Wear and Damage Characterization of Coated Carbide Tools by means of FIB-SEM Microscopy

In this work, two commercial indexable inserts with different coatings were examined with regard to their damage and wear characteristics after tool life testing on two different types of gray cast iron. The surface and chemical analysis by means of Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and/or Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) revealed a removal of the respective protective layer on the wear surface in varying degrees. In addition to that, crack structures were identified that take various forms as a function of the coating. The integrated Focused Ion Beam technology (FIB) also allowed to examine the identified cracks with regard to their propagation in the depth of the respective component. The cracks extend deep into the WC-Co base material and mainly propagate through the ductile Co phase.