Effect of tempering after cryogenic treatment of tungsten carbide–cobalt bounded inserts

Cryogenic treatment is a recent advancement in the field of machining to improve the properties of cutting tool materials. Tungsten carbide is the most commonly used cutting tool material in the industry and the technique can also be extended to it. Although the importance of tempering after cryogenic treatment has been discussed by many researchers, very little information is available in published literature about the effect of multi-tempering after cryogenic treatment. In this study, an attempt has been made to understand effect of the number of post-tempering cycles during cryogenic treatment on tungsten carbide–cobalt inserts. Metallurgical investigations have been performed to observe the effect of such post-tempering on the inserts by analysing microhardness and micro-structural changes. The crystal structure and morphology were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Metallurgical investigations revealed a significant improvement in tungsten carbide inserts having three tempering cycles, after cryogenic treatment, with marginal differences for two cycles of tempered inserts, established by the study of wear behaviour in turning.