Investigation of M2 and anti-segregation process HSS flat broaching tools.

An investigation has been carried out to compare the cutting performance and tool life evaluation of high speed steel broach samples. The comparison has been done between conventional M2 and Anti-Segregation Process (ASP) ASP53 and ASP30 high speed steel broach samples. The ASP53 was a development material. The cutting performance was evaluated by measuring the cutting forces and calculating the specific cutting energy, an indicator of cutting performance. As the roughness of the machined surface is an important criterion in the evaluation of performance of a tool, the surface roughness of the workpiece was studied as a function of undeformed chip thickness. The workpiece material was 150M36 alloy steel used in manufacture of automobile engines. The performance tests were conducted at two cutting speeds, which were 0.7 m/min and 10.5 m/min respectively. This allowed a better understanding of the effect of cutting speed on tool performance. The wear tests were performed at a cutting speed of 10.5 m/min.The cutting edges of ASP broach samples were finer compared to that of M2. There was no practical difference in the cutting forces and the specific cutting energy while cutting with M2, ASP30 and ASP53 broach samples. The ASP30 and ASP53 tools gave a better surface roughness on the machined surface than that of M2 at both cutting speeds. The ASP30 gave 2.25 times the life and an improved surface finish compared to M2 steel. The ASP53 gave 1.3 times the life of M2 steel.