Performance of TiAlN-coated carbide cutting tool with carbon nanotube-filled micro-grooves

Surface texturing combined with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offers a promising route to improve cutting-tool performance under dry machining, although the interaction between CNT-filled textures and hard-coated cutting-tool surfaces remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates TiAlN-coated cemented carbide tools with laser-textured micro-grooves filled with CNTs during turning of AISI 1045 steel. CNT-filled grooves with depths of 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 mm were evaluated under dry cutting and compared with conventional and unfilled textured tools tested under dry and flood cutting conditions. Tool wear, surface roughness, apparent friction coefficient, cutting forces, tool temperature, and SEM/EDS of worn surfaces were evaluated. Compared with the conventional dry tool, CNT-filled textures increased the removed material volume before end of life by up to 187%, while reducing the apparent friction coefficient by up to 20.6%, cutting-force components by up to 30.9%, and measured tool temperatures by up to 29.1%. These improvements were achieved without compromising surface roughness. Overall, CNT-filled micro-grooves substantially improved the performance of TiAlN-coated tools under dry turning, demonstrating their potential to reduce dependence on conventional cutting fluids and support more sustainable machining strategies.