Desousa 2017

Int J Adv Manuf Technol
DOI 10.1007/s00170-017-1140-1
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
A review on the machining of cast irons

José Aécio G. de Sousa 1 & Wisley Falco Sales 2 & Alisson R. Machado 2,3
Received: 27 April 2017 / Accepted: 13 September 2017

# Springer-Verlag London Ltd. 2017
Abstract Nowadays, the search for new materials is applying appropriate heat treatment, their use has become vi-
concerning to reduce the relative “efficiency/weight” ratio able in some applications that were exclusively of steels. The
and its costs, in general, in the whole manufacturing chain, several grades and groups available, on the other hand, brings
since the design until the final manufacturing stage. The ef- another concern about their machinability. After production
forts to achieve these requirements must fall in one of two on the foundry, cast irons always are processed by machining,
options: (i) selecting “new” materials with similar strength involving a large amount of money. With the goal of bringing
of the “old,” but with low density or (ii) increasing the strength relevant information on the machinability characteristics of
of the existing materials by adding alloying elements or by cast irons, this review was produced. It covers the main output
heat treatment. Choosing the best material for a given appli- parameters in machining (forces and power consumption, cut-
cation depends on a few parameters such as mechanical loads, ting temperature, surface roughness, recommended cutting
thermal environments, manufacturing costs, recycling, public tools, tool wear, and corresponding use of computational
acceptance, and workability. Among several kinds of mate- modeling technique, by using the finite element method) fi-
rials are the cast irons, which almost always provide good nalizing with future trends. It is hoped to fill a gap in the
machinability and low production cost. Under the scenario literature for those involved with machinability of this impor-
of the Industrial Revolution to date, cast iron received great tant metal.
emphasis on its development from the point of view of its
properties and economic advantages. Currently, among the Keywords Machinability . Cast iron, cutting force, and power
metallic materials, cast irons are the second most produced, consumption . Cutting temperature . Surface roughness . Tool
after steels. They are an extremely important group of metal material for machining cast iron
for the industry because, by introducing alloying elements and
1 Introduction
* Wisley Falco Sales
wisley@ufu.br Cast irons and steels are the materials most used by the indus-
try and in many sectors, not only because of its inherent char-
José Aécio G. de Sousa acteristics but also its immense versatility [27]. According to
aeciosousa@yahoo.com.br the 44th World Casting Census, graphitic cast iron constitute
Alisson R. Machado 71% of the total metal casting in the world, followed by 17%
alissonm@mecanica.ufu.br; alisson.rocha@pucpr.br of nonferrous casting and 9% of steel casting [26]. The devel-
oping research on cast irons contributed to pose this material
1
Federal Technological University of Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil in great competition with steel [49]. Such developments,
2
Mechanical Engineering Faculty (FEMEC), Federal University of resulting from needs in the areas of application or even cost
Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil reduction, bring as a consequence the technological updating
3
Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program, Pontifícia Universidade of this old traditional material [52]. Knowledge of cutting
Católica do Paraná – PUC-PR, Curitiba, PR 80215-901, Brazil forces, chip morphology, temperatures, surface roughness,
residual stresses and surface integrity, etc., is an important 2 Characteristics and properties of cast iron
prerequisite for reducing machining costs and improving
product quality [19, 125]. Cast irons are classified into different families, especially
As one advantage of cast irons is the possibility of according to the graphite. The name of each family reflects
obtaining parts with complex shapes. The combustion engine the form of the graphite (nodular, vermicular) or is related
block and head, for instance, illustrates the details and shapes to the appearance of the fracture (gray, white), or even with
that can be obtained with the casting process, which is char- some important mechanical property (malleable) [20, 51,
acterized as the most economic way for manufacturing parts 123]. Definitions of each type of cast iron are as follows
with complex geometry. As one disadvantage is regarding its [18]:
high density and consequently production of heavy compo-
nents and thus, reduction of weight is a great challenge for the White cast irons—are those where all of the carbon pres-
engineers and metallurgists. Alloying elements and heat treat- ent in the alloy is in the form of cementite or other car-
ments are options to improve cast iron properties, which in bides. The sequence of solidification and microstructure
turn impact in the machinability. The manufacturing toler- of these materials can be interpreted by the metastable
ances specified in projects cannot be obtained directly from equilibrium diagram (Fe/Fe3C), with modifications nec-
the casting process; hence, the machining is employed for essary due to the presence of other chemical elements.
specific function, improve surface finish and dimensional ac- This type of iron is, therefore, very hard and its machin-
curacy of the castings [101]. ability is strongly dependent on its microstructure.
The cast iron may have different mechanical properties Kosasu et al. [76] studied the influence of the microhard-
depending on the alloying elements present or heat treatment ness and microstructure of high chromium white cast iron
undergone [51, 54]. The microstructures also play significant on the machining performance in terms of tool wear and
hole and affect the physical and mechanical properties of these tool life, cutting forces, and surface quality using cBN
materials, mainly when there is presence of pure graphite [96, tools. The variation of microhardness was determined
131]. The pure graphite has negligible resistance and provides by a grid nano-indentation approach. Volume fraction
a self-lubricating source at the cutting edge during machining phases of the material were identified through Weibull
[23, 46, 51]. mixture distribution from the result of the grid nano-in-
Cast irons are a class of ferrous alloys having carbon con- dentation. High chromium white cast irons were prepared
tents above 2.1% (wt); however, in practice, many cast irons with two groups of composition, low carbon/silicon and
contain between 3.0 and 4.5% (wt) of carbon plus the addition high carbon/silicon, in the state of as-cast and hardened
of other alloying elements [13]. Cast irons are Fe/C/Si alloys, conditions. Results from the machining tests indicated
further containing Mn, S, and P, and may additionally have that the variation of microhardness of the work materials
various other alloying elements [51]. Other authors, like showed significant impacts on the cutting tool wear, tool
Chiaverini [18], defines iron as “iron-carbon-silicon alloy with life, cutting forces, and surface quality of these materials.
carbon contents above of 2%, in an amount greater than that Gray cast irons—are those that the phase formed during
which is retained in solid solution in austenite, to produce solidification are the austenite and graphite, following the
carbon partially free, as graphite flakes or lamellae.” stable equilibrium diagram. In these alloys, graphite is
The major application of cast irons is in automotive indus- obtained in the form of flakes or lamellae, being neces-
try (brake drums and disks, exhaust manifolds, cylinder heads, sary to distinguish from the combined carbon content,
and especially engine blocks, including diesel engines) and whose sum gives the total carbon content of these cast
obviously gives rise to the need for further improvement in irons. Different microstructures can be obtained by
research and innovation, which aims to better understand the adjusting the composition and/or by using an appropriate
performance of these materials before the various types of heat treatment [13]. For example, lowering the silicon
fabrication processes [11]. Basement for machine tools, parts content or increasing the cooling rate can prevent com-
of highway machines (articulated trucks, dozer blades, drag- plete dissociation of the cementite to form graphite.
lines, compactors, asphalt pavers, etc.), pumps for miner in- Under these circumstances, the microstructure consists
dustries, among others, are applications of diverses types of of graphite flakes embedded in a pearlite matrix.
cast iron. Increased resistance in the cast iron is driven mainly Nodular cast irons—are those in which the graphite has
by the most demanding performance requirements in engine the form of nodules (or spheroids in the melted material)
vehicles, together with increasingly stringent environmental due to the addition of chemical elements or individual
standards regarding emissions and fuel consumption [87]. manufacturing conditions, which modify the physical
Bearing investments in research and developing new products form of the graphite with no formation of lamellae as in
in this line become a very important factor in the economy in the gray cast iron. The nodular form of the graphite is
general. obtained from the addition of elements such as Mg and
Ni. In contrast, other elements such as Pb and Ti act as instance) have no significant actions from the point of view
anti-nodulizing [96]. of graphitizing trend; however, only the phosphorus is rela-
Malleable cast irons—are alloys that solidify as white tively strong iron carbide stabilizer. Its main function is in the
cast irons, being subsequently subjected to an annealing structure of the material, forming with the iron and carbon a
heat treatment, when the brittle structure from first cast is compound of eutectic nature (iron carbide and iron phosphide)
transformed into the malleable form, where the cementite of white and perforated appearance named “steadite” [18].
is decomposed into graphite and austenite and then is Table 1 shows the effect of some chemical elements present
partially removed by oxidation with formation of some in the molten iron on the microstructure of the final product.
graphites. The metal matrix of cast irons can be constituted by ferrite
Compact graphite cast irons (CGI)—are more modern (microconstituent, which results in higher ductility and tough-
material. In them, it is possible to obtain the crude molten ness) or pearlite (implies good mechanical strength associated
state, by adding alloying elements, the so-called vermic- with low ductility). Higher strength can be achieved with tem-
ular graphite, which is an intermediate form between pered martensite or ausferrite [51].
flakes and nodules. According to Santos [112], the mate- The mechanical and physical properties (strength, ductility,
rial from the point of view of the chemical composition Young modulus, thermal conductivity, and damping capacity)
range shows no significant difference from gray and nod- are strongly dependent on the structure and distribution of the
ular cast irons (each containing about 94% iron, 3% car- microstructural constituents [43, 44]. The addition of alloying
bon, 2.5% silicon, and the remainder is divided among elements provides changes to the cast iron microstructure,
alloying elements and residual elements). The main dif- causing it to have an average increase of 20 to 25% in strength
ferences between these alloys are due to their types of and hardness, and a rise of 5 to 10% in Young modulus and
graphite morphologies, which confer different physical fatigue resistance [18, 64]. The inoculation, for example, by
and mechanical properties to each. The process of adding an alloying element (most commonly silicon) in the
obtaining the vermicular graphite is by means of the mag- metal when it is still in the liquid state in the furnace, strongly
nesium action, which is a nodulizing element, present in a affects the formation of graphite in the cast iron, thus increas-
range of 0.01 to 0.02% [33, 54, 93, 99]. In this type of ing the tendency towards graphitization [33], as seen
cast iron the graphite are elongated and randomly orient- previously.
ed, as in gray cast iron; however, their graphite are shorter Ryntz and Arnson [108] studied the effect of bonded iron-
and thicker as compared with the lamellar graphite, be- silicon inserts on hardness control in cast irons and identified
sides having the rounded ends [2]. that hardness control should provide improved machinability.
Janowak and Gundlach [63] conducted machinability tests in
Due to its chemical composition, kinds, shapes, and distri- two grades of 45C high strength gray cast irons, containing
bution of phases, the machined surfaces of cast irons normally nominally 0.1 and 3% of intercellular carbides and found that
have the matte aspect, which compromise its finishing and 3% of intercellular carbides substantially reduced tool lives.
consequently its machinability [32]. During machining, there Likewise, eliminating the carbides increased tool lives up to
is the environmental pollution with graphite particles, requir- 300% and for a fixed tool life of 1 h, the cutting speed could be
ing, therefore, breathing filters to protect the operator and increased by 41%. Bates [6] examined the influence of the
neighbor workers [84]. Besides graphite, SiC Fe3C and other mass fraction of microcarbides on the machinability of cast
precipitates can also be pulled out, depending on the king of irons. The formation of microcarbides was controlled during
cast iron, which can penetrate between into the mobile parts of casting by monitoring the cooling rate from the eutectic tem-
the machine tool, acting as abrasive particles, hence, increas- perature to the eutectoid temperature, and by controlling the
ing substantially the wear of sliders, gears, shafts, etc. reduc- concentration of pearlite stabilizing elements. The results in-
ing its life [127]. The graphite powders can also penetrate in dicated that the mass fraction of microcarbides is the main
the electric commands of the machine tools, if they are not factor influencing the machinability of gray and ductile cast
well protected, and promote short-circuits. irons Eleftheriou and Bates [36] studied the machinability of
The elements that most influence the microstructure of cast grade 40 of gray cast iron inoculated by three inoculant types:
iron are carbon (determines the amount of graphite that may 0.2% additions of Sr bearing of 50% FeSi; 0.2% additions of
be formed) and silicon (graphitizing element, favoring there- 75% FeSi containing Ca and Al; and 0.2% additions of 40%
fore decomposition of iron carbide). The presence of silicon, FeSi containing Ce. The results showed that the gray casting
independent of the carbon content, can make a cast iron to iron inoculated with Sr-bearing FeSi at a drill speed below
tend to gray or white [107]. Manganese, when present, has 100 sfm (surface feet per minute) presented the best
the opposite effect to that of silicon, i.e., stabilizes the cement- machinability.
ite and thus counteracts the graphitizing action of the silicon The white cast iron has a clear appearance due to the ab-
[29]. The other elements (normal impurities and sulfur, for sence of graphite, since almost all the carbon is in the form of
Table 1 Effects of some

structural elements in cast irons Chemical element Effect during solidification Effect during the eutectoid reaction
[18]
Aluminum Hard graphitizing Promote the ferrite and graphite formation
Antimony Little effect Strong stabilizing for pearlite
Boron (up to 0, 15%) Hard graphitizing Promote the graphite formation
Boron (above of 0, 15%) Carbide stabilizing Strong trend to retained the pearlite
Chromium Strong trend to carburizing Strong trend of pearlite formation
Copper Weak graphitizing Promote the pearlite action
Manganese Weak trend to carburizing Strong promoter of the pearlite formation
Molybdenum Weak trend to carburizing Strong promoter of the pearlite formation
Nickel Graphitizing Weak promoter of the pearlite formation
Silicon Strong graphitizing Promote the ferrite and graphite formation
Tellurium Strong trend to carburizing Weak pearlite stabilization
Tin Little effect Strong trend of the retained pearlite
Titanium (up to 0, 25%) Graphitizing Promote the graphite action
Vanadium Strong trend to carburizing Strong pearlite formation
carbide. This material is extremely hard and wear resistant, microhardness difference. The tool flank wear of the drill in-
however, is brittle and difficult to machine, even with the best creased correspondingly with the increase of the microhard-
tools [92]. ness difference of the matrix, indicating the great effect of the
The properties of gray cast iron are influenced by the size, homogeneity of the matrix on the machinability of gray cast
shape, and distribution of the graphite and by the relative irons.
hardness of the metal matrix that surrounds the graphite. Xue and Li [142] investigated the effects of the inoculants
Mechanically, cast irons are comparatively brittle as a conse- on gray cat irons. The properties of the graphite morphology,
quence of their microstructure [23]. The tips of the graphite matrix structure, mechanical properties, and fracture charac-
flakes are sharp and focused and can serve as stress concen- teristics of the gray cast irons were examined. The results
tration points when an external force of tensile is applied; show that both the new inoculant X (mainly contains SiC)
however, its mechanical strength and ductility are much great- and the conventional inoculant FeSi75 resulted in improved
er for compressive loads [58]. In addition, the gray cast irons properties of the molten iron over the original uninoculated
exhibit high wear resistance. Furthermore, in the liquid melt molten iron. The inoculants produced smaller graphite parti-
state, they have high fluidity (allowing casting of parts with cles, reduced tendency to form shrinkage cavities and poros-
intricate shapes) and low melting contraction [13]. Figure 1 ities during the solidification of the molten iron, decreased
compares the damping capacity of steels and cast irons. Note supercooling degree, reduced formation of non-metal inclu-
that the gray cast irons have better efficiency in energy vibra- sions, and enhanced mechanical properties (of the cast irons).
tional damping (important feature in machine tools, for in- The nodular cast irons have had large technical develop-
stance) [92]. ments which have resulted in new business opportunities for
The gray cast irons cover a tensile strength range of 100 to
400 MPa (most commonly 150 to 300 MPa) and elongation,
being very small is not specified. The graphite in the form of
flakes guarantees good thermal conductivity, which makes
gray cast iron a material widely used in components subject
to thermal fatigue (drums and brake discs, engine blocks and
heads, for instance) [8, 51].
Baohong et al. [4] showed that gray cast iron treated with
60%FeSi75 + 40% RE inoculants (wt% of 41.1 of Si, 0.35 of
Al, 0.96 of Ca, 0.33 of Mn, 0.44 of P, 0.08 of Ti, 9.08 of Ce
and the rest of Fe) exhibited consistent tensile strength at
about 295 MPa along with good hardness and improved met-
allurgical quality. On the other hand, gray cast iron inoculated
with 20%FeSi75 + 80% Sr inoculants exhibited the best ma- Fig. 1 Comparison of vibration damping capacity. Adapted from MSPC
chinability, the lowest cross section sensibility, and the least [92]
the foundry industry [134]. These materials offer a range of a specific feature of the CGI machining is the formation of
properties which are not found in other cast iron such as high segmented chips due to fracture, where the fracture zone is
strength, wear resistance, fatigue resistance, ductility, and characterized by decohesion/separation of graphite flakes or
toughness [143]. According to Oliveira [96], nodular cast nodules from the steel matrix structure. Cracks are developed
irons exhibit lower stress concentration when compared to primarily through the graphite grains due to the fact that the
other castings, due to the graphite form of nodules (spheroi- graphite grains act as notches in the much tougher matrix of
dal), thereby maintaining the continuity of the matrix. Due to the material [61].
these versatile properties, these materials have taken much of The CGI has a 70% increase in tensile strength, 35% in-
the market for low-strength steels, making it suitable for the crease in Young modulus, and approximately twice the fatigue
manufacture of crankshaft, pistons, gears, tubes, and dies resistance of the conventional gray cast iron [25]. Table 2
[112, 133, 143]. When needing nodular cast iron with better shows some properties of gray cast iron, nodular, and CGI.
mechanical strength and hardness than that found normally, Hieber [60] found that the fracture of the CGI begins in
two approaches are used: increase the proportion of cementite vermicular graphite interface metal/matrix. Laempic and
(this procedure reduces toughness making the material sus- Henkel [79] attribute part of the increased wear on the cutting
ceptible to cracking) and/or increase the content of carbides tool during the machining of CGI to the integration of graphite
(this can affect the balance of graphite/carbides) [131]. to metal matrix. According to Dawson [25], this characteristic
Malleable cast irons are the first family of castings with assists in higher strength and higher toughness of the vermic-
significant ductility. They are always obtained by heat treat- ular cast iron material. Andrade [2] found that CGI is 30 to
ment, which may be of graphitization (black malleable iron) or 50% more wear resistant than gray cast iron. Guesser [50]
decarburization (white soft iron). In black malleable cast iron, states that in CGI, nodules of graphite will always be present,
the graphite is in the form of aggregates and the matrix may be increasing the mechanical strength and toughness, however
ferritic, pearlitic, or tempered martensite, covering grades with compromising casting, machinability, and thermal conductiv-
tensile strength ranging from 300 to 700 MPa and elongation ity. The differences in the shape of the graphite, in combina-
from 2 to 12% [53]. Malleable cast irons were, for the most tion with the matrix constituents, also affect the properties of
applications, replaced by nodular cast iron, with technical and cast irons such as hardness, ultimate tensile strength, thermal
economic advantages. In America and Europe, large applica- conductivity, damping, fatigue life, etc. The differences in
tions are in tubes, curves, and connections for fluid transpor- these properties do affect the machinability of these grades
tation (miner industries, for example), in white or black mal- of irons [67].
leable cast iron, with ferritic matrix [51]. In general, the mi- The CGI is used for making lighter engine blocks and
crostructure of this material is similar to that of a nodular cast heads. Having higher strength, the wall thickness of the whole
iron, which explains the high mechanical strength and signif- complex workpiece are reduced ([86]); in other words, this
icant ductility and malleability [13]. material meets the requirements of higher pressures in the
The compact graphite cast iron (CGI) exhibits mechanical combustion chambers and consequently a more efficient en-
strength, ductility, and toughness greater than gray cast irons; gine with reduced weight/power ratio and lower rates of emis-
however, its thermal conductivity, vibration absorption capac- sion of harmful waste to the environment [2].
ity, and workability are inferior [24, 55]. Guesser [50] states In cast iron, in general, the type of matrix, together with the
that the CGI combines the good properties of gray and nodular form of the graphite, determine the main mechanical proper-
cast irons. According to Sahm et al. [109], CGI, for example, ties of the product [25]. Pearlite, for example, is a saturated
is 33% more abrasive and 15% less adhesive than gray cast form of ferrite, whose carbon in excess forms the cementite
iron. While lamellar graphite, whose surfaces have fewer ir- (Fe3C) constituent, known as hard, with low machinability
regularities as compared to vermicular graphites, promotes the [18]. In one of his works, Xavier [139] examined the influence
initiation and propagation of fractures, making the cast iron of cementite content in the pearlite of gray cast iron plates in
brittle, the morphology of the graphite in CGI does not allow
cleavage neither crack propagations [2]. Table 2 Iron properties: gray, nodular, and CGI [123]
The characteristic morphology of CGI leads to strong ad-
hesion between the graphite and the “steel” matrix, containing Property Gray Nodular Compact graphite
cast iron (CGI)
pearlite and ferrite phases. Stronger adhesion together with the
rounded edges and irregular bumpy surfaces results in a re- Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) 235 650 500
duction of the crack initiation and growth providing superior Hardness (HB) 200 270 225
mechanical properties compared to gray cast iron which, tra- Young modulus (GPa) 110 165 140
ditionally, has been used in a majority of industrial cast com- Fatigue resistance (MPa) 100 265 205
ponents, e.g., engine blocks. Unlike more homogeneous and Thermal conductivity (W/mK) 48 28 35
ductile materials (where usually quite long chips are formed),
drilling tests with high-speed steel (HSS) drills with 6 mm of In drilling tests of CGI with 70% of pearlite with twist drills
diameter using three different cutting speeds. The researcher of 8 mm of diameter, Dawson [24] found a 40% reduction in
observed reduction on the tool lives by increasing the amount the tool life when compared to drilling of gray cast iron
of cementite as presented in Fig. 2. normaly used in engine blocks.
Dawson [25] showed in his work that the pearlite content in Table 3 shows the respective influences of the amount of
the matrix structure of CGI is directly proportional to the pearlite in the properties of CGI with 10% of nodularity at
hardness and tensile strength of the material and consequently 25 °C.
to its machinability too. According to him, an increase from Cooling and demolding time can control the amount of
15 to 95% of pearlite causes a 60% increase in the tensile cementite in the pearlite. In order to study the machinability
strength, whereas a 20% increase of the pearlite content variations of the CGI, Mocellin [90] carried out drilling tests
caused an increase of 10 to 15% in the tensile strength. in materials with different times of demolding: from 20 min to
Shao et al. [117] compared the influence of pearlite content 2 h. For a longer demolding time, the machinability of the cast
between gray cast iron and CGI. They found that, for an equal compacted graphite iron was better than that coming from the
content of pearlite, the CGI is around 10–15% harder than material with lower demolding time. According to him, this
gray cast iron. They also concluded that engine blocks of result was because the narrower Fe3C lamellae (or fewer
CGI containing 70% of pearlite in their matrix have the same amount of cementite) in the pearlite in greater demolding time.
hardness of a block of gray cast iron with 100% of pearlite.
Phillips [103] studied the behavior of coated and uncoated
cemented carbide tools in the turning and in the drilling of 3 Machinability of cast iron
CGI with ferritic and pearlitic matrixes. In all tests, regardless
the cutting material employed, the higher tool lives were ob- The production of cast iron has grown in recent years and
tained in the machining of the ferritic CGI. represents much of the market for materials used in the indus-
The pearlite content in CGI, however, may depend on the try [39, 51, 122]. According to Trent and Wright [137] and
type of the cutting process. Dawson [25], during turning and Nayyar et al. [94, 95], a large reason for the use of these
milling operations of CGI containing different proportions of materials in large engineering scale is not only concerning to
pearlite in the matrix (50 to 95%), concluded that the pearlite the cost of the material and the casting process but also the
content directly influenced the machinability of the cast iron. economy of machining finished parts.
In general, the milling tool life increased when increasing the As previously discussed, adding alloy elements (silicon,
pearlite content. According to him, this result is because the magnesium, chromium, molybdenum, copper, among others)
pearlitizing elements propitiates good deformation and easy and applying appropriate heat treatment have greatly contrib-
cleavage, as well as chip formation is in interrupted cuts. In the uted to the improvement of the mechanical properties of these
case of turning (continuous cut), the tool life decreased with materials such as, for example, strength, hardness, stiffness,
increasing the pearlite content, showing that presumably and toughness [17, 31, 91, 105].
pearlitizing elements of high alloys are very hard and abrasive Machinability is a term used to refer to the response of a
for continuous cutting operations. material in machining, in terms of tool life, cutting force,
quality of the machined surface, rate of material removed, or
chip control. Improving the machinability of a material is of
great interest because of the significant impact on industrial
competitiveness. A method widely used to improve the ma-
chinability of a material, without altering the mechanical prop-
erties and microstructure, is by adding certain inclusions, the
Table 3 Physical and mechanical properties of CGI with 10% of

nodularity at temperature of 25 °C containing 70 and 100% of pearlite
[24]
Property 70% of pearlite 100% of pearlite
Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) 420 450

Hardness (HB) 190 and 225 207 and 255
Young modulus (GPa) 145 145
Yield strength (MPa) 315 370
Fig. 2 Drill life behavior with increasing the Fe3C content in the pearlite Thermal conductivity (W/m °C) 37 36
of gray cast iron. Adapted from Xavier [139]
so-called engineering inclusions, which favor the reduction of nodules come off and will never be seizured by the tool during
cutting forces, tool wear, and facilitate the chip rupture [37, the machining process. They are only deformed and displaced.
84, 137]. The addition of these elements directly influences On the other hand, the graphite from CGI does not detach and
the machinability of cast iron [20, 21, 73]. slip because they are strongly “anchored” in the matrix. The
In addition to quantify how easy or difficult to machine a author has also concluded that the type of chip obtained de-
given material, the machinability is also used to quantify the pends not only on the form but also on the size of the graphite
performance of cutting tools and their geometries, especially and its interaction with the matrix structure.
in terms of their lives, and the performance cutting fluids Compared to gray cast iron, the difficulty in machining the
during machining operations [84]. The machinability of a ma- CGI is associated with two factors: high mechanical strength
terial is usually assessed by analyzing the tool life, machining (involves large cutting forces) and the absence of manganese
forces, power consumption, chip form, and surface quality of sulfides in its microstructure (always present in gray cast iron
the workpiece, depending on the application and project spec- and during machining are deposited on the cutting tool surfaces,
ifications [75]. thus ensuring a local action of solid lubricant) [102, 104].
In general, cast irons exhibit good machinability for almost In turning process with pCBN inserts, Dawson [27] found a
all selected criteria, especially when compared to steel [128]. reduction in the machinability of CGI by increasing the
The variation of the machinability within the grades of cast amount of vermicular graphites (Fig. 3). He also showed a
iron depends on their chemical composition and microstruc- reduction in the machinability with increasing nodular graph-
ture [15]. The main effects are reduction of carbon content in ite content compared with material consisting essentially of
the matrix (due to the appearance of free carbon that weakens lamellar graphite. Mocellin [90] also proved that the machin-
the matrix and, consequently, tends to improve the machinability of gray cast iron is better than that of CGI with me-
ability), increase in silicon content (decreasing the size of built chanical strength of 450 N/mm2.
up edge (BUE), thereby improving the machinability of the Heck et al. [58] studied the influences of various metallur-
material, particularly when the BUE is an important criterion), gical variables on the machinability of cast iron, focusing his
and the increase in the pearlite content (increasing hardness research on the form of graphite, effects of alloying elements
and hence decreasing the machinability of the material) [121]. and the amount of pearlite. They concluded that the machining
Sahm et al. [109] state that the chemical composition is not the of CGI is much more difficult than that of gray cast iron,
only influential parameter in the machinability of the cast especially at high cutting speeds, making this the only reason
irons because the form of graphite also exerts a strong influ- why this material is not used to a greater extent in volume
ence. According to Mamedov et al. [85], graphite as a com- production scale. According to Reuter et al. [104], the differ-
ponent of relatively low hardness as compared with the other ence in machinability between these materials is explained by
constituents of the matrix, produces discontinuities in the ma- the formation of MnS layer on the surface of the tool when
terial, thereby enhancing the chip breakability during the ma- machining gray cast iron. This layer is not formed in CGI,
chining process. For Marwanga et al. [87], graphite acts as a since the sulfur content in the material is about 10 times lower
lubricant, reducing friction between the workpiece and the than in gray cast iron. Thus, the sulfur content plays a very
tool and reduces the risk of micro weldings; thus, the overall important role during machining, as shown in Fig. 4. The MnS
effect is to improve the tool life. layer acts as a solid lubricant and prevents adhesion of the
Within a grade of cast iron, gray and nodular, those pre- work material on the tool rake face. According to Dawson
senting lower hardness and tensile strength are seen as mate- [25], the sulfur, together with the shape of the graphite, is
rials that exhibit the best machinability [7]. When compared,
only these two materials, nodular cast irons, have lower ma-
chinability than gray cast iron, because the latter has flake-
shaped graphite that act as stress concentrators in the shear
plane, thus facilitating cutting. The sphered-shaped graphites
are less effective in “weakening” the material in the shear
plane and flow zone and may in some cases behave as highly
ductile materials [143]. According to Anon [3] and Sandvik
[110], the presence of nickel and copper in nodular cast iron
improves the machinability. These elements act to reduce the
cutting force and the surface roughness of the workpiece.
Opländer [97] states that during the machining of gray cast
iron, the graphite flakes slide over loads, appearing that they
are “soft.” The author also says that the same does not occur Fig. 3 Influence of the graphite form on the tool life in turning of cast
with nodular and vermicular graphites. This is because the iron with PCBN tools (vc = 800 m/min) [27]
cross sections. This in turn promotes variation in the mechan-

ical properties along this cross section that affects the machin-
ability. In order to study this effect, De Sousa [28] has carried
out tool life tests in turning with cemented carbide tools (K35
grade, coated with TiN) of bars of ductile iron (DI) with
203 mm of diameter and divided the cross section in three
regions (core, intermediate zone, and periphery) according to
Fig. 5a to study the variability of the machinability. The three
regions were characterized previously. The core showed a
ferrite/pearlite matrix and average hardness of 181 HB, the
intermediate zone a ferrite/pearlite matrix and average hard-
Fig. 4 Effect of sulfur content in the machinability of different cast irons. ness of 180 HB, and the periphery a ferrite matrix and average
Adapted from Reuter et al. [104]
hardness of 167 HB. Table 4 presents details of the micro-
structures of the three regions. The machinability results are
considered the most significant difference of CGI as compared shown in Fig. 5b. The ferrite matrix and the lower hardness of
to gray cast iron. The content of this element in gray cast iron the periphery prevail and showed smaller flank wear with the
is between 0.008 and 0.09%. In the CGI, the sulfur content is same amount of material removed.
in the range of 0.005 to 0.025%, because the compacted
graphites are stable only at low levels of oxygen and sulfur.
The sulfur present in the cast iron reacts with manganese 3.1 Forces and stresses in the machining of cast irons
(Mn), forming molybdenum disulfide inclusions (MnS2),
which lubricate the tool, forming a protective layer at the The machining of cast iron can vary from very easy, as in the
chip-tool interface and serving as barrier against the wear case of ferritic cast iron, until very difficult, as in the case of
mechanisms such as abrasion and diffusion. The CGI, how- white cast iron [43, 44]. The chip-tool contact length during
ever, does not show the formation of such a layer, because the machining of cast iron is small (even when subjected to
besides having only a tenth of the sulfur that gray irons have, high-speed machining), which favors the achievement of high
the magnesium (Mg) is added as a necessary element for the stress values at the tip of the tool. The small chip-tool contact
formation of the compact graphite. The Mg has more chemical length obtained during machining of this material also pro-
affinity with sulfur than manganese, which thus favors the motes relatively low machining forces, in addition to low
formation of magnesium sulfide instead of the formation of power consumption [121]. According to Trent and Wright
manganese sulfide, and consequently, there is no formation of [137], graphite flakes can be large and occupy a considerable
the protective layer [105]. area on the extension of shear planes, also contributing to
On the other hand, ductile irons (DI) has the graphites in reduce the machining forces. A flake may significantly extend
the form of nodules (spheres), thereby with higher strength through all the shear plane.
than both flaked and compact graphite irons. Consequently, Table 5 shows the cutting (Fc) and feed (Ff) forces in the
the machinability of ductile irons are in general lower than its machining of gray cast iron with graphite flakes and pearlitic
competitors. Continuous casting of ductile iron uses huge matrix compared with a medium carbon steel. Note that the
graphite matrixes that generally produces bars with very large feed forces of the cast iron are greater than the cutting forces
Fig. 5 a Cylindrical bar divided

in three regions. b Tool life test
results [28]
Table 4 Average results of the

microstructure of the three Region Pearlite Carbides (%) Nodularization (%) Graphite Graphite
regions of the cylindrical bars of matrix (%) particles/mm2 size (μm)
the DI [28]
Core 21.3 0 96.8 102.3 38.1
Intermediate zone 17.5 0 98.4 152.6 32.4
Periphery 4.4 1 97.8 670.6 15.8
(during machining of steels, the opposite occurs and the cut- discontinuous chips and the huge differences of properties of
ting forces are generally greater than the feed forces) and the second phase and the matrix of the cast irons contribute to
around the same levels of the feed forces for steels. this higher range.
According to Trent and Wright [137], feed forces higher than The discontinuous type of chip produced in gray cast iron
cutting forces are common in the machining of gray cast iron results in a process with low power consumption, low temper-
and the best explanation for this is the smaller amount of ature on the tool rake face, and short time of contact between
plastic deformation in the primary shear plane than in the the chip and the tool during machining. Thus, according to
secondary shear plane. Sousa et al. [126] also found similar Silva [120], extensive chemical reactions at the tool-chip in-
behavior of the force components during the machining of terface are avoided.
some metallic materials, including gray cast irons. Camusçu [14] studied the behavior of the cutting force with
Excessive tool flank wear, due to the presence of hard increasing cutting speed (shear rate), during turning of nodular
particles and adhesion of the workpiece material in the cutting cast iron (3.62% C, 2.57% Si, 0.08% Cr, 0.16% Mn) with
tool surfaces during the machining of cast iron, may increase hardness of 246 HB, using ceramic tools (Fig. 7).
the machining forces [1]. Grzesik and Malecka [48] studied He found that, regardless of the cutting tool, increasing the
the behavior of the machining forces of nodular cast iron EM/ cutting speed resulted in a reduction of the machining forces.
GJS-500 (3.78% C, 2.46% Si, 0.32% Mn) with ferritic/ According to Ko and Kim [74] and Toh [133], the reduction of
pearlite microstructure (50% pearlite, 40% ferrite, and 10% the machining forces when increasing the cutting speed (shear
graphite), ultimate tensile strength of 500 MPa, and hardness rate) is related to the increasing of temperatures in the shear
of 175 HB. They presented the evolution of the machining zones. Hence, resulting thereby in the reduction of the shear
forces with tool wear for two types of ceramic tools (Si3N4 strength of the work material and in chip thickness formed
and Si3N4 coated by Al2O3/TiN) (Fig. 6). Note that there is an during the cutting, while at the same time, the chip-tool con-
excessive increase in the machining force of the uncoated tact length is diminished. Dumitrescu et al. (2005) and Saoubi
tools. According to them, this is because uncoated tools have et al. [114] found in their research similar results stresses even
higher levels of flank wear than the coated tools. According to more the reduction of the machining forces against increasing
Schneider and Richter [115] and Lau et al. [80], when the wear cutting speed.
rates are high, it tends to promote high machining forces. Ljustina et al. [82] studied the effect of graphite nodularity
Sousa et al. [126] studied the behavior of the machining forces on the machinability of cast irons in orthogonal cutting. A
in turning of EM-245 gray cast iron (hardness = 205 HB, ulti- microstructure-based model of the cast iron material has been
mate tensile strength = 245 MPa; fatigue strength = 100 MPa) developed based on the analyses of micrograph images. The
with silicon nitride (Si3N4) ceramic tool. In this work, they found image analysis combines pearlitic grains with graphite nodules
that the interval of the cutting parameters for built up edge (BUE) to produce the microstructures. Continuous deformation be-
taking place is much higher than when machining steels. havior of pearlite and graphite phases is described using the
According to Trent and Wright [137], the formation of Johnson–Cook (JC) viscoplasticity model, including tempera-
ture dependence. In Fig. 8, a typical distribution of the effective
plastic strain during machining is shown. For illustration pur-
Table 5 Comparison of the machining forces of gray cast iron and
medium carbon steel (f = 0.16 mm/rev; ap = 1.25 mm) [137]
poses, the graphite grains are removed (white areas) to illus-
trate the connection between development of plastic strain and
Cutting speed, Pearlitic gray cast iron Medium carbon steel morphology. It appears that the shape of the graphite grains
vc (m/min) changes during the machining process, where nodules become
Fc (N) Ff (N) Fc (N) Ff (N)
elongated in the direction of chip flow. Effective plastic strain
30 222 232 520 356 develops first through the shortest distances between graphite
61 245 285 490 364 grains, which means that cast iron deforms easier along the
91 245 320 445 325 grain boundaries. Cracks tend to develop along preferred pat-
122 267 338 422 313 terns through graphite grains if the crack promoting “notches”
(defined by the graphite morphology) are not too blunt. In
Fig. 6 Performance of Si3N4 and

Si3N4 coated with Al2O3/TiN
ceramic tools in the machining of
nodular cast iron EM/GJS-500. a
Cutting force. b Flank wear [48]
reality, this squeezing out of graphite on the surface influences The machining performance of a material depends on the
the frictional conditions during the machining of cast iron. stresses in the shear planes, which, in turn, depend on the me-
Figure 9 shows the von Mises stress distribution pattern chanical strength and the presence of alloying elements. The
during machining. Significantly higher magnitudes of the ef- machining performance also depends on the cutting conditions
fective stress are obtained in the pearlite as compared to the [31]. The power consumption generally increases with increas-
graphite phases. This is due to the significantly higher yield ing cutting speed, although the cutting forces are reduced, since
stress and higher stiffness in the pearlite as compared to the this promotes adequate softening of the material and can pre-
graphite. Note that fairly high shear strain is required to mobi- vent adhesion in the cutting area. The rake angle has also a great
lize the stress response in the highest deformed areas of Fig. 9. effect on the cutting power, which decreases with increasing
rake angle. Application of a good lubricant will also reduce
forces and consequently the power consumption [23]. The
3.2 Power consumption in the machining of cast irons power will increase with increasing cutting time (or cutting
length) since the tool wear will progressively increase [84].
The specific cutting energy (cutting force divided by the cut- However, some of these behaviors are more clear when
ting area) tends to increase with increasing hardness and machining relatively soft materials and not very effective in
strength of the machined material [89] and tends to decrease the machining of cast irons because of the discontinuous type
with increase in the feed rate and cutting speed. This is be- of chip formed [84]. Compared to steels, the power consump-
cause increasing the feed rate, the cutting area increases and tion when machining cast irons are lower because of the
increasing the cutting speed, the cutting force decreases. shorter chip-tool contact length of the discontinuous chips.
However, the cutting power is practically composed only of Barbosa et al. [5], with the goal of searching for materials
the product of the cutting force and the cutting speed, and thus, with improved properties, have conducted drilling tests to
the power consumption will increase with increasing of both check the machinability of two austempered ductile
feed rate and cutting speed [84]. iron − ADI (ISO 800-10 and ISO 1.050-6) and a pearlite
Fig. 8 A typical distribution of the effective plastic strain during the

Fig. 7 Machining force against cutting speed when machining the machining simulations. The cutting speed is 350 m/min and the
nodular cast iron with several ceramic tools [14] nodularity is 0% [82]
Fig. 9 A typical distribution of the von Mises effective stress during the
machining simulations. The cutting speed is 350 m/min and the
nodularity is 0%. The stresses of the legend are in Pa [82]
ductile iron (FE 70003), for comparisons. They have used K20
cemented carbide twist drills coated with multilayers of TiN/
TiAlN applying flood and MQF (minimum quantity of fluid)
techniques and consider the thrust force, torque, and power
consumption as the output parameters. Figure 10 shows the
results of the power consumption found. Fig. 10 Power consumption in drilling austempered ductile irons − ADI
They concluded that the results are closed related to the work I (ausferrite − 288 HB), ADI II (ausferrite + ferrite and residual
material microstructure and hardness and that austempered iron spheroidized pearlite − 203 HB) and pearlite ductile iron − DI
(pearlite + 2% of ferrite – 269 HB) [5]
can be an interesting alternative for substituting ductile irons.
3.3 Temperature in the machining cast irons temperature. In this case, the increase in cutting speed resulted
in increased temperature. The heat generated during cutting
The temperature distribution on cutting tools during the ma- must be dissipated by the workpiece, the chip, and the environ-
chining of cast iron differ from those observed when machin- ment. According to Souza et al. [128], in the case of gray cast
ing steels [137]. Since the chips are not continuous, the max- iron, which is a good heat conductor but produces discontinu-
imum temperature is observed very close to the cutting edge; ous chips, the heat generated in the primary shear zone is small-
thus, the maximum cutting speed is limited by plastic defor- er than those generated in the secondary shear zone. Hence, a
mation of compressive nature [70]. The excessive increase in large quantity of heat developed in the cutting zone has to be
temperature can lead to microstructural changes, residual dissipated by the tool and the chip. The machining temperature
stresses in the subsurface layers, tolerances errors and distor- is strongly influenced by the cutting speed, which will exert a
tions, in addition to increasing tool wear, and adhesiveness of great influence on the tool performance, especially at high
work material on the tool’s cutting edges [72]. speeds [16, 35, 59, 101, 132]. In general, an increase in the
Souza et al. [128] examined the behavior of the average cutting speed increases the cutting temperature due to its influ-
cutting temperature at different feed rates and a constant cutting ence on the strain rates in the primary and secondary shear
speed of 300 m/min when machining the gray cast iron EM- planes [62, 72, 118].
245 (hardness = 205 HB, ultimate tensile strength = 245 MPa, Ljustina et al. [82] showed their results of the temperature
the fatigue strength = 100 MPa) (Fig. 9a). They observed that distribution when machining the CGI cast iron at cutting speed
increasing the feed rates the temperature decreases. According of 350 m/min, using numerical simulation by finite element
to Bates [6] and Fang [38], the increase in the feed rate results in method (Fig. 11). Extremely high temperature, 1300 °C, can
increasing of the areas of the primary and secondary shear be observed at the chip-tool interface, indicating the poor ma-
planes, giving room to greater heat dissipation in the tool and chinability of this material when the temperature is used to
workpiece. However, if the increase in the feed rate is not ef- assess it.
fectively increasing the chip/tool contact area, which generates When machining steels, the tool geometry changes, such as
greater heat dissipation between the chip and the tool, the cut- large rake (γr) and clearance angles (αo) up to a certain range
ting temperature will not reduce and rather increase. Figure 9b (e.g., between 10° to 25° for the rake angle and 4° to 7° for the
shows the influence of the cutting speed on the cutting clearance angle), tool materials with low friction coefficient
subsurface cracks, etc.), and the dimensional accuracy are

influenced by the machining process, cutting conditions, tool
geometry, tool material, type of chips, tool wear, and rigidity
of the machine tool (vibration) [10, 69]. The surface integrity
of a machined component, in general, is a result of a process
that involves plastic deformation, elastic recovery, heat gener-
ation, dynamic recrystallization, vibration, residual stresses,
and even chemical reactions and can promote changes in sur-
face finish (surface roughness and burrs) and subsurface (plas-
tic deformations, residual stress, and microhardness) [68, 84,
113, 130]. The high product quality is only achieved with the
use of suitable machining parameters and when monitoring
the machining process [43, 44].
Fig. 11 A typical temperature distribution during the orthogonal In general, the higher the hardness of the work material, the
machining simulations. The cutting speed is 350 m/min [82]
lower is its surface roughness. In the case of cast irons, the
surface roughness is directly influenced by certain material
and the presence of chemical elements in the work material characteristics, such as hardness and microstructure, for in-
which enhance the chip flow, inhibit the excessive rise of the stance [1].
temperature, because in these conditions, the chips flowing Low tool wear rates and high rates of material removal,
over the rake face is facilitated and lesser heat is generated plus the low value of the cutting forces and power consump-
[83, 137, 140]. However, when machining gray cast iron, the tion are characteristics of machining of cast irons [128].
tool geometry does not have much effect in reducing the heat During the machining of this material, graphite particles de-
generated, because of the short chip/tool contact area, charac- termine the level of surface roughness, while the matrix deter-
teristic of discontinuous chips. In this case, heat dissipation is mines the tool life extension [14].
more important and negative rake angles provide greater and The built up edge (BUE) is formed when cutting under low
stronger tool wedge, with higher heat dissipation capacity [84]. cutting speeds and can occur at higher speeds than when cut-
Tool wear also have a great influence on the cutting tem- ting steels. Even in interrupted cutting, the presence of the
perature. Increasing in flank wear increases the cutting tem- BUE is more stable because of the formation of discontinuous
perature because they increase the shear forces in the shear chips [137]. According to Trent and Wright [137] and
planes and promote the formation of a third and important heat Machado et al. [84], the presence of the BUE directly influ-
source between the surface of the workpiece and the tool, also ences the level of finish of the machined surface.
named as tertiary shear zone [84, 98]. In the machining of cast iron, the produced surface is matte,
which makes this material ideal for sliding contact [130, 137].
3.4 Surface integrity when machining cast irons The addition of nickel and copper to the cast irons improves
machinability by reducing cutting forces and surface rough-
The surface integrity plays an important role in the manufac- ness of machined parts [116].
ture of machine components (Fig. 12). In machining process- Camusçu [14], using different cutting tools, observed the
es, the surface integrity (roughness, microhardness on the ma- behavior of surface roughness along the cutting speed during
chined surface and beneath, residual stresses, surface and machining of nodular cast iron (3.62% C, 2.57% Si, 0.08%
Fig. 12 Average temperature

behavior during the machining of
gray cast iron EM-245 against: (a)
feed rate, and (b) cutting speed
[128]
Cr; 0 16% Mn) with a hardness of 246 HB (Fig. 13). He found however, it should have a strict control over the tool wear
that, unlike the wear behavior, the surface roughness did not level.
increase continuously with the cutting length. The researcher
noted the continued increase in surface roughness along the 3.5 Cutting tools for machining of cast irons
cutting length in just a few particular situations, and generally,
the behavior of this parameter was quite random. According to The tools commonly used for the machining of cast irons are
him, this characteristic is directly related to progression of high-speed steel, cemented carbide—grade “K” (coated by
flank wear, since for most cases, the curve of the surface TiN, TiAl, TiAlN multilayers or uncoated), ceramics (Si3N4;
roughness showed the “zig zag” pattern, i.e., the surface qual- Si3N4 + Al2O3—SIALON; Al2O3 + SiC—Whisker; Al2O3 +
ity has deteriorated to a determined cutting length value, im- TiC—Mixed), ultrahard (pCBN-H or pCBN-L, where H is the
proving to some middle range, and subsequently began to mean high percentage of CBN content and L low CBN con-
deteriorate again. Therefore, it is difficult to draw general content) [84, 113, 137]. The tools for the machining of cast iron
clusions about the influence of wear on the surface roughness must be abrasion resistant and have high toughness, besides
when machining cast irons. This behavior were also seen in being chemically inert in order to prevent interactions with the
the works of Ghani et al. [43, 44], Saoubi et al. [114], Tonshoff work material [143]. The use of high hardness coatings on
et al. [135], Dumitrescu et al. [34], and Koshy et al. [77]. cutting tools has enabled the milling at high speeds. The
Many other factors, beside the tool wear, can have an effect TiAlN coating applied on the cemented carbide tools of the
on the quality of the machined surface, such as the heteroge- “K” grade has extensively been used in the machining of cast
neity of the work material and the random distribution of the iron in order to improve productivity and reduce costs [57].
graphite nodules, both characteristics found mainly in nodular The high-alloyed and the low graphite carrying a large
cast iron [78, 116, 133, 143]. amount of carbides cast irons, for examples, have poor ma-
Some undesirable effects such as excessive increase in the chinability. In such cases it is common the use of the ‘K’ grade
ductility of the work material and the presence of the BUE of carbide coated with TiAlN, ceramics or pCBN tools [56].
directly affect the surface finish of the cast irons, i.e., causing According to Smith et al. [124], TiAlN coating is able to
high surface roughness and large burrs [12]. According to maintain high hardness and oxidation resistance even at high
Fengzhang et al. [40], the best way to minimize the surface temperatures. Yigit et al. [143] found in their work, using
roughness during machining is through proper selection of TiAlN coatings with several thickness, that 10.5 μm is the
cutting tools and cutting conditions. Machado et al. [84] and most appropriate coating thickness when machining nodular
Trent and Wright [137] suggested the use of low feed rates; cast iron.
cemented carbide (‘K’ grade) cutting tools, either coated or The Al2O3 and Si3N4-based ceramic tools have low chem-
uncoated; negative rake angle; and large nose radius tool in ical affinity with cast iron, which greatly improves the surface
order to reduce the surface roughness when machining cast finish, even at high cutting speeds [137]. Table 6 presents
irons. The use of ceramic or pCBN tools allows machining at some cutting conditions recommended for machining cast
high cutting speeds, thereby generating a good surface finish irons with HSS, carbide, and ceramic base of Al2O3 and
and may, in some cases, eliminate grinding operation ([141]); Si3N4 tools.
Since the publication of Trent and Wright [137], obviously,
the cutting tool materials and their coatings have had great
improvements, and then, the cutting parameters increased,
and nowadays, for coated cemented carbide, the recommended
cutting speeds can range from 500 to 800 m/min, depending on
the coating properties, resistance of the gray cast iron, tool
geometry, and other cutting parameters (feed rate and depth
of cut). Using pCBN for instance, the magnitude of cutting
speed can reach the average value of 1700 m/min [111].
Dealing specifically with nodular cast iron, which for the
most part, has a high ductility microstructure, the most suit-
able machining tools are ceramic, particularly the SiAlON and
pCBN (polycrystalline compact boron nitride) [80]. Ceramic
tools (aluminum oxides, silicon nitrides, mixed ceramics, etc.)
allow cutting speeds in the range of 350 to 800 m/min [65,
Fig. 13 Behavior of Ra roughness along the cutting length during
113]; however, the chip-tool contact length is significantly
machining of nodular cast iron (HB 246) with ceramic tools. Adapted increased compared to the pCBN tools [30]. The use of these
from [14] tools implies in greater productivity, and better surface
Table 6 Cutting speed

recommended for gray cast iron Brinnel hardness HSS tools (f = 0.5 mm/rev) Cemented Carbide Ceramics tools (Al2O3 ou Si3N4)
with different cutting tools [137] (m/min) tools (f = 0.5 mm/rev) (f = 0.5 mm/rev) (m/min)
(m/min)
115–200 40 120 1500

150–200 25 90 1300
200–250 20 70 900
250–300 12 55 600
finishes in manufactured parts when machined at high cutting coating to the substrate, Viana et al. [138] have produced laser
speeds and low feed rates [29, 143]. modifications (parallel ridges—micro textures) on the substrate
The silicon nitride-based ceramic has high mechanical of cemented carbide tools before coating (TiAlN and AlCrN)
strengths due to the covalent bonds, along with its chemical and tested them in face milling of compact graphite iron
properties that are hardly affected at elevated temperatures (CGI—grade 450). Commercial coated tools (microblasted be-
[119]. According to Kato et al. [69] and Machado et al. [84], fore coating—the normal procedure use in their production)
these tools also have high resistance to thermal shock and were also tested as a base of comparison. The laser-textured
abrasive and adhesive wear (predominant wear type on cutting outperformed the commercial microblasted tools in terms of
tools when machining nodular cast iron) when compared to tool life. Scratch tests with progressive loads and Rockwell
aluminum oxide-based ceramic. Ghani et al. [43, 44] moni- indentation proved the better adhesiveness of the laser-
tored the wear and the machine vibration in their experiments textured tools as compared to the microblasted. This reduced
and observed that alumina-based ceramic tools are not satis- fragmentation/delamination of the coatings and diminished the
factory for machining nodular cast iron, because of their low abrasive wear during the milling tests.
toughness.
On the other hand, white cast iron is very difficult to ma- 3.6 Tool wear in machining of cast irons
chine. When using the “K” grade of cemented carbide, the
cutting speed is somewhat in between 3 and 10 m/min, and The type of wear that prevails in a specific machining pro-
when the tool is a ceramic or a pCBN, the cutting speed can be cess depends on the pair of the tool and workpiece materials
increased to 50 m/min [137]. involved, as well as to the cutting conditions and dynamic
According to Santos and Sales [113], the evolution of stability of the machine tool [72]. Specifically, in the ma-
pCBN tools with low CBN content (named pCBN-L, with chining of cast iron, flank wear tends to prevail normally
around 50% of CBN grains and the rest composed by a ce- developed by adhesives and abrasive wear mechanisms
ramic binder) and high CBN content (named pCBN-W, with [137]. The abrasion is due to the presence of hard particles
around 90% of CBN grains and the rest composed by a metal in the cutting area, which may come from the matrix that
binder, cobalt) give important options for applications in hard contains hard precipitates, such as SiC, Fe3C, WC, TiC,
turning, and this includes turning of white cast irons at cutting among others, depending on the chemical composition of
speeds beyond of 200 m/min, or higher. the work material, or when hard particles are plowed out
For machining of gray cast iron in continuous cutting (turn- from the tool by attrition. Gastel et al. [42] evaluated the
ing and boring, for instance) at high speeds, pCBN tools can use of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools in the machining
be applied; however, they cannot be employed in the machin- of cast irons and the results showed that due to the high
ing of compacted graphite iron, because of the drastic reduc- chemical affinity of the PCD with any kind of cast iron,
tion in the cutting length [88]. For the gray cast iron, the use of the use of them are not recommended in these materials,
pCBN cutting tools allows a significant increase in the cutting due to very low tool lives promoted by adhesion wear.
speed and consequently, a much higher productivity is obtain- Moreover, this wear mechanism is thermally activated, and
ed when compared with the conventional cemented carbides at around 750 °C, allotropic form of the carbon on the PCD
[105]. The cutting speeds commonly employed for pCBN tools changes from body center cubic (diamond) to hexago-
tools when machining gray cast iron should be in the range nal compact (graphite), particularly when this temperature
of 500 to 1500 m/min ([41]); however, cutting speed over remains for more than 1.5 min and the tool drastically loses
2000 m/min are possible in some specific cases [47]. its mechanical properties, leading the tool to a catastrophic
In machining with coated tools, fragmentation of the coat- failure [84, 113, 137]. PCD can be applied for machining
ings can occur and one of the reasons is the poor adhesion of the this kind of materials if the friction coefficient is drastically
coating to the substrate. This will accelerate tool wear and reduced in a way that the heat generation and the tempera-
shorten tool lives. In order to improve the adhesiveness of the ture become at low levels, eliminating the diffusion wear
mechanism. This is possible with the use of cutting fluids Bonifacio and Diniz [9] developed a study on turning of
and in cryogenic machining using CO2 (temperature from gray cast iron with ceramic tools at different cutting speeds.
−80 to −85 °C) or LN2 (temperature around −195.8 °C). Figure 14 shows the results of the tool life tests, considering
Cryogenic machining, however, needs further careful inves- the average flank wear VBB on mixed ceramic tools Si3N4 +
tigation before it proves as being effective technically and Al2O3/TiN using three different cutting speeds of 100, 160,
economically and feasible. and 240 m/min. The best results were found when using a
Cast irons are ordinarily machined without the use of cut- cutting speed of 160 m/min. The use of the lowest cutting
ting fluids. The lubricant action provided by the graphite per- speed promoted chipping and the highest accelerated tool
mits the success of dry machining. However, when machining wear.
the CGI, due to extremely high heat generation, a cutting fluid Camusçu [14] performed similar tests, but during the ma-
with good coolant ability is frequently recommended [84, 113, chining of nodular cast iron (HB 256) using different ceramic
129]. The work developed by Nayyar et al. [94, 95] also tools at different cutting speeds (Fig. 15). The alumina ceram-
showed the need of the application of an efficient cutting fluid ic tool coated with TiN showed the best performance.
in a continuous machining operation of CGI and SGI (sphe- According to the author, this result confirms that the high
roidal graphite iron). The tool wear mechanisms in boring hardness of the TiN coating (3000 kgf/mm2, [100]) strongly
operation of different grades of these materials were also stud- improved the resistance of the ceramic tools during machining
ied for dry and wet conditions. Both CGI and SGI have shown of nodular cast iron.
adhesion as the prevailing wear mechanism under dry condi- In milling of gray cast iron JIS/FC300 (ultimate tensile
tions as compared to abrasive wear in wet conditions, using a strength of 300 N/mm2), Kato et al. [69] observed the wear
cutting speed of 300 m/min. These results help to design suit- behavior of pCBN tools. They concluded that even at high
able inserts for CGI and SGI machining and highlight the cutting speeds, the tool wear is greatly reduced, and this pa-
importance of using cutting fluids when machining CGI and rameter did not affect much the results. This behavior is nor-
SGI in continuous cutting operations. mally observed in chamfered tools, which needs a minimal
In the case of white cast iron, the common practice is also cutting speed to better shear the work material and conse-
dry machining, but in this case, due to the very high resistance quently show appropriate results. This minimal cutting speed
of the material that does not allow cooling, demanding reduc- strongly depends on the chamfer design as well as on the
tion of the shear strength during the process of chip formation properties of the workpiece material. The cutting speeds used
by the high temperatures. In such cases, application of a cool- by Kato et al. [69] are higher than the minimal, when the tool
ant maintains the level of shear resistance of the material in the wears quickly due to attrition being the dominant wear mech-
cutting zone so high that the tool most often fails anisms with high wear rate and reduced the tool life.
catastrophically. Pereira [101] observed, in the machining of gray cast iron
Wear of chemical origin accelerated by high temperatures with β-Si3N4-based ceramic tool, that the increase in the cut-
in the machining of CGI at high cutting speeds was observed ting speed resulted in reduced tool wear. Such atypical behav-
by Kalhofer [66] using cemented carbide tools coated with ior is of great importance in the highly competitive industries
Al2O3, AlON, and TiB2. In this application, erosion of the such as automotive, reducing production costs and increasing
coating occurs, due to the material transfer between the chip productivity. According to the author, this behavior is a result
and the tool. of a reduction in the machining force components due to the
Ghani et al. [45] experimentally investigated the role of
green (or dry) machining on tool life and surface finish, in
turning of the ductile cast iron FCD700. They compared dry
and wet conditions, using commercial oil- and palm oil-based
MWFs, at the same machining parameter set-up. The results
show that dry machining performance is comparable to that of
wet machining. It was found that the performance of wet ma-
chining, in terms of tool life, was better than dry machining;
however, the surface quality of dry machining was almost
similar to that of wet machining. It was evident from their
results that green machining can be conducted at high cutting
speeds, low feed rates, and depths of cut, and using suitable
coated tools.
In drilling, adhesion and accumulation of material in the
flutes of the drill increase the torque and temperature, fre- Fig. 14 Tool lives of Si3N4 + Al2O3/TiN ceramics in turning of gray cast
quently causing catastrophic failure of the tool [106]. iron. Adapted from Bonifacio and Diniz [9]
Fig. 16 Tool flank wear versus removed material. Adapted from Liu [81]
Fig. 15 Tool flank wear versus cutting speed when turning nodular cast
iron (246 HB) with ceramic tools. Adapted from Camusçu [14]
metallic inclusions of magnesium silicates and magnesium
formation of a layer with a high concentration of inclusions of oxides are formed. Such inclusions do not deform during ma-
MnS from the workpiece material on the tool rake face of the chining and therefore is harmful to machinability [71].
tool. Although the reduction of the machining force compo- Tooptong et al. [136] have conducted dry turning experi-
nents contributes to the reduction of tool wear, the determin- ments on flaked graphite iron (FGI) and compact graphite iron
ing factor is the formation of a layer strongly adhered to the (CGI) using straight grade of cemented carbides uncoated and
tool rake face. Liu [81], Sahm et al. [109], and Dahl and coated with TiCN/Al2O3/TN. In their studies, surprisingly,
Hessman [22] also observed similar behavior, however, only they found that using the uncoated cemented carbide the tool
at certain intervals or at very high cutting speeds. This behav- lives for the machining, the FGI was shorter than for the CGI
ior observed in the machining of gray cast iron is receiving but the opposite was found when using the coated cemented
attention due to the possibility of reducing production costs carbide tools. The results were based on flank and crater
and increasing productivity. wears. The authors justified the unexpected results when using
When aluminum is added to the pearlitic gray cast iron uncoated tools by an adhesion layer of work material observed
FC300, referred to as FC300Al, the machinability of this on the flank and rake faces of the tools that protects them
material is significantly improved (Fig. 16). The addition against wear in the machining of CGI. This adhesion layer
of aluminum in the workpiece material results in increased was not observed when using the coated tools.
amount of this element on the cutting tool rake face, forming
a layer that protects the tool against severe wear. According
to Liu [81], aluminum element may exist in the form of 4 Trends
Al2O3, which is a hard and resistant material, forming a
layer of the rake face, contributing to a reduction in the Based on the literature review and authors shop floor experi-
abrasive wear of the tool. This is probably one of the rea- ence, one field that need to be extensively studied is the use of
sons for smaller tool wear when machining the material pCBN and PCD at cutting speeds above 2000 m/min, at least,
FC300Al at 2500 m/min than the FC300 at the same shear in machining of cast irons. These tools will only be applicable
rate. Therefore, it is evident that the addition of aluminum in in case the friction coefficient is drastically reduced and con-
the work material improves the machinability of pearlitic sequently the heat generation and temperature can stay at low
gray cast iron [101]. On the other hand, the Al2O3 is known levels, eliminating or reducing the diffusion wear mechanism.
as thermal isolator [84, 113, 137], and this thin layer adhered It should be real in case of the new coatings generation applied
on the rake face act as a thermal barrier, protecting the tool to pCBN tools (with very sharp cutting edges), with no chem-
against the heat flow by conduction; hence, the whole tool ical affinities for the work material. Moreover, for both the
tends to work at lower temperatures, as compared when the PCD and pCBN tools, extremely sharp cutting edges (cutting
Al2O3 layer is not present. edge radius < 100 μm) and in addition of using a cutting fluid,
In fact, the addition of aluminum and calcium in the pro- which is able to keep the cutting temperature at low values are
duction of CGI during deoxidation step, prior to magnesium really a promising attempt for the machining of this important
injection, produce non-metallic inclusions of calcium alumi- group of work material. Cryogenic machining using CO2
nates and calcium silicate aluminates which are deformable in (temperature from −80 to −85 °C, or LN2 with temperature
the machining process. When the aluminum and calcium com- around −195.8 °C) are important technologies that could guar-
ponents not added before the addition of magnesium, non- antee very high productivity rates, but detailed investigation is
necessary before this application can be considered feasible Although being a group of material that is considered rel-
and dominated. atively easy to machine, further detailed studies are needed in
Another kind of tool that needs to be well investigated for order to have the machinability of these materials steadily
cast iron machining is the coated pCBN (H and L), due to the dominated.
expectation of the thin-coated layer acting to reduce the fric-
tion coefficient, and consequently the heat generation and the Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to FAPEMIG, CNPq,
chip-tool interface temperature. The pCBN-L tools tend to CAPES, and MMC Metal do Brasil Ltda (Mitsubishi Materials Corp.)
for the financial support. One of the authors thanks CAPES (Project
have more toughness than the pCBN-H and can be thought number 002659/2015-08 PDS).
as an alternative application in interrupted cuts, such as
milling.
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Int J Adv Manuf Technol

A review on the machining of cast irons

Received: 27 April 2017 / Accepted: 13 September 2017

Table 1 Effects of some

Table 3 Physical and mechanical properties of CGI with 10% of

Property 70% of pearlite 100% of pearlite

Ultimate tensile strength (MPa) 420 450

cross sections. This in turn promotes variation in the mechan-

Fig. 5 a Cylindrical bar divided

Table 4 Average results of the

Fig. 6 Performance of Si3N4 and

Fig. 8 A typical distribution of the effective plastic strain during the

subsurface cracks, etc.), and the dimensional accuracy are

Fig. 12 Average temperature

Table 6 Cutting speed

115–200 40 120 1500

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