(i) To develop yttria stabilized zirconia toughened alumina ceramics.
(ii) To characterize the relevant matellurgical properties for using the developed material as a cutting tool.
(iii) To impart appropriate tool gemometry to the cutting tool insert.
(iv) To experimentally study the cutting-ability of developed ceramic cutting tool inserts in high speed machining of steels and cast irons under different combinations of feed, cutting speed and depth of cut giving emphasis on important machinability aspects like chip morphology, cutting forces, tool life, surface finish, dimensional tolerance and surface intergrity.
(v) To compare the machining performance of the developed ceramic inserts against commerically available inserts.