The price of ammonium paratungstate has risen dramatically, increasing the need for resharpening and recycling tungsten carbide cutting tools. However, it remains unclear whether resharpening compromises tool performance.
In previous studies investigating the effect of resharpening on tool life, differences were reported in the edge microgeometries of new and resharpened tools. The objective of this thesis was to determine whether resharpened rotational milling tools can achieve similar tool-life to new tools, while maintaining the cutting-edge radius.
Finite element modelling was used to analyse the effects of edge radius and edge form factor on tool life, and experimental side-milling tool-life tests were conducted. Results showed that increasing edge radius from 2 to 30 μm prolonged tool-life, while decreasing form factor from 2 to 0.5 also increased tool-life. Experimental tests demonstrated that, when edge radius was maintained, resharpening did not affect tool-life.
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