Surface-coated cutting tool

• US 10,456,844 B2
• Filed: 05/29/2015
• Issued: 10/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
• Inventors: Okude, Masaki, Yamaguchi, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Turner, Archene A
• Application Number:
  US15/312,922
• Publication Number:
  US 20170182567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: 51307, 51309, 428216, 428336, 428469, 428698, 428701, 428702
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 1/10 Metallic powder containing lubricating or binding agents; Metallic powder containing organic material
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2003/242 Coating
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2005/001 Cutting tools, earth boring or grinding tool other than table ware
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2201/02 Nitrogen
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2998/10 Processes characterised by the sequence of their steps
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 2999/00 Aspects linked to processes or compositions used in powder metallurgy
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/02 Compacting only
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 3/10 Sintering only
• CPC Class Codes: B22F 9/04 starting from solid material, e.g. by crushing, grinding or milling C22C1/1084 takes precedence; crushing, grinding or milling, in general, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. B02C
• CPC Class Codes: B23B 27/14 Cutting tools of which the bits or tips or cutting inserts are of special material
• CPC Class Codes: B23C 5/16 characterised by physical features other than shape
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 1/051 Making hard metals based on borides, carbides, nitrides, oxides or silicides; Preparation of the powder mixture used as the starting material therefor
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 29/02 based on carbides or carbonitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C22C 29/08 based on tungsten carbide
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/0272 Deposition of sub-layers, e.g. to promote the adhesion of the main coating
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/06 characterised by the deposition of metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/32 Carbides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/34 Nitrides C23C16/303 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/36 Carbonitrides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/40 Oxides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 16/403 : of aluminium, magnesium or beryllium
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/04 : only coatings of inorganic non-metallic material
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/042 : including a refractory ceramic layer, e.g. refractory metal oxides, ZrO2, rare earth oxides
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 28/044 : coatings specially adapted for cutting tools or wear applications
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 30/005 : on hard metal substrates

Abstract

In a surface-coated cutting tool, a hard coating layer composed of a lower layer and an upper layer is deposited on a surface of a tool body made of a WC-based cemented carbide or a TiCN-based cermet. The lower layer has at least one Ti compound layer made of a TiCN layer and the upper layer is made of an α-type Al₂O₃ layer. In a case where, regarding Al₂O₃ crystal grains of the entire upper layer, a constituent atom-sharing lattice point distribution is measured, a highest peak is present in Σ3, and a distribution ratio of Σ3 is 70% or more. A ratio of a Σ3-coincidence grain boundary continuing from an interface between the lower layer and the upper layer to an outermost surface of the upper layer is 60% or more of a Σ3-coincidence grain boundary of the upper layer.

Claims

1. A surface-coated cutting tool, comprising:

a tool body that is made of a tungsten carbide cemented carbide or a titanium carbonitride cermet; and

a hard coating layer that is deposited on a surface of the tool body,

wherein the hard coating layer has a lower layer that is formed on the surface of the tool body and an upper layer that is formed on the lower layer,

(a) the lower layer is made of a Ti compound layer, which has an average total layer thickness of 3 to 20 μ

m, and is composed of two or more of a TiC layer, a TiN layer, a TiCN layer, a TiCO layer, and a TiCNO layer, the Ti compound layer including at least one TiCN layer,

(b) the upper layer is made of an Al₂O₃ layer, which has an average layer thickness of 2 to 20 μ

m and has an α

-type crystal structure in a chemically deposited state,

(c) regarding Al₂O₃ crystal grains of the entire upper layer, in a coincidence grain boundary distribution graph showing ratios of coincidence grain boundaries formed of the respective constituent atom-sharing lattice point type, to the whole coincidence grain boundary length in the range of Σ

3 to Σ

29, a highest peak is present in Σ

3 in the range of Σ

3 to Σ

29, and a distribution ratio of Σ

3 in the range of Σ

3 to Σ

29 is 70% or more, when electron beams are irradiated to the individual crystal grains in a measurement range of a polished cross-section by using a field-emission-type scanning electron microscope and an electron beam backward scattering diffraction device to measure an orientation of a normal line of each of crystal lattice planes having a corundum hexagonal crystal lattice, a crystal orientation relationship between the adjacent crystal lattices is calculated based on the measurement result, a distribution of lattice points (referred to as “

constituent atom-sharing lattice points”

) where each of constituent atoms of a crystal lattice interface shares one constituent atom between the crystal lattices is calculated, and distribution ratios of individuals of Σ

N+1 are calculated when Σ

N+1 represents the constituent atom-sharing lattice point type in which there are N lattice points sharing no constituent atoms between the constituent atom-sharing lattice points (here, N is any even number equal to or more than 2 in the corundum hexagonal close-packed crystal structure, but in a case where the upper limit of N is 28 from the viewpoint of distribution frequency, even numbers 4, 8, 14, 24, and 26 do not exist), and

(d) a ratio of a grain boundary having a constituent atom-sharing lattice point type of Σ

3 continuing from an interface between the lower layer and the upper layer to an outermost surface of the upper layer is 60% or more of a grain boundary having a constituent atom-sharing lattice point type of Σ

3 distributed in the Al₂O₃ crystal grains of the entire upper layer, and

wherein an outermost surface layer of the lower layer (a) is made of a TiCN layer having a layer thickness of at least 500 nm or more and contains oxygen only in a depth region with a depth of up to 500 nm from an interface between the TiCN layer and the upper layer, except for oxygen as inevitable impurities, and an average content of the oxygen contained in the depth region is 1 to 3 atom % of a total content of Ti, C, N, and O contained in the depth region.

2. The surface-coated cutting tool according to claim 1,

wherein a highest peak is present in an inclined angle division in which an inclined angle with respect to the normal line of the surface of the tool body is in the range of 0 to 10 degrees, and a total of frequencies present in the inclined angle division of the Al₂O₃ crystal grains having an inclined angle of 0 to 10 degrees is 70% or more of the entire frequencies in an inclined angle frequency distribution graph in a case where, regarding the Al₂O₃ crystal grains of the upper layer, electron beams are irradiated to the individual crystal grains having a corundum hexagonal crystal lattice in a measurement range of a polished cross-section by using a field-emission-type scanning electron microscope and an electron beam backward scattering diffraction device to measure inclined angles between normal lines of the (0001) planes that are crystal planes of the crystal grains and a normal line of the surface of the tool body in the range of 0 to 45 degrees.

3. The surface-coated cutting tool according to claim 2,

wherein an area ratio of crystal grains having an aspect ratio of 5 or more is 80% or more of the Al₂O₃ crystal grains of the upper layer.

4. The surface-coated cutting tool according to claim 1,

wherein an area ratio of crystal grains having an aspect ratio of 5 or more is 80% or more of the Al₂O₃ crystal grains of the upper layer.

5. The surface-coated cutting tool according to claim 1,

wherein the upper layer is formed by an initial growth step and a top layer formation step.

6. The surface-coated cutting tool according to claim 5,

wherein in the top layer formation step, a reaction gas containing 1 to 3 vol % of AlCl₃ is treated under a pressure of 5 to 15 kPa.

7. The surface-coated cutting tool according to claim 6,

wherein the reaction gas further contains 1 to 1.5 vol % of H₂S.