Development of cutting tools with microscale and nanoscale textures to improve frictional behavior

We developed novel cutting tools that had either microscale or nanoscale textures on their surfaces. Texturing microscale or nanoscale features on a solid surface allowed us to control the tribological characteristics of the tool. The textures, which had pitches and depths ranging from several hundreds of nanometers to several tens of micrometers, were fabricated utilizing the ablation and interference phenomena of a femtosecond laser. The effect of the texture shape on the machinability of an aluminum alloy was investigated with a turning experiment applying the minimum quantity lubrication method. The texture decreased the cutting force due to the corresponding reduction in the friction on the rake face. This effect strongly depended on the direction of the texture; lower cutting forces were achieved when the texture was perpendicular to the chip flow direction rather than parallel. This effect was only observed at high cutting speeds over 420 m/min. These results indicate that the developed tools effectively improved the machinability of the alloy.