Ultra-Precision Diamond Cutting of Steel Molds

Excessive chemical tool wear occurs when steel alloys are machined with monocrystalline diamond tools. The basic idea of the presented research work is to avoid chemical reactions between the carbon of the diamond tool and the iron of the workpiece by establishing a chemical bond between the iron and another chemical element. Therefore a thermo-chemical process for modifying the chemical composition of the subsurface zone was developed. As a result the diamond tool wear was reduced by more than three orders of magnitude which by no other method has been achieved so far. The surface roughness obtained in diamond cutting of carbon steel was better than 10 nm Ra.