A cutting tool is made up of a cutting edge and a holder. During machining, the cutting edge wears out in matter of minutes as the service life is considered to be over. Cutting edge service life is defined as the effective production time during which the cutting edge can be used in machining of components and pass specified tolerances. It is of paramount importance that it’s possible to predict the theoretical cutting edge service life with great confidence, as most processing is done in machines destitute of monitoring or even supervision. Extended processing past the service life of the cutting edge invariably leads to insert failure or breakdown. Selecting the appropriate cutting edge is critical in obtaining maximum productivity in processing.

It is imperative to get everything right in a very hot, chemically active environment where the pressure and rotational speeds are extreme. The cutting forces are causing flexural, torsional and tensile stresses in the tool, causing vibration, tool deflection and lack of stability in holders and clamping. These are the contributing factors that shorten the service life of the cutting edges. So far, the best available technology has been to use steel for holders of cutting tools, or carbide for applications where stiffness is paramount. The high tensile modulus of carbide reduces tool deflection, but its high weight means that the eigenfrequency rate is lowered, which may result in additional vibration problems. To avoid excessive wear of the cutting edges resulting in problems such as poor surface finish; insufficient accuracy; increased wear of machine tools; and high noise level, the cutting forces must be restrained, leading to inefficiency and costly productivity losses.