Influence of MoC Coatings on Wear of Edges of Steel Knives and Cutting Parameters for Milling Oak Wood

Abstract

The article studies the characteristics of mill knives of high-speed steel HS 18-0-2-5 with as well as without МоС and Мо₂С molybdenum carbide coating at plane milling of oak wood. The molybdenum carbide coating was deposited by arc vacuum physical vapor deposition (Arc-PVD). The knife edge wear was determined using a contour measuring system for determining the displacement of the cutting edge along the axis of the cutter wedge sharpness angle (WB_W). Compared to a milling cutter with knives without coating, the molybdenum carbide coating improves the wear resistance of the knife blades and increases the cutting power by almost 40% when milling oak wood samples. The mills with the knife edges coated with the molybdenum carbides exhibited an average reduction in oak wood surface roughness R_a by 1.5–3 µm as compared to the bare tool in the entire range of applied feed rates and milling length. The laboratory tests of the wood-cutting tool covered with MoC coating prove that their durability has increased by 30% against the durability of the bare tool used in milling oak wood.