Surface analysis of WC-5%Co cemented tungsten carbide cutting insert after plunge-face grinding

In order to improve surface and edge quality of cemented tungsten carbide cutting inserts, a well-designed grinding process should be applied. Efficiency and good insert integrity are only possible when cutting parameters and grinding wheel are correctly chosen, and, for this, the comprehension of the process plays an important role. Within this context, this work brings an experimental investigation of plunge-face grinding of WC-5%Co cutting inserts, evaluating surface roughness, edge quality, and specific energy in terms of chip thickness, which changes not only with cutting conditions (cutting and feed speed) but also with grinding wheel bonding material (vitrified and resin). Higher values of chip thickness, obtained with higher feeds, lower cutting speeds, and a vitrified binder, led to a predominantly brittle material removal, reducing specific energy, but damaging surface quality. Otherwise, edge roughness was not influenced by different grinding conditions within the studied range.