Comparison of Carbide and HSS Cutting Tool Performance in Turning of Stainless Steel (AISI 304): A Literature Review

Abstract

Carbide and High-Speed Steel (HSS) cutting tools are the two most commonly used tool materials in turning processes; however, a systematic comparison of their performance on difficult-to-machine materials such as AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel remains limited. AISI 304 exhibits low thermal conductivity, a strong work hardening tendency, and high affinity between the workpiece and tool, which accelerates tool wear and degrades surface quality. This systematic literature review follows PRISMA guidelines and analyzes studies from 2013–2025 retrieved from Scopus, ScienceDirect, MDPI, and ResearchGate databases. Performance comparison was conducted based on four primary parameters: tool life, surface roughness (Ra), cutting force (Fc), and cutting temperature, under dry, flood cooling, and minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) conditions. The review findings indicate that coated carbide tools consistently outperform HSS tools across all parameters, particularly at medium-to-high cutting speed ranges, owing to their superior thermal resistance and ability to suppress built-up edge formation. NF-MQL and internally cooled tool (ICT) cooling strategies proved to be the most effective in reducing tool wear while simultaneously improving surface quality compared to conventional flood cooling. HSS tools remain economically relevant for low-speed and intermittent cutting in small-scale production settings. Identified research gaps include the scarcity of standardized direct comparisons, the underexplored potential of micro-textures on modern HSS tools, and the absence of a universal predictive model for tool selection on difficult-to-cut materials.