HOLE MAKING USING BALL HELICAL MILLING ON TITANIUM ALLOYS

In this article, results of helical ball milling for hole making on Ti-6Al-4V alloy are presented and compared with drilling. Two different machining strategies were tested with a ball end mill. In the first strategy only a helical milling path was used to achieve the nominal diameter. The second strategy has two stages; first, helical milling considering a diameter 50 µm below the nominal, and second, the tool flank of the ball end mill were used to remove the stock left with a single contouring operation. Experimental tests were performed taking into account the process time, final quality of holes, hole diameter, roughness and burr formation at tool entrance and exit. With helical milling two advantages were concluded: the process is versatile because one tool is suitable for a range of diameters and negligible burrs are produced. However hardness in the zones close to hole internal surfaces machined with the ball end mill tool decreases with respect to twist drilling. The information obtained from this research work defines suitable cutting parameters for the helical milling process in the titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V with ball end mills.     

Experimental Study on Cutting Forces and Surface Integrity in High-Speed Side Milling of Ti-6Al-4V Titanium Alloy

This article is concerned with the cutting forces and surface integrity in high-speed side milling of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy. The experiments were conducted with coated carbide cutting tools under dry cutting conditions. The effects of cutting parameters on the cutting forces, tool wear and surface integrity (including surface roughness, microhardness and microstructure beneath the machined surface) were investigated. The velocity effects are focused on in the present study. The experimental results show that the cutting forces in three directions increase with cutting speed, feed per tooth and depth of cut (DoC). The widths of flank wear VB increases rapidly with the increasing cutting speed. The surface roughness initially decreases and presents a minimum value at the cutting speed 200 m/min, and then increases with the cutting speed. The microstructure beneath the machined surfaces had minimal or no obvious plastic deformation under the present milling conditions. Work hardening leads to an increment in micro-hardness on the top surface. Furthermore, the hardness of machined surface decreases with the increase of cutting speed and feed per tooth due to thermal softening effects. The results indicated that the cutting speed 200 m/min could be considered as a critical value at which both relatively low cutting forces and improved surface quality can be obtained.     

考虑左旋切削刃切削连续性的碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料铣削研究

采用右旋切削刃铣刀加工碳纤维增强树脂基复合材料（CFRP）时,纤维层受单向轴向力作用而易产生分层、毛刺等损伤,采用左右旋切削刃共存的多刃微齿铣刀对纤维层施加双向轴向力能有效抑制损伤,但如何保证每层纤维都受到左右旋切削刃的切削作用成为抑制损伤的关键。以多刃微齿铣刀为研究对象,通过设计不同的分屑槽螺旋角,获得左旋切削刃切削面积连续、重叠及未连续三种类型的铣刀。通过实验研究发现：切削面积连续时,CFRP加工表面有少量毛刺及翻边;切削面积重叠时,CFRP加工表面无毛刺及撕裂损伤,效果最好;切削面积未连续时,加工表面有大量毛刺和撕裂损伤;此外,表面粗糙度值会随着分屑槽螺旋角的增大而增大。     

Machining performance of a grooved tool in dry machining Ti-6Al-4 V

In this paper, dry machining experiment of Ti-6Al-4 V was carried out to investigate the machining performance of a grooved tool in terms of its wear mechanisms and the effects of cutting parameters (cutting speed, feed rate, and cutting depth) on tool life and surface roughness of the machined workpiece. The results showed that chip-groove configuration substantially improved the machining performance of cutting tool. The main wear mechanisms of the grooved tool were adhesive wear, stripping wear, crater wear, and dissolution-diffusion wear. The resistance to chipping was enhanced due to the decrease of contact pressure of tool-chip interface. And the resistance to plastic deformation of tool nose was weakened at the cutting speed of more than 60 m/min. The appropriate cutting speed and feed rate were less than 70 m/min and 0.10 mm/r, respectively. With cutting speed increasing, the surface roughness of machined workpiece decreased. A high feed rate helped the formation of higher surface roughness except 0.21 mm/r. When cutting depth increased, tool nose curvature and phase transformation of workpiece material had great impact on surface roughness.     

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.     

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.     

Built-up edge effects on process outputs of titanium alloy micro milling

Built-up edge (BUE) is generally known to cause surface finish problems in the micro milling process. The loose particles from the BUE may be deposited on the machined surface, causing surface roughness to increase. On the other hand, a stable BUE formation may protect the tool from rapid tool wear, which hinders the productivity of the micro milling process. Despite its common presence in practice, the influence of BUE on the process outputs of micro milling has not been studied in detail. This paper investigates the relationship between BUE formation and process outputs in micro milling of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V using an experimental approach. Micro end mills used in this study are fabricated to have a single straight edge using wire electrical discharge machining. An initial experimental effort was conducted to study the relationship between micro cutting tool geometry, surface roughness, and micro milling process forces and hence conditions to form stable BUE on the tool tip have been identified. The influence of micro milling process conditions on BUE size, and their combined effect on forces, surface roughness, and burr formation is investigated. Long-term micro milling experiment was performed to observe the protective effect of BUE on tool life. The results show that tailored micro cutting tools having stable BUE can be designed to machine titanium alloys with long tool life with acceptable surface quality.     

Experimental investigations on effects of tool flank wear on surface integrity during orthogonal dry cutting of Ti-6Al-4V

Machining titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V is a challenging task since tool flank wear adversely affects surface integrity. Quantitative effects of predetermined tool flank wear values (VB) on the surface integrity were investigated through the orthogonal dry cutting of Ti-6Al-4V. Experimental results indicated that three-dimensional (3D) average surface roughness increased with the VB ranging from 0 to 0.2 mm but decreased at VB = 0.3 mm. Given the effects of rubbing and ironing enhanced, surface material burning and plastic flows emerged on the machined surface at VB = 0.3 mm. Not only the plastic deformation layer became deeper but also the grains were greatly distorted with the increase of tool flank wear. When machined by using the tool at VB = 0.3 mm, the β phase of Ti-6Al-4V decreased near the machined surface layer than that of using the fresh tool. Besides, the depth of work-harden layer increased from 20 to 60 μm with the VB increasing from 0 to 0.3 mm. The softened layer was generated near the machined surface by using the tool at VB = 0.3 mm. In addition, the residual compressive stresses of the machined surface had the trend of decreasing. Experimental results indicated that the VB less than 0.2 mm was the most suitable condition for better surface integrity during orthogonal dry cutting of Ti-6Al-4V. This study aims at providing experimental data for optimizing the processing parameters and improving the surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V.     

Surface generation modeling of micro milling process with stochastic tool wear

Micro milling is widely used to manufacture miniature parts and features at high quality with low set-up cost. To achieve a higher quality of existing micro products and improve the milling performance, a reliable analytical model of surface generation is the prerequisite as it offers the foundation for surface topography and surface roughness optimization. In the micro milling process, the stochastic tool wear is inevitable, but the deep influence of tool wear hasn't been considered in the micro milling process operation and modeling. Therefore, an improved analytical surface generation model with stochastic tool wear is presented for the micro milling process. A probabilistic approach based on the particle filter algorithm is used to predict the stochastic tool wear progression, linking online measurement data of cutting forces and tool vibrations with the state of tool wear. Meanwhile, the influence of tool run-out is also considered since the uncut chip thickness can be comparable to feed per tooth compared with that in conventional milling. Based on the process kinematics, tool run-out and stochastic tool wear, the cutting edge trajectory for micro milling can be determined by a theoretical and empirical coupled method. At last, the analytical surface generation model is employed to predict the surface topography and surface roughness, along with the concept of the minimum chip thickness and elastic recovery. The micro milling experiment results validate the effectiveness of the presented analytical surface generation model under different machining conditions. The model can be a significant supplement for predicting machined surface prior to the costly micro milling operations, and provide a basis for machining parameters optimization.     

Influence of cutting edge radius on surface integrity and burr formation in milling titanium

The influence of the cutting edge micro geometry on cutting process and on tool performance is subject to several research projects. Recently, published papers mainly focus on the cutting edge rounding and its influence on tool life and cutting forces. For applications even more important, however, is the influence of the cutting edge radius on the integrity of the machined part. Especially for titanium, which is used in environments requiring high mechanical integrity, the information about the dependency of surface integrity on cutting edge geometry is important. This paper therefore studies the influence of the cutting edge radius on surface integrity in terms of residual stress, micro hardness, surface roughness and optical characterisation of the surface and near surface area in up and down milling of the titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V. Moreover, the influence of the cutting edge radius on burr formation is analysed. The experiments show that residual stresses increase with the cutting edge radius especially in up milling, whereas the influence in down milling is less pronounced. The influence of the cutting edge radius on surface roughness is non-uniform. The formation of burr increases with increasing cutting edge radius, and is thus in agreement with the residual stress tests.     

奥-贝球墨铸铁加工表面质量的试验研究

用试验的方法研究了奥－贝球墨铸铁的加工表面形态、已加工表面粗糙度，分析了切削用量和刀具几何角度对加工表面粗糙度的影响．结果表明，已加工表面质量与刀具切削刃不平整及材料组织有关。为提高加工表面质置，必须优选切削参数，重视刀具磨损、后刀面粗糙度及工件材料组织的缺陷。     

Surface topography and roughness in hole-making by helical milling

Helical milling is used to generate holes with a cutting tool traveling on a helical path into the workpiece in which the diameter of the hole can be adjusted through that of the helical path. Based on an improved Z-map model, a 3D surface topography simulation model is established to simulate the surface finish profile generated after a helical milling operation using a cylindrical end mill. The surface topography simulation model incorporates the effects of the relative motion between the cutting tool and the workpiece, in which the effect of the insert runout error of the cutting tool is considered. Furthermore, the roughness parameters are deduced from simulations of the 3D surface topography. The experimental result shows that the proposed simulation algorithm can predict well the surface roughness in a helical milling operation. The surface topography simulation model is used to study the effects of cutting conditions such as the tangential feedrate, the diameter of the cutting tool and the hole, the insert runout error of the cutting tool, as well as the revolution of the cutting tool around the axis of the hole on the surface finish profile. It is found that the surface quality can be improved by optimization of the cutting conditions. As a result, the proposed model will be helpful in determining the cutting conditions to meet surface finish requirements in helical milling operation.     

Surface topography and roughness of high-speed milled AlMn1Cu

The aluminum alloy AlMn1Cu has been broadly applied for functional parts production because of its good properties. But few researches about the machining mechanism and the surface roughness were reported. The high-speed milling experiments are carried out in order to improve the machining quality and reveal the machining mechanism. The typical topography features of machined surface are observed by scan electron microscope(SEM). The results show that the milled surface topography is mainly characterized by the plastic shearing deformation surface and material piling zone. The material flows plastically along the end cutting edge of the flat-end milling tool and meanwhile is extruded by the end cutting edge, resulting in that materials partly adhere to the machined surface and form the material piling zone. As the depth of cut and the feed per tooth increase, the plastic flow of materials is strengthened and the machined surface becomes rougher. However, as the cutting speed increases, the plastic flow of materials is weakened and the milled surface becomes smoother. The cutting parameters (e.g. cutting speed, feed per tooth and depth of cut) influencing the surface roughness are analyzed. It can be concluded that the roughness of the machined surface formed by the end cutting edge is less than that by the cylindrical cutting edge when a cylindrical flat-end mill tool is used for milling. The proposed research provides the typical topography features of machined surface of the anti-rust aluminum alloy AlMn1Cu in high speed milling.     

SURFACE INTEGRITY OF HIGH-SPEED FACE MILLED Ti-6Al-4V ALLOY WITH PCD TOOLS

This study is focused on the machined surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools under wet milling condition. The surface integrity in terms of surface roughness, surface topography, microhardness, microstructure, and metallurgical alternations is investigated. The observations and conclusions are primarily focused on the effect of cutting speed (250–2,000 m/min) on the surface and subsurface of the machined Ti-6Al-4V. Experimental results show that machined surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is sensitive to the variation of cutting speeds. Obvious machining (feed) marks can be found on the machined surfaces. Micro hardness examinations showed 5–20% hardening of the top machined surfaces than the bulk material. The analyses of microstructure and metallurgical alternations reveal that slight subsurface microstructure alteration such as plastic deformation on the subsurface and no phase transformation were observed. The evolution of crystallographic texture induced by the intense plastic deformation of the machined surface should be responsible for the modifications of the peak intensity radios in XRD patterns as well as higher peak broadening crystal structures.     

An approach to the evaluation of multivariate data during ball end milling free-form surface fragments

We present a method for investigating the process of ball end milling, a technology widely used in tool making and moulding. We analyse the main features of free-form surfaces used in this technology, and propose a sequence of steps to identify the most suitable milling strategy. The basic idea of such a sequence lies in the definition of the tangible fragments of free-form surfaces applicable to tool making. Tangible fragments represent the parts of tooling and signed radii that can distinguish both the active and transitional surfaces of tooling. Free-form surface fragments were selected since they are capable of securing definiteness in measurement of roughness parameters and surface errors. We investigated the operation capability of solid ball end milling cutters in terms of cutting tool edge micro-geometry. Cutting edge radius (r_n) and roughness parameters of the tool edge were measured to determine the relationship between new and worn tool edges. Roughness parameters were measured at different parts of the machined surfaces, which take on typical features of dies and moulds, such as inclined wall, ridge lines, valley lines, as well as, the active surfaces defined by signed radii. Surface error such as scallop height, gouging, tolerances and actual signed radii were measured at transitive surfaces. The traditional approach of evaluating roughness parameters was used to determine the suitability of factors such as milling operation, milling strategy and direction of milling. In addition, traditional approaches such as relationships, distributions and histograms were also used. We applied Khattree–Naik’s plot, which proves its suitability to visualise all the data being measured in the same units: microns and millimetres. Characteristic features of the ball end milling process, such as tool edge micro-geometry, geometry of the machined surface, and unit length of the transitive surface were applied in Khattree–Naik’s plots. We found that this plot was capable of processing multivariate data to distinguish specific markers of the quality of machined surfaces, which are produced in ball end milling.     

螺旋铣孔工艺的切削稳定性及工艺参数规划

以螺旋铣孔工艺时域解析切削力建模、时域与频域切削过程动力学建模、切削颤振及切削稳定性建模为基础,研究了螺旋铣孔的切削参数工艺规划模型和方法。切削力模型同时考虑了刀具周向进给和轴向进给,沿刀具螺旋进给方向综合了侧刃和底刃的瞬时受力特性;动力学模型中同时包含了主轴自转和螺旋进给两种周期对系统动力学特性的影响,并分别建立了轴向切削稳定域和径向切削稳定域的预测模型,求解了相关工艺条件下的切削稳定域叶瓣图。在切削力和动力学模型基础之上,研究了包括轴向切削深度、径向切削深度、主轴转速、周向进给率、轴向进给率等切削工艺参数的多目标工艺参数规划方法。最后通过试验对所规划的工艺参数进行了验证,试验过程中未出现颤振现象,表面粗糙度、圆度、圆柱度可以达到镗孔工艺的加工精度。     

Investigation of cutting forces,surface integrity,and tool wear when high-speed milling of high-volume fraction SiC<Subscript>p</Subscript>/Al6063 composites in PCD tooling

This paper focused on high-speed milling of Al6063 matrix composites reinforced with high-volume fraction of small-sized SiC particulates and provided systematic experimental study about cutting forces, thin-walled part deformation, surface integrity, and tool wear during high-speed end milling of 65% volume fraction SiC_p/Al6063 (Al6063/SiC_p/65p) composites in polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tooling. The machined surface morphologies reveal that the cutting mechanism of SiC particulates plays an important role in defect formation mechanisms on the machined surface. In high-speed end milling of Al6063/SiC_p/65p composites, the cutting forces are influenced most considerably by axial depth of cut, and thus the axial depth of cut plays a dominant role in the thin-walled parts deformation. Increased milling speed within a certain range contributes to reducing surface roughness. The surface and sub-surface machined using high-speed milling suffered from less damage compared to low-speed milling. The milling speed influence on surface residual stress is associated with milling-induced heat and deformation. Micro-chipping, abrasive wear, graphitization, grain breaking off, and built-up edge are the dominated wear mechanism of PCD tools. Finally, a series of comparative experiments were performed to study the influence of tool nose radius, average diamond grain size, and machining parameters on PCD tool life.     

TC4钛合金深槽插铣加工

针对钛合金深槽开槽加工效率较低的问题,对TC4钛合金深槽进行插铣开槽试验研究,并对其已加工表面形貌、切屑形态、刀具磨损及切削效率进行了分析。结果表明:插铣加工表面粗糙度较大,铣刀的端面刃为主切削刃,刀具磨损主要发生在铣刀的端面刃。对于钛合金深槽的开槽加工,插铣加工切削过程平稳,具有比层铣更高的切削效率。     

Tribological compatibility and improvement of machining productivity and surface integrity

Machining process productivity and machined part quality improvement is a considerable challenge for modern manufacturing. One way to accomplish this is through the application of PVD coatings on cutting tools. In this study the wear rate and wear behavior of end milling cutters with mono-layered TiAlCrN and nano-multilayered self-adaptive TiAlCrN/WN PVD coatings have been studied under high performance dry ball-nose end-milling conditions. The material being machined in this case is hardened H13 tool steel. The morphology of the worn surface of the cutting tool has been studied using SEM/EDX. The microstructure of the cross-section of the chips formed during cutting was analyzed as well. The surface integrity of the workpiece material was also evaluated. Surface roughness and microhardness distribution near the surface of the workpiece material was also investigated. The data presented shows that achieving a high degree of tribological compatibility within the cutting tool/workpiece system can have a big impact on tool life and surface integrity improvement during end milling of hardened tool steel.     

高速铣削AF1410高强度钢的实验研究

高强度钢具有优异的机械性能和广阔的应用,但切削加工较为困难,存在加工效率低,加工表面质量差等问题.以AF1410高强度钢为研究对象,应用高速铣削的加工方法,使用涂层硬质合金刀片,对AF1410高强度钢进行了高速铣削实验,研究分析了在高速切削条件下刀具磨损、切削力、切削温度以及已加工表面粗糙度的变化规律.研究发现以TiC...