Machining of Titanium Alloy (Ti-6Al-4V)—Theory to Application

This article correlates laboratory-based understanding in machining of titanium alloys with the industry based outputs and finds possible solutions to improve machining efficiency of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. The machining outputs are explained based on different aspects of chip formation mechanism and practical issues faced by industries during titanium machining. This study also analyzed and linked the methods that effectively improve the machinability of titanium alloys. It is found that the deformation mechanism during machining of titanium alloys is complex and causes basic challenges, such as sawtooth chips, high temperature, high stress on cutting tool, high tool wear and undercut parts. These challenges are correlated and affected by each other. Sawtooth chips cause variation in cutting forces which results in high cyclic stress on cutting tools. On the other hand, low thermal conductivity of titanium alloy causes high temperature. These cause a favorable environment for high tool wear. Thus, improvements in machining titanium alloy depend mainly on overcoming the complexities associated with the inherent properties of this alloy. Vibration analysis kit, high pressure coolant, cryogenic cooling, thermally enhanced machining, hybrid machining and, use of high conductive cutting tool and tool holders improve the machinability of titanium alloy.     

Blend of sharpness and strength on a ball nose endmill geometry for high speed machining of Ti6Al4V

The applications of titanium alloys are increasingly common at marine, aerospace, bio-medical and precision engineering due to its high strength to weight ratio and high temperature-withstanding properties. However, whilst machining the titanium alloys using the solid carbide tools, even with application of high pressure coolant, reduced tool life was widely reported. The generation of high temperatures at the tool–work interface causes adhesion of work material on the cutting edges, and hence, shorter tool life was reported. In order to reduce the high tool–work interface temperature-positive rake angle, higher primary relief and higher secondary relief were configured on the ball nose endmill cutting edges. Despite of careful consideration of tool geometry, after an initial working period, the growth of flank wear accelerates the high cutting forces followed by work material adhesion on the cutting edges. Hence, it is important to blend the strength, sharpness, geometry and surface integrity on the cutting edges so that the ball nose endmill would exhibit an extended tool life. This paper illustrates the effect of ball nose endmill geometry on high speed machining of Ti6Al4V. Three different ball nose endmill geometries were configured, and high speed machining experiments were conducted to study the influence of cutting tool geometry on the metal cutting mechanism of Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The high speed machining results predominantly emphasize the significance of cutting edge features such as K-land, rake angle and cutting edge radius. The ball nose endmills featured with a short negative rake angle of value ?5° for 0.05～0.06 mm, i.e. K-land followed by positive rake angle of value 8°, has produced lower cutting forces signatures for Ti-6Al-4V alloy.     

Wear mechanisms analysis for turning Ti-6Al-4V—towards the development of suitable tool coatings

Titanium alloys are materials of choice for a wide range of applications. Their high strength and low density make them suitable for aerospace applications. Titanium-based alloys also exhibit excellent corrosion resistance and are bio-compatible, making them suitable for prosthetic applications like orthopedic transplants. The reactivity as well as heat resistance of titanium-based alloys, however, renders them difficult to machine. Based on previous research involving the development of a wear map for Ti-6Al-4V alloy, this research aims to identify the wear mechanisms associated with tool deterioration across different regions of the wear map. The characterization of wear mechanisms with respect to machining conditions and tool wear rate would ultimately help in the development of suitable tool coatings for machining titanium-based alloys.     

A study of the cutting-induced heating effect on the machined surface in ultra-precision raster milling of 6061 Al alloy

Ti-6Al-4V alloy is an attractive material in many industries due to its unique and excellent combination of strength to weight ratio and their resistance to corrosion. However, because of its low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity, Ti-6Al-4V alloy is generally classified as a difficult-to-cut material that can be characterized by low productivity and rapid tool wear rate even at conventional cutting speeds. It is well known that tool wear has a strong relationship with the cutting forces and a sound knowledge about correlation between cutting forces variation and tool wear propagation is vital to monitor and optimize the automatic manufacturing process. In the present study, high-speed end-milling of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with uncoated cemented tungsten carbide tools under dry cutting conditions is experimentally investigated. The main objective of this work is to analyze the tool wear and the cutting forces variation during high-speed end-milling Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The experimental results show that the major tool wear mechanisms in high-speed end-milling Ti-6Al-4V alloy with uncoated cemented tungsten carbide tools are adhesion and diffusion at the crater wear along with adhesion and abrasion at the flank wear. The cutting force component in the negative y-direction is more dominant of the three components and displays significantly higher magnitudes than that of the other two components in x- and z-directions. The variation of cutting force component F _y has a positive correlation with the tool wear propagation, which can be used as a tool wear indicator during automatic manufacturing process.     

Tool wear in turning of titanium alloy after thermohydrogen treatment

The influence of hydrogen contents on the tool wear has been mainly focused on the flank wear of the common tool,and the influence of hydrogen contents on the rake crater wear(main wear type) of the tool,particularly for the fine granular material tool,has been less investigated comprehensively.In this paper,for the purpose of researching the influence of hydrogen contents on tool wear,the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V is hydrogenated at 800 ℃ by thermohydrogen treatment technology and the turning experiments are carried out by applying uncoated WC-Co cemented carbide tool.The three-dimensional video microscope is used to take photos and measure tool wear.The results show that both of crater wear depth(KT) and average flank wear width(VB) firstly decreases and then increases with the increasing of hydrogen content.The maximum reducing amplitude of KT and VB is about 50% and 55%,respectively.Under the given conditions,the optimum hydrogen content is 0.26%.It is considered that the reduction of cutting temperature is an important factor for improving tool wear after the Ti-6Al-4V alloy is properly hydrogenated.Furthermore,the reasons of hydrogen effect on the tool wear are chiefly attributed to comprehensive effect of hydrogen contents on microstructure,physical properties and dynamic mechanical properties of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy.The proposed research provides the basic data for evaluating the machinability of hydrogenation Ti-6Al-4V alloy,and promotes practical application of thermohydrogen treatment technology in titanium alloys.     

EFFECT OF COOLANT PRESSURE,NOZZLE DIAMETER,IMPINGEMENT ANGLE AND SPOT DISTANCE IN HIGH PRESSURE COOLING WITH NEAT OIL IN TURNING Ti-6AL-4V

Though titanium alloys are being increasingly sought in a wide variety of engineering and biomedical applications, their manufacturability, especially machining and grinding imposes lot of constraints. Titanium alloys are readily machinable provided the cutting velocity is in the range of 30–60 m/min. To achieve higher productivity, if the cutting velocity is enhanced to 60–120 m/min and beyond, rapid tool wear takes place diminishing the available tool life. Tool wear in machining of titanium alloys is mainly due to high cutting zone temperature localised in the vicinity of the cutting edge and enhanced chemical reactivity of titanium with the tool material. Rapid tool wear encountered in machining of titanium alloys is a challenge that needs to be overcome. High pressure cooling in machining is a very promising technology for enhancing tool life and productivity via appropriate cooling and lubrication. The present investigation is an attempt to study the effects of jet application parameters, i.e., coolant pressure, angle of impingement of the jet, spot distance and nozzle diameter on tool wear and chip morphology and to compare the effectiveness while turning Ti-6Al-4V bars under high pressure cooling with neat oil. Results indicated that at a cutting speed of 85 m/min and feed of 0.2 mm/rev, high pressure cooling provided a tool life of 24 min vis-à-vis 12 min under cryogenic cooling.     

Wear characteristics of cemented carbide tool in dry-machining Ti-6Al-4V

In machining titanium alloys, due to the low thermal conductivity and high chemical activity of titanium alloys, tool wear is serious and processing efficiency is very low. To avoid the effects of impurities, which were brought by the cutting fluid, the uncoated cemented carbide tool (WC-Co), which was suitable for cutting titanium alloys, was used for the experiments of dry-turning titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDS) was used to analyze tool wear mechanism. Based on analyzing the friction characteristic of tool–chip interface, tool wear mechanism was also studied and a physical evolution model of tool wear was established. The results showed that there existed serious adhesion, diffusion and oxidation at tool–chip interface and increasing cutting speed accelerated their occurrence. The physical evolution of tool wear behavior can reflect the loss process of tool material very well.     

硬质合金刀具高速车削钛合金的切削性能研究

采用单因素试验法,用未涂层硬质合金刀具和TiAlN涂层硬质合金刀具对Ti-6Al-4V钛合金进行了高速干车削试验,通过对切削过程中切削力、刀具寿命、切削温度以及加工表面粗糙度的分析,得出了两种刀具高速干车削钛合金的切削性能,为钛合金高速切削刀具的设计提供了试验依据。     

Comparative investigation on using cryogenic machining in CNC milling of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy

Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy is one of the most important materials in industry, 80% of which is used in aerospace industry. Titanium alloys are also notoriously difficult-to-machine materials owing to their unique material properties imposing a major bottleneck in manufacturing systems. Cryogenic cooling has been acknowledged as an alternative technique in machining to improve the machinability of different materials. Although milling is considered to be the major machining operation for the manufacture of titanium components in aerospace industries, studies in cryogenic machining of titanium alloys are predominantly concentrated on turning operations. To address this gap, this article provides an investigation on the viability of cryogenic cooling in CNC end-milling of aerospace-grade Ti-6Al-4V alloy using liquid nitrogen in comparison with traditional machining environments. A series of machining experiments were conducted and surface roughness, tool life, power consumption, and specific machining energy were investigated for cryogenic milling as opposed to conventional dry and flood cooling. Analysis revealed that cryogenic machining using liquid nitrogen has the potential to significantly improve the machinability of Ti-6Al-4V alloy in CNC end-milling using solid carbide cutting tools and result in a paradigm shift in machining of titanium products. The analysis demonstrated that cryogenic cooling has resulted in almost three times increased tool life and the surface roughness was reduced by 40% in comparison with flood cooling.     

Investigation on diffusion wear during high-speed machining Ti-6Al-4V alloy with straight tungsten carbide tools

During high-speed machining Ti-6Al-4V alloy, high-temperature at the tool–chip interface and the concentration gradient of chemical species between tool material and workpiece material support the activation of diffusion process, and therefore the crater wear forms on the rake surface of the cutting tool at a short distance from the cutting edge. In this paper, the diffusion analysis was theoretically proposed. The constituent diffusion at the contact interface between tool material and Ti-6Al-4V alloy at high-temperature environment, the crater wear on the rake surface of the tool, and the chips collected from high-speed milling Ti-6Al-4V alloy with straight tungsten carbide tools were analyzed by the scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The constituents inside the tool could diffuse into the workpiece and the diffusion layer was very thin and close to the interface. Compared with the diffusion of tungsten and carbon atoms, the pulling out and removing of the tungsten carbide (WC) particles due to cobalt diffusion dominated the crater wear mechanism on the rake surface of the cutting tool.     

A Preliminary Study of Chemical Solubility of Ultra-Hard Ceramic AlMgB14 in Titanium: Reconciliation of Model with Experiment

This article investigates the chemical wear behavior of the ultra-hard ceramic AlMgB₁₄ and cemented tungsten carbide for machining aerospace alloys. The chemical interdiffusivity of AlMgB₁₄ against pure Ti and Ti-6Al-4V, in comparison with cemented carbide (WC-6%Co) cutting tool was investigated by means of diffusion couple experiments. The chemical composition profiles of various tool-workpiece combinations were determined by electron probe microanalysis after exposing the couples to 1000°C for 120 h in vacuum. Thermodynamic calculations of the chemical solubility of AlMgB₁₄ show that the experimental diffusion results are in reasonable agreement with the predicted behavior. It is shown that AlMgB₁₄ is significantly less soluble in titanium under static diffusion conditions, and therefore, shows considerable promise as a potential cutting tool for machining Ti alloys.     

Influence of cutting speed on cutting force,flank temperature,and tool wear in end milling of Ti-6Al-4V alloy

Tool wear is one of the most important problems in cutting titanium alloys due to the high-cutting temperature and strong adhesion. Recently, the high-speed machining process has become a topic of great interest for titanium alloys, not only because it increases material removal rates, but also because it can positively influence the properties of finished workpiece. However, the process may result in the increase of cutting force and cutting temperature which will accelerate tool wear. In this paper, end milling experiments of Ti-6Al-4V alloy were conducted at high speeds using both uncoated and coated carbide tools. The obtained results show that the cutting force increases significantly at higher cutting speed whether the cutter is uncoated carbide or TiN/TiAlN physical vapor deposition (PVD)-coated carbide. For uncoated carbide tools, the mean flank temperature is almost constant at higher cutting speed, and no obvious abrasion wear or fatigue can be observed. However, for TiN/TiAlN PVD-coated carbide tools, the mean flank temperature always increases as the increase of cutting speed, and serious abrasion wear can be observed. In conclusion, the cutting performance of uncoated inserts is relatively better than TiN/TiAlN PVD-coated inserts at a higher cutting speed.     

Finite element simulation of machining of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with thermodynamical constitutive equation

Titanium alloys are known as difficult-to-machine materials, especially at higher cutting speeds, due to their several inherent properties such as low thermal conductivity and their high reactivity with cutting tool materials, which present a low thermal conductivity. In this paper, a finite element analysis (FEA) of machining for Ti-6Al-4V is presented. In particular, the thermodynamical constitutive equation in FEA is applied for both workpiece material and tool material. Cutting temperature and tool wear depth are predicted. The comparison between the predicted and experimental cutting temperature and tool wear depth are presented and discussed. The results indicated that a good prediction accuracy of both principal cutting temperature and tool wear depth can be achieved by the method of FEA with thermodynamical constitutive equation.     

A comparative study of the tool–chip contact length in turning of two engineering alloys for a wide range of cutting speeds

Tool chip contact length is an important parameter in machining, as it provides an indication of the size of area of interaction between the hot chip and the tool surface and hence the interface heat transfer zone. Heat transfer and thermally activated wear modes usually dominate tool wear in the high speed machining of steels and machining of titanium alloys at most cutting speeds. In this study, existing models for the prediction of tool–chip contact length are reviewed and examined for their suitability in high speed machining of two widely used engineering alloys. Orthogonal turning tests for AISI 1045 steel and Ti6Al4V titanium alloy are conducted for a range of cutting speeds from conventional to high speeds. New contact length models are presented for both materials covering a wide range of cutting speeds. More significantly, these contact length models are appropriate for high speed machining where thermal loads significantly influence process performance. Additionally, the work discusses how the machinability of engineering materials influences the ability to predict contact length.     

The Tribological Behavior of a Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb Alloy Under Liquid Paraffine Lubrication

The tribological behavior of a Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy prepared by hot-pressed sintering was investigated under liquid paraffine lubrication against AISI 52100 steel ball in ambient environment and at varying loads and sliding speeds. For comparison, the tribological behavior of a common Ti-6Al-4V alloy was also examined under the same testing conditions. The worn surfaces of the two alloys were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope. The friction coefficient of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy in the range of 0.13–0.18 was significantly lower than that of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy (0.4–0.5), but comparable to that under dry sliding, which indicated that TiAl intermetallics could be more effectively lubricated by liquid paraffine than titanium alloys. Applied load and sliding speed have little effect on the friction coefficient of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy. The wear rate of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy was about 45–120 times lower than that of Ti-6Al-4V alloy owing to Ti-6Al-4V alloy could not be lubricated effectively. The wear rate of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb alloy increased with increasing applied load, but decreased slightly at first and then increased with increasing sliding speed. The wear mechanism of the Ti-46Al-2Cr-2Nb intermetallics under liquid paraffine lubrication was dominated by main plowing and slight flaking-off, but that of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy was plastic deformation and severe delamination.     

钛合金高速旋转超声椭圆振动侧铣削切屑特征和刀具磨损研究

难加工材料钛合金在采用传统铣削方式时,随着切削速度的增加,切削力和切削温度都迅速增加,使得切削条件恶化并加速刀具磨损,从而导致刀具过早失效。将超声椭圆振动加工技术引入到高速铣削中,进行了钛合金高速旋转超声椭圆振动侧铣削试验。从切屑特征以及刀具后刀面磨损两个方面研究了高速超声椭圆振动铣削参数匹配对钛合金加工的影响。首先基于高速超声椭圆振动铣削过程中刀具-工件的运动学特点推导出高速超声椭圆振动铣削加工参数与振动参数间的匹配关系,然后利用本实验室自行研制的超声椭圆振动铣削装置进行了不同参数匹配关系下的验证性切削试验。试验结果表明：合理的参数匹配使得超声椭圆振动铣削在高速条件下依然能够实现分离型断续切削加工。相比普通铣削加工,分离型的高速超声椭圆振动铣削能够获得更加微细的切屑,切削热能够被及时地带走;良好的切削条件使得刀具的后刀面磨损均匀而缓慢,从而延长刀具的使用寿命;高速超声椭圆振动铣削能够有效地提高生产效率。     

高速铣削钛合金Ti-6Al-4V切削力仿真研究

切削力对工件的机械加工性和刀具磨损有重要的影响。基于有限元仿真技术,针对钛合金Ti-6Al-4V高速铣削力进行数值仿真,重点研究切削参数对铣削力的影响规律。结果表明:随着每齿进给量和径向切深的增加,切削力有不同程度的增加;随着轴向切深的增加,切削力呈正比增加趋势,但主轴转速对铣削力影响并不明显。分析结果为钛合金Ti-6Al-4V高速铣削加工工艺参数优化奠定了基础。     

On machining of Ti-6Al-4V using multi-walled carbon nanotubes-based nano-fluid under minimum quantity lubrication

Titanium alloys are the primary candidates in several applications due to its promising characteristics, such as high strength to weight ratio, high yield strength, and high wear resistance. Despite its superior performance, some inherent properties, such as low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity lead to poor machinability and result in premature tool failure. In order to overcome the heat dissipation challenge during machining of titanium alloys, nano-cutting fluids are utilized as they offer higher observed thermal conductivity values compared to the base oil. The objective of this work is to investigate the effects of multi-walled-carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) cutting fluid during cutting of Ti-6Al-4V. The investigations are carried out to study the induced surface quality under different cutting design variables including cutting speed, feed rate, and added nano-additive percentage (wt%). The novelty here lies on enhancing the MQL heat capacity using nanotubes-based fluid in order to improve Ti-6Al-4V machinability. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) has been implemented to study the effects of the studied design variables on the machining performance. It was found that 4 wt% MWCNTs nano-fluid decreases the surface roughness by 38% compared to the tests performed without nano-additives, while 2 wt% MWCNTs nano-fluids improve the surface quality by 50%.     

高速切削Ti6Al4V钛合金时切削温度的试验研究

应用硬质合金刀具对Ti6Al4V钛合金材料进行了高速车削和高速铣削试验,研究分析了干切削、空气射流及氮气射流条件下的切削温度变化情况。研究结果表明,氮气射流及空气射流条件下的切削温度明显低于干切削条件下的切削温度,而氮气射流条件下的钛合金高速切削温度则略低于空气射流条件下的切削温度。     

不同摩擦副条件下Ti-6Al-4V合金的微磨粒磨损行为

采用TE66微磨粒磨损实验机对医用Ti-6Al-4V钛合金在不同摩擦副条件下的微磨粒磨损行为进行研究,考察滑行距离、载荷对其微磨粒磨损的影响,通过观察磨斑形貌,分析其磨损机制。研究结果表明:Ti-6Al-4V合金的磨损量随滑移距离和载荷增加而增加,磨损率则相反,并且硬度较高的Si3N4陶瓷球对合金造成的磨损量和磨损率均低于ZrO2陶瓷球;在不同摩擦副条件下,随着滑行距离和载荷的增加,Ti-6Al-4V合金的磨损机制均由三体磨损转变为二三体混合磨损,所不同的是与Si3N4陶瓷球对摩时合金的混合磨损区域要少于与ZrO2陶瓷球对摩时。