Modification of Surface and Sub-Surface Conditions of Cemented Carbide by Pressurized Air Wet Abrasive Jet Machining for PVD Coatings

The wear resistance of coated cutting tools depends to a large extent on adhesion of applied PVD coatings. The adjustment of the surface roughness as well as the residual stresses of the sub-surface of the substrate thus represents a decisive step in tool manufacturing. For this reason, the conditioning of the surface and sub-surface constitution of ultrafine grain cemented carbide specimens via pressurized air wet abrasive jet machining (PAWAJM) was investigated in analogy tests. Regarding the coating adhesion of an applied TiAlN-PVD coating, relevant potentials resulted from the preparation via PAWAJM, especially with the finer abrasive F500 (Al2O3) at low blasting angles and high pressures.