Tool wear when using natural rocks as cutting material for the turning of aluminum alloys and plastics

The growing challenges regarding climate-neutral and resource-saving manufacturing technology is forcing research and development to work out new cutting tool alternatives since the production of conventional cutting materials requires rare raw materials and huge amounts of energy. Natural rocks could be such an alternative since they are available in large quantities worldwide, have a potentially suitable property profile, and do not require energy-intensive processes to make them usable as cutting material. However, according to the current state of knowledge, there are only a few studies on the usability and suitability of natural rocks as cutting materials for machining processes. Therefore, in this article, inserts made of natural rocks are ground and used in turning operations. Their operational behavior is then described by the occurring tool wear and workpiece surface roughness. The influence of different natural rocks, process parameters as well as cutting edge microgeometries is compared after the machining of aluminum alloys and plastic. In the end, this made it possible to define process and tool properties in which natural rocks have application potential.