DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR ELECTRO/IMPULSE HARDENING OF TOOL STEELS

We study the influence of pulsed electric current on the high-speed steel R6M5 and analyze the change of the phase composition, the concentration of the alloying elements Mo, W, V in the solid solution, the wear resistance, the wear intensity, the toughness, and the microhardness as a function of the regime of treatment of drills and specimens that are made from this steel. We find significant change of these characteristics as a function of the rate of heating and the number of electric current pulses in treating the steel. On the basis of these results we propose a technology for improving the wear resistance of the metal-cutting tools by treatment with pulsed electric current.