edges 21. A projection of the smoothly curved path 14 on a plane having a normal vector parallel to the centre axis C is shown in FIG. 9.

[0073] An angle α of 20° is formed between a main extension of the lower chamfer portion 10, i.e. of the lower transition 17, and a main extension of the chip breaker wall 13 as illustrated in FIG. 3.

[0074] The cutting insert 1 according to the first and second embodiments are suitable for high feed turning applications in which a smooth surface finish is desired.

[0075] A corner region of a cutting insert 1 according to a third embodiment is shown in FIG. 10-12. The cutting insert 1 in this embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that the nose radius R.sub.n is larger, thus providing better surface finish and a more durable cutting edge 7. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the chamfer angle θ is 10° and the chip breaker 9 is therefore shallower, i.e. the chip breaker wall 13 is lower. The chip breaker 9 is otherwise similar to the chip breaker 9 of the first embodiment in that the smoothly curved path 14 that the upper transition 16 follows has a convex middle portion 18 inside the nose radius portion 15 of the cutting edge 7 and concave portions 19a, 19b provided on either side, inside wiper edges 21. The radius of curvature r.sub.2 of the upper transition 16 is 0.05 mm and the radius of curvature r.sub.3 of the lower transition 17 is 0.05 mm. The chip breaker wall 13 has, in the sectional view, a radius shaped portion 24 having a radius of curvature r.sub.1 of 0.08 mm.

[0076] FIGS. 13-14 show a corner region of a cutting insert according to a fourth embodiment which is similar to the third embodiment with a large nose radius R.sub.n, but with a chamfer angle θ of 25° instead of 10°. This cutting insert is particularly suitable for larger cutting depths thanks to the different design of the chip breaker 9, with a larger chip breaker bottom 12. The upper transition 16 is in this embodiment, behind a central portion of the nose radius portion 15, formed between a linear portion 23 of the chip breaker wall 13 and the top surface 3. Inside the wiper edges 21, the upper transition 16 is formed between the chip breaker wall 13 and upper chamfer portions 11a, 11b. The smoothly curved path 14 followed by the upper transition 16 is a convex curve, wherein the convex middle portion 18 has a radius of curvature R.sub.1=2 R.sub.n. In other variants of this embodiment, the radius of curvature R.sub.1 may be within the range of 1.2 R.sub.n≤R.sub.1≤5 R.sub.n.

[0077] FIGS. 15-16 show a cutting insert 1 according to a fifth embodiment, in which the cutting insert has a more elongated rhombic shape suitable for turning of workpieces having several different radii. The cutting edge 7 comprises a nose radius portion 15 and wiper edges 21 for surface finishing. The smoothly curved path 14 followed by the upper transition 16 of the chip breaker 9 has a convex middle portion 18 and concave portions 19a, 19b provided on either side. Furthermore, the cutting insert 1 in this embodiment differs from the above discussed embodiments in that it is formed as a solid cutting insert 1, i.e. it is entirely formed from PCD or PCBN.

[0078] FIGS. 17-18 show a cutting insert 1 according to a sixth embodiment. The cutting insert 1 has a trigonal shape with three cutting edges 7 without wiper edges. The chip breaker 9 has a rounded shape and the smoothly curved path 14 is convex with concave end portions 20a, 20b. The chamfer angle θ is in this embodiment 20°.

[0079] A method of manufacturing a cutting insert according to an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the flow chart in FIG. 19. In order to form a cutting insert having a cemented carbide body 22 onto which superhard sintered bodies 8 are brazed, a pre-shaped cemented carbide body is formed in a step 101. The pre-shaped cemented carbide body may e.g. be formed by hot isostatic pressing, sintering and grinding to desired shape. In a separate step 102, a number of superhard sintered bodies 8, corresponding to the number of corner regions that are to comprise cutting edges 7, are formed from PCBN or PCD by means of sintering. In a subsequent step 103, the superhard sintered bodies 8 are brazed onto pre-shaped corners of the pre-shaped cemented carbide body 22 to form an insert blank. The insert blank is thereafter in a step 104 ground to form peripheral surfaces, i.e. the top surface 3, the bottom surface, the side surface 6 and the chamfer 4. In a subsequent step 105, the chip breaker 9 is formed in the superhard sintered bodies 8 using laser etching. A computerized model of the desired chip breaker 9 is used to control the laser etching equipment such that a high precision can be achieved. In subsequent steps 106 and 107, respectively, the cutting edges 7 are formed using edge honing or polishing, and the cutting insert 1 is coated using physical vapour deposition (PVD) or chemical vapour deposition (CVD). Between the mentioned steps, cleaning operations are carried out to ensure that the desired final shape and surface finish are obtained.

[0080] The superhard sintered bodies 8 can also be formed with a cemented carbide backing, in particular if the superhard material used is PCD. In this case, the cemented carbide backing and the PCD material are sintered together to form a combined body. The cemented carbide backing of the combined body and the pre-shaped cemented carbide body 22 are thereafter joined by brazing, such that an insert blank is obtained.

[0081] In order to manufacture a solid cutting insert formed in one piece from PCBN or PCD, the steps 101 of forming a pre-shaped cemented carbide body 22 and 103 of brazing the superhard sintered bodies thereto are skipped. Instead, the superhard sintered body is ground to form the peripheral surfaces before forming the chip breaker 9 using laser etching.

[0082] The invention is of course not limited to the embodiments disclosed, but may be varied and modified within the scope of the following claims.