SOVIET DEVELOPMENT OF MICROLITE TOOLS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 24, 2011
• Sequence Number: 544
• Publication Date: February 24, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
CLASSIFICATION C
ONFIDENTIAL
SECURIT Y INFORMATI~ON
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE A 'EP.1CY
FOREIGN DOCUMENTS OR RADIO BROADCASTS
COUNTRY
USSR
SUBJECT
Economic; Technological - Mechi-+e tool r;
HOW
mineral-ceramic
cutting material
PUBLISHED
Daily newspaper and monthly periodical
WHERE
PUBLISHED
Moscow
DATE
PUBLISHED
Apr - 24 May 1952
LANGUAGE
Russian
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REPOR -HUM
KOX,
CD NO. cloy
DATE OF
INFORMATION 1944 - 1952
DATE DIST. DJ,~. Feb 1953
((
NO. OF PAGES 4
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
SOVIET DEVELOPMENT CIF MICROLITE TOOLS
STATE
ARMY
Moacovskiy Komsomolets, 24 May 52 -- Research on metal-cutting processes con-
ducted by Soviet engineers has shown that the life of a cutting tool depends not
only on its hardness under ordinary temperatures but, more important, on its hard-
ness under increased temperatures.
In the process of machining metal, the cutting edge of a tool becomes heated
as a result of the combined action of deforming force and friction. The degree
of heating of a cutting edge (other conditions being equal) is directly propor-
tional to the cutting speed; that is, the higher the speed, the higher the degree
of heating.
e
an
It moat be noted that the heat ceil a tool goes out of order.
ing for cutters made of hardened steel does
Lot exceed 250 degrees; for alloy steel cutters, 600 degrees; and for hard alloy
cutters, 900 degrees.
The cutting speed depends on the "reserve strength" of the material being
cut, under increased temperatures. For this reason, a cutter made of plain or
alloy steel does not withstand high-speed conditions.
In an effort to find a more heat-resistant and less expensive cutting material,
research was directed toward natural and artificial nonmetallic materials
The technology of sintering metal powders used in the manufacture of h,rd-
alloy tools is called metal-ceramic or powder metallurgy, and the material. ob-
tained by this technology are called metal-ceramics.
In contradistinction to metal.-ceramic materials, an artificial stone called
microlite, developed at the MKhTI (Moscow Institute of Chemical Technology imeni
D. I. Mendeleyev), is a mineral-ceramic material. It is obtained by sintering
mineral nonmetallic powders.
When the cutter reaches a determined critical temperature (differing for dif-
rent cutting materials), its edge becomes deform
d
d th
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
The special characteristics of microlite are its ultrafine and compactra
structure consisting of millions of microscopic crystals, from which it derigvedin
its name microcrystallite (mikrokristallit) shortened to microlite (mikrolit).
In 1944, work was begun on obtaining certain special ceramic materials at the
Chair of Glass Technology of the MKhTI. In 1948, a sample of this material was
tested at the TsNIIRyASh (Central Scientific Research Institute of Technology and
Machine Building) and showed good metal-cutting possibilities; however, its dura-
bility was not too great. As a result of voluminous scientific research, the
Chair of Glass Technology succeeded at the beginning of 1950 in obtaining the
first samples of ceramic cutters, the quality of which greatly surpassed that of
ceramic materials heretofore tested.
In the second half of 1950, a synthetic stone, corundum microlite, which was
superior to the first samples, was obtained.
The heat ceiling.of cutters made of microlite is more than 1,200 degrees.
Blades made of microlite were used for cutting steel, cast iron, copper, alu-
minum, and other metals. Tests were conducted at laboratories and plants. They
showed that cutters made of the new material will machine not only brittle metals
such as cast iron but also ductile metals such as heat-resisting steels.
On 10 April 1952, using microlite blades, P. Bykov, the well-known Stalin
prize winner, achieved a cutting speed of 3,200 meters per minute in cutting
cast iron. This was a new world's record. It is important to note that the
microlite cutter after being in operation for 10 minutes remained unbroken.
In the process of testing, it was established that the durability of new
microlite cutters is several times greater than the durability of T15K6 titanium-
tungsten alloy cutters. As yet, microlite is inferior to existing herd alloys
only in brittleness.
The development of microlite blades has made it possible for the tool industry
to obtain inexpensive and readily available material suitable for finish and semi-
finish metal cutting and a rapid speed-up in a number of metal-working operations.
The real problem is to develop a method for fastening microlite blades to
metal tool shanks.
The Chair of Class Technology of the MKhTI has been working diligently in
this connection. It has sent the first 100 cutters with soldered (glass-cement
solder) microlite blades to the Moscow Machine-Tool Plant imeni S. Ordzhonikidze
for testing. The first experiments have shown that such a solder is satisfactory.
It is expected that multiedge microlite tools will be manufactured in the near
future. The chair contemplates putting out new instructions giving specie at-
tention to a method of securing microlite to metal. - T. Kitaygorndskiy, Stalin
Prize winner, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor, Moscow Institute of Chem-
ical Technology imeni M. I. Mendeleyev.
Moscow, Vestnik Mashinostroyeniya, Apr 52 -- Several types of mineral-ceramic
tool materials have been developed recently at the VNIIASh MSS (All-Union
Scientific Research Institute of Abrasives and Grinding of the Ministry of Machine
Tool Building) and MKhTI. The best of these are TPM-332 (MKhTI), and TsV-13,
TsV-18, and TsV-44 (VNIIASh).
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
It should be kept in mind that the h1adee put out by the above organizations
are still lacking in durability, which depends mainly on the closeness of the
grain of the blade.
A comparison of the properties of mineral-ceramic tterials with those cf
hard alloys shows that the hard alloys excel the ceramics in bending resistance,
the ceramics excel the alloys in hardness and heat-resistance. The lower bending
resistance of mineral ceramics should not prevent their introduction into produc-
tion use even for rough turning of cast iron and steel; however, the danger of
crushing the tool when working through the skin of a casting, or when shocks and
other irregular load conditions prevail on the cutting edge of the tool, should
be taken into account.
On the basis of available experience, several designs of cutters with mineral-
ceramic blades have been worked out. These include mechanical fastening of the
blade, fastening the blade by the cutting force, and soldered blades. Methods
of fastening mineral-ceramic blades differ little from those used to fasten hard-
alloy blad:_o.
? It should. be noted that the cutters with mechanical fastening of blades have
considerable advantage over those fastened by cutting force, because in the lat-ter type take placethevene cutter sock
onditioss irregularities of load which
greater.
The blade can also be fastened to the shank by soldering with lead or copper
solder or gluing with carbinol glue, water glass, or other adhesive materials.
The most promising method is that of soldering developed by the TsNIITMASh,
where the technology does not differ in its essential features from the technology
of soldering hard-alloy blades. In soldering mineral.-ceramic blades, it is nec-
essary only to pay very close attention to the evenness of heating and cooling
of the shank and the blade. The soldering is done in gas, oil, or electric fur-
naces, and also in high-frequency current units which heat up to the melting
point of copper or lead solder. Borax is used for flux, and acetone of benzine
for washing (degreasing).
At present, as the new tool material is going into the stage of extensive
industrial testing, it is not possible to give exhaustive recommendations for
cutting conditions: several parameters of the cutting conditions and tool. geo-
metry have not yet been tried. For this reason, the available data on cutting
conditions must be regarded as provisional; however, it may be applied while new
material is being perfected.
Considering the high brittleness of these blades, they should be used under
conditions of a rigid "machine-pert-tool" system, and cutting where vibration Is
present should be avoided. These materials should not be used for machining
cast iron with chilled skin or steels with hard skin, or for machining parts with
abrupt changes in the amount of allowance. Parts that have not been faced must
he chamfered first. In view of the high red hardness of the blades, machining
can be done without the use of a coolant. However, if the technical specifications
call for the use of a coolant in machining a specific part, in view of the insig-
nificant heat conductivity of mineral ceramics, a copious flow of the coolant
should be fed to the blade before it cuts into the work.
Green carborundum wheels with ceramic bond are best for sharpening mineral-
ceramic tools. Black carborundum wheels can also be used, but their hardness
should be 1-2 degrees lower. The recommended speed for the grinding wheel is
6-10 meters pe. second, with a transverse feed of 0.02-0.03 millimeter Jic7
and a longitudinal feed of 1.0-1.5 meters per minute. There is, however,
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5
experimental data indicating that blades can be eharpene,i successfully with ex-
tremely low-speed wheels (0.5-1.5 meters per second) with a plentiful flow of
coda-solution coolant. Finishing is done on cast-iron ;wheels with a boron-carbide
paste at a speed of 1.5-2.0 meters per second; the disk is moistened with kerosene.
The field of application of this new cutting-tool material is not limited to
machining metals by cutting. There is no doubt that it will find uses in other
fields, for example, as a hard-alloy substitute for boring bits, for limit gages,
sandblasting nozzles, pressmolds, for reinforcing measuring tools, etc.
The conference convened by the Commission on Machine-Building Technology
attached to t.,e Institute of Machine Practice of the Academy of Sciences USSR and
the Commit~ee on Cutting and Cutting Tools of the MCi4ITOMASh (Moscow Scientific
and Engineering-Technical Society of Machine Builders) has directed that further
work on the new cutting tool must be aimed at improving the physical and mechanical
characteristics of mineral-ceramic alloys and at their more extensive utilization
in the metal-cutting processes.
The conference petitioned the machine-building ministries to have the ques-
tion considered in their technical councils, to organize large-scale plant tests,
and to introduce tools with cutting edges of mineral-ceramics to the ministries'
enterprises during 1952.
The objectives of the scientific research institutes and particularly the
VNIIASh, the MKhTI, and the VNIITS (All-Union Scientific Research Institute
for Hard Alloys) include further broad studies aimed at learning more about mineral-
ceramic materials, their successful application in operations where the cutting
tool is subject to variable loads or removal of coarse chips, and thei- suit-
ability for construction materials. Also, certain discrepancies in instructional
literature on the subject brought out as a result of research by a number of or-
ganizations should be eliminated by further study on a unified method, and con-
sistent instructions should be worked out.
The successful introduction of the new cutting tool into industry will depend
not only on the output of mineral-ceramic blades and the publication of the nec-
essary instructions for designing, manufacturing, and exploitation of cutters:
but also on the introduction by the ministries of an incentive system for Indus-
trial workers who successfully use mineral-ceramic cutting tools in practice in-
stead of high-speed steel and hard-alloy.
The conference expressed the need for convening a there-quarter 1.952 All-
Union conference for a discussion of experience gained by industry and scientific
institutions in the use of mineral-ceramic tools.-- A. M. Karatygin and N. F.
Kazakov
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/10/25: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700100544-5