Experimental assessment of laser textured cutting tools in dry cutting of aluminum alloys

To improve the friction conditions and reduce adhesion at the tool's rake face in dry cutting of aluminum alloys, three types of laser surface textures were generated on the rake face of cemented carbide tools. Orthogonal dry cutting tests on 6061 aluminum alloy tubes were carried out with the textured and conventional tools (CT). The effect of the texture geometry on the cutting performance was assessed in terms of cutting forces, friction coefficient, chip compression ratio, shear angle, tool adhesions, chip morphology, and machined surface quality. The results show that the textured tools can improve the cutting performance at low cutting speeds, and that the tool with rectangular type of textures is the most effective.