Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of α-SiAlON Based Cutting Tools

The main object of the presented work is the development of new ceramic cutting tools on the base of a-Sialon with other complementary phases. Owing to the presence of these secondary phases a significant improvement in the mechanical properties and chemical resistance has been achieved. The newly developed cutting tools allow a higher performance in machining of iron-based products, in particular the "heavy-to-machine-parts". Finally, the microstructure, phase composition, the resulting mechanical properties, and cutting tests are compared for the set of developed materials.