Ceramic Cutting Tools

The proponents of ceramic cutting inserts are expecting them to replace tungsten carbide tools the way tungsten carbide has been replacing steel. One hurdle at the moment is still the higher cost of the ceramic and cermet blades, cermet being the ceramic-and-carbide hybrid. However, the ceramic inserts wear longer and do not require the replacement of extremely expensive machinery for them to be used.

Higher production loads and much faster turnaround time are key advantages to ceramic cutting tools, when compared to carbide and coated carbide tools. Cutting time is shorter, sometimes significantly so. Downtime is reduced. Ceramic inserts generate less heat and fewer surface imperfections. And ceramic tipped saw blades, for example, are extremely wear and chemical resistant. Cuts are very clean, creating less need for time-consuming wood finishing work. Ceramic blades do an extremely fine job of cutting metal.

That said, of course, all cutting tools have their individual limitations. That's to say, they excel for many uses but need special consideration in others. It used to be that most ceramic cutting tools didn't withstand mechanical shock well, and at first they couldn't handle certain geometric designs. However, the past few years have seen a lot of progress in those areas. Silicon nitride ceramics can even cut huge cast iron parts.

Overcoming End User Resistance

Overcoming end user resistance is always the challenge of the day in any new process or procedure. In addition to lack of understanding of the new equipment, workers greatly fear that anything new will cost them their jobs. In today's economy, that's an extremely valid concern. Even so, workers still require training to feel comfortable and be safe.

Ceramics still don't cut well at low speeds because they're designed for high-speed applications. One industry expert has expressed the situation by stating that cermets, for example, start working well where carbide cutting tools leave off. Some users simply won't have a need for ceramic or cermet inserts in their application.