The study is devoted to the development and testing of technological principles for the manufacture of solid end mills from ceramics based on a powder composition of α-SiAlON, β-SiAlON, and TiN additives, including spark plasma sintering powder composition, diamond sharpening of sintered ceramic blanks for shaping the cutting part of mills and deposition of anti-friction Si-containing diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings in the final stage. A rational relationship between the components of the powder composition at spark plasma sintering was established. The influence of optimum temperature, which is the most critical sintering parameter, on ceramic samples’ basic physical and mechanical properties was investigated. DLC coatings’ role in changing the surface properties of ceramics based on SiAlON, such as microrelief, friction coefficient, et cetera, was studied. A comparative analysis of the efficiency of two tool options, such as developed samples of experimental mills made of SiAlON/TiN and commercial samples ceramic mills based on SiAlON, doped with stabilizing additives containing Yb when processing nickel alloys (NiCr20TiAl alloy was used as an example). DLC coatings’ contribution to the quantitative indicators of the durability of ceramic mills and the surface quality of machined products made of nickel alloy is shown.

The main problem with ceramics used in cutting tools is related to the unpredictable failures caused by the brittle fracturing of ceramic inserts, which is critical for the intermittent milling of cyclic loading. A 125-mm-diameter eight-toothed end mill, with a mechanical fastening of ceramic inserts, was used as a cutting tool for milling hardened steel (102Cr6). For the experiments, square inserts of the Al₂O₃ + SiC ceramic were used and compared with the samples made of Al₂O₃ + TiC to confirm the obtained results. The samples were coated with diamond-like coating (DLC), TiZrN, and TiCrAlN coatings, and their bending strength and adhesion were investigated. Investigations into the friction coefficient of the samples and operational tests were also carried out. The effect of smoothing the microroughness and surface defects in comparison with uncoated inserts, which are characteristic of the abrasive processing of ceramics, was investigated and analyzed. The process developed by the authors of the coating process allows for the cleaning and activation of the surface of ceramic inserts using high-energy gas atoms. The impact of these particles on the cutting edge of the insert ensures its sharpening and reduces the radius of curvature of its cutting edges.

The paper studies the technique for increasing efficiency of high-speed steel tools by forming wear-resistant complexes when using processes of combined cathodic vacuum arc deposition with filtration vapour ion flow. Based on analysis of the causes of premature destruction of standard coatings on high-speed steel tools, provisions were designed to increase the effectiveness of wear-resistant coatings by increasing their operating life till partial or complete destruction. For that purposes, architecture of wear- resistant complex was developed for formation on substrates of high-speed steel. Wear-resistant complex includes thermally stabilizing layer and three-element multi-layered composition nano-dispersion coating, and it can be formed by using the combined process of cathodic vacuum arc deposition with filtration vapour ion flow. The paper presents data on the optimization of the conditions for formation of the wear-resistant complex elements that provide a significant increase in tool life of high-speed steel tool both with continuous and interrupted cutting