Ion implantation of the tool’s rake face for machining of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy

In the paper, the results of experimental ion implantation of subsurfaces of NTP 25 multilayer coating on a carbide cutting tools inserts is presented. The implantation was performed with silicon ions, as well as with the mixture of silicon and nitrogen ions. After the implantation, the inserts characteristics were measured to determine the impact of implanted ions. It was found that the ion implantation led to the increase of the inserts hardness (up to 17.5%), decrease of the friction coefficient, and decrease of the cutting force magnitude during machining of the Ti-6Al-4 V alloy. Thus, it was proved that the ion implantation may be used as an effective method to improve the cutting tools characteristics for the machining of difficult-to-cut materials.