Carbide
Among turning inserts, carbide is arguably the most common material; it is manufactured through powder metallurgy using tungsten-cobalt or tungsten-titanium-cobalt compositions. This material acts as the "all-around champion" of the industrial world: it offers excellent wear resistance, high-temperature durability, and high strength, all while providing outstanding cost-effectiveness. When machining standard steels, carbide inserts maintain a long service life, making them the ideal choice for low-to-medium speed cutting applications.
Ceramic Inserts
When machining temperatures exceed 1000°C, ceramic inserts demonstrate their unique advantages. Aluminum oxide-based or silicon nitride-based ceramic materials can reach a hardness of 91–94 HRA-surpassing carbide in high-temperature resistance. This material is particularly well-suited for machining difficult-to-cut materials, such as hardened steel and cast iron; while it maintains dimensional stability during high-speed machining, its significant brittleness remains a distinct drawback.
Super-hard Materials
Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) inserts possess a hardness second only to that of diamond, making them a formidable tool for machining high-hardness alloy steels. They can effortlessly handle hardened steels with a hardness of HRC 45 or higher, achieving surface roughness levels of Ra 0.4 or less. Although their cost is relatively high, they remain an indispensable choice in fields such as precision mold manufacturing and aerospace engineering.
