Investigation of the feasibility and effectiveness in using heat pipe-embedded drills by finite element analysis

Drilling is a sufficiently severe machining process coupled with thermomechanical effect, in which mechanical work is converted to heat through the plastic deformation involved in chip formation and friction between tool and workpiece. The elevated temperature at the tool–chip interface has deleterious effects on the dimensional accuracy of the workpiece and shortens the service life of the tool. In this paper, the feasibility and effectiveness of heat pipe cooling in drilling operations are investigated numerically. A new embedded heat pipe technology was utilized to remove the heat generated at the tool interface in the foregoing cutting process. Numerical studies involved four different cooling conditions, i.e., dry drilling, fluid cooling, heat pipe cooling, and heat pipe cooling with cutting fluid supplied. The thermal, structural static, and dynamic characteristics of the drill were investigated using a numerical calculation with fast finite element plus solvers based on explicit finite element analysis software COSMOS\works. The results demonstrate that the heat pipe drill is most feasible and effective in the actual drilling processes.     

Effects of different cooling conditions on twist drill temperature

In the past, many researchers have studied wear developed on drilling tools mainly due to the high temperatures generated which accelerate thermally related wear mechanisms and thereby reducing tool life. This paper deals with an experimental investigation on the effect of an internal coolant approach (for different air pressure) on drill bit temperature, comparing it with an external coolant approach and dry cutting. Drill temperatures were measured by inserting standard thermocouples through the coolant (oil) hole of TiN/TiAlN-coated carbide drills. Experimental studies have been conducted using Al 2014 alloy materials. In the drilling tests, cutting conditions had different spindle speeds, coolant approaches and feed rate values. The settings of drilling parameters were determined by using the Taguchi experimental design method. An orthogonal array, the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) were employed to analyse the effect of coolant approaches and drilling parameters. The objective was to establish a model using multiple regression analysis between spindle speed, coolant (air) pressure and feed rate with the drill bit temperature. Mathematical models for drill bit temperature are proposed that agree well with the experiments.     

Investigation of the effects of cooling in hard turning operations

As a means to overcome the limitations of cutting fluids in machining, more and more attention is being paid to the internal cooling of cutting tools. The elevated cutting zone temperature in hard turning causes the instant boiling of coolant in the cutting zone, which pulls down the tool life and surface finish, by making thermal distortions and hence in most of the hard turning operations, the coolant is not used at all. The absence of coolant also reduces the tool life and surface finish to some extent. As an alternative solution to the direct application of coolant in the metal cutting zone to improve tool life and surface finish, the heat pipe cooling system is introduced in this investigation. A parametric study is conducted to analyze the effects of different heat pipe parameters such as diameter of heat pipe, length of heat pipe, magnitude of vacuum in the heat pipe and material of heat pipe. All these parameters are varied to three levels. In this analysis, it is assumed that the single point cutting tool is subjected to static heating in the cutting zone which verifies the analysis and feasibility of using heat pipe cooling in turning operations. The heat pipe parameters are optimized by using Taguchi’s Design of Experiments and a confirmation test is conducted by employing the heat pipe fabricated with the best values of parameters. The results of the confirmation test are compared with the previous experimental results. The comparison shows that the use of a heat pipe in hard turning operations reduces the temperature field by about 5%, improves tool life by reducing tool wear and improves surface finish significantly. The result of this analysis is applicable to define controlling parameters of heat pipes for optimal design and set-up for various related studies. The finite element analysis also shows that the temperature drops greatly at the cutting zone and that the heat flow to the tool is effectively removed when a heat pipe is incorporated.     

氟金云母陶瓷钻削刀具磨损特性的研究

分别采用硬质合金和高速钢钻头对氟金云母可加工陶瓷进行钻削加工,测试主后刀面的磨损宽度,考察刀具磨损特性,通过单因素试验法考察刀具材料、冷却条件、刀具角度等参数对刀具磨损的影响。试验结果表明:刀具材料和冷却方式是影响刀具磨损的主要因素,高速钢刀具不适于氟金云母陶瓷的钻削加工,冷却条件对硬质合金刀具磨损的影响较为显著,刀具磨损率随钻头顶角增大时对刀具磨损率的影响较小。因此优化刀具材料和工艺参数对氟金云母陶瓷的钻削加工工程应用具有现实价值。     

Experimental analyses to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness in using heat-pipe embedded end-mills

This study experimentally verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of heat-pipe cooling in end-milling operations. The basic idea is to embed a heat-pipe at the center of an end-mill with the evaporator close to the tool tip, and the condenser at the tool end. Thus, most of heat generated on the end-mill tip can be quickly removed dependent on convection heat transfer by means of heat-pipe. The end-milling experiments were carried out on a CNC vertical machining center under three different cooling conditions, including dry milling, fluid cooling, and heat-pipe cooling. The work material was AISI 1040 steel, and hard alloy was chosen for the cutting tool material. Flank wear is considered as the criterion for tool failure and the wear was measured using a Hisomet II Toolmaker's microscope. The tests were conducted until the end-mill was rejected when maximum flank wear equal to 0.30?mm was recorded. The results validate that heat-pipe-assisted cooling in end-milling processes can effectively perform thermal management comparable to the fluid cooling used pervasively in the manufacturing industry, increasing the service life of the end-mill.     

Dry and minimum quantity lubrication high-throughput drilling of compacted graphite iron

This research studies the sustainable and high-throughput drilling of compacted graphite iron (CGI), a high strength, lightweight material for automotive powertrain applications. CGI drilling experiments were conducted using a 4 mm diameter coated carbide drill at 26.5 mm/s feed rate. In two repeated tests under three lubrication conditions: dry, dry with through-the-drill compressed air, and through-the-drill minimum quantity lubrication (MQL), the drills were able to produce a maximum of 1,740, 3,150 and 2,948 holes, respectively, before the breakage of the drill. The Joule–Thomson effect due to the expansion of high pressure air from through-the-drill holes at the drill tip, chip shape, chip size and chip speed are investigated. Flank wear of the drill cutting edge is measured and results are correlated to drill life. Results indicate that dry machining of CGI is technically feasible. Chip evacuation and advanced tool cooling are important factors that affect drill life for high-throughput sustainable dry drilling of CGI.     

Finite element and experimental investigation of temperature changes on a twist drill in sequential dry drilling

The drilling process is highly non-linear. Coupled with a thermo-mechanical machining, localized heating and temperature increases in the workpiece are caused by the rapid plastic deformation of the workpiece and by the friction along the drill-chip interface. The cutting temperature at the tool-chip interface is an important factor which directly affects workpiece surface integrity, tool wear, and hole diameter and cylindricity in the drilling process. In this study, the effects of sequential dry drilling operations on the drill bit temperature were investigated both experimentally and numerically. Drill temperatures were measured by inserting standard thermocouples into the coolant (oil) hole of TiN/TiAlN-coated carbide drills. Experimental studies were conducted using two different workpiece materials, AISI 1040 steel and Al 7075-T651. The drill bit temperature was predicted using a numerical computation with Third Wave AdvantEdge finite element method (FEM) software, which is based on Lagrangian explicit. The results obtained from the experimental study and finite element analyses (FEA) were compared. Reasonable agreement between the measured and calculated drill bit temperature results were found for sequential dry drilling.     

Drilling models for a synthetic cutting fluid

The primary objective of this research was to develop relationships which predict tool wear from measured cutting forces. Different cutting speeds and feed rates were examined. The workpiece materials used were a medium-carbon steel and a titanium alloy. A synthetic cutting fluid was used with a 9.525 mm drill and a 6.350 mm drill, for drilling the medium-carbon steel and the titanium alloy, respectively. Preliminary testing was conducted to find the optimal values for cutting speeds and feed rates. The main drilling tests were performed using the cutting conditions resulting from the preliminary tests. Statistical analysis of the results of the main drilling tests showed that the axial force was significant at the 5 per cent level in models for both materials. It also showed that the moment about the vertical axis was significant at the 5 percent and the 15 per cent levels in the models for the titanium alloy and the medium-carbon steel, respectively. The model for the smaller holes drilled into the more homogeneous material, the titanium alloy, was more accurate in predicting tool wear.     

Cooling performance of micro-texture at the tool flank face under high pressure jet coolant assistance

Micro-texture at the tool face is a state-of-the-art technique to improve cutting performance. In this paper, five types of micro-texture were fabricated at the flank face to improve the cooling performance under the condition of high pressure jet coolant assistance. By using micro-textures consisted of pin fins, plate fins and pits fabricated 0.3 mm away from the cutting edge, heat transfer from the tool face to coolant was enhanced. The conditions of tool wear, adhesion and chip formation were compared between the micro-textured and non-patterned tools in the longitudinal turning of the nickel-based superalloy Inconel 718. As a result, micro-textured tools always exhibited the reduced flank and crater wear compared with the non-patterned tool, and the rate of tool wear was influenced by the array and height of fin. The energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis of worn flank faces and the electromotive forces obtained from the tool-work thermocouple supported better cooling performances of micro-textured tools. In addition, coolant deposition at flank face evidenced that heat transfer could be promoted by micro-texture near the border of the contact area between the flank wear land and machined surface. Finally, the changes of flow patterns with pit depth are analyzed for pit type tools by computational fluid dynamics. This investigation clearly showed the function of micro-textures for increasing the turbulent kinetic energy and cooling the textured tool face.     

An experimental investigation of the effect of coatings and cutting parameters on the dry drilling performance of aluminium alloys

As a result of the need to automate assembly in the aircraft industry, along with economic and ecological reasons, industry and research institutions have been pushed to develop dry drilling for aluminium alloys to eliminate the need for cooling fluids. The main difficulties in dry drilling are accelerated tool wear due to workpiece material adhesion on the tool and the formation of bigger-sized burrs. This paper describes an experimental research study on machinability in the dry drilling of aluminium alloys and on the potential of the new design of tools and coatings. Dry drilling tests were performed using uncoated drills and two different coatings produced by means of an arc evaporation PVD process. Experiments consisted of machining with a 10-mm diameter three-edged drill to produce 25-mm deep holes. Tool wear evolution and burr size were analysed, as well as the impact of the process parameters on torque, power, feed force and tool temperature.     

麻花钻磨损特性的研究

通过对调质合金结构钢的大量钻削试验,研究了麻花钻磨损区的图形特征和磨损机理以及钻头失效与磨损图形参数、钻头切削寿命与钻削速度的关系。结果表明,麻花钻的磨损具有非线性特征,钻头转角和主刀刃及横刃区有两个显著不同的磨损区,随钻削速度的提高,这两个磨损区的特征差异及磨损带宽度之比明显增大。在钻削速度较低、钻头失效时,两个磨损区为较均衡的磨粒磨损和粘结磨损;钻削速度较高时,转角区剧烈的粘结磨损和氧化磨损使钻头加快失效,而主刀刃及横刃上的磨损却很小。受此影响,麻花钻的磨钝标准、耐用度问题较为复杂,钻头的寿命（Ｔ）－速度（Ｖ）曲线的泰勒特性范围很窄。     

HIGH THROUGHPUT DRILLING OF TITANIUM ALLOYS

The experiments of high throughput drilling of Ti-6Al-4V at 183 m/min cutting speed and 156 mm3/s material removal rate using a 4 mm diameter WC-Co spiral point drill are conducted. At this material removal rate, it took only 0.57 s to drill a hole in a 6.35 mm thick Ti plate. Supplying the cutting fluid via through-the-drill holes and the balance of cutting speed and feed have proven to be critical for drill life. An inverse heat transfer model is developed to predict the heat flux and the drill temperature distribution in drilling. A three-dimensional finite element modeling of drilling is con-ducted to predict the thrust force and torque. Experimental result demonstrates that, using proper machining process parameters, tool geometry, and fine-grained WC-Co tool material, the high throughput machining of Ti alloy is technically feasible.     

Effects of cutting fluids on drilling aluminium casting alloy 390

The primary objective of this research project was to compare the tool wear resulting when a semi-synthetic cutting fluid was used, to that from use of a premium soluble oil. The secondary objective was to determine the effects of cutting speed, drill diameter, and fluid concentration, on tool wear. The experiments contained two key elements: (1) cast aluminium alloy 390 was used as the workpiece material and (2) deep-hole drilling to a depth greater than two diameters was performed. Numerous drilling tests were performed with each cutting fluid using a flood application. To meet the primary objective, an experiment was designed for each cutting fluid and the wear on the lands of twist drills was measured. The secondary objective utilized a statistically-designed 2³ factorial experiment which evaluated the effects that moderate and relatively high cutting speeds, two drill diameters, and two levels of fluid concentration, had on tool wear. After analysis of the test results, it was concluded that concentration had the most significant effect on land wear when the experimentally-formulated semi-synthetic cutting fluid was used. Cutting speed was the most significant factor when drilling with the commercially-available premium soluble oil. Tool wear while using the semi-synthetic fluid was slightly less than that for the premium soluble oil.     

Ti6Al4V钛合金枪钻加工的切削力试验研究

钛合金在深孔加工过程中存在刀具磨损严重和加工表面质量差等问题。本文采用整体硬质合金单刃枪钻作为深孔加工刀具,通过对刀具结构的分析和对Ti6Al4V钛合金深孔钻削的切削力试验研究,得到工艺参数对切削力的影响规律,结合制孔的表面粗糙度,优化了钛合金枪钻加工工艺参数。同时,通过刀具的磨损分析得到了钛合金枪钻加工过程中刀具的主要磨损形式。     

基于小波包能量谱的HMM钻头磨损监测

从工程应用的角度论述了小波包分解原理及其能量谱监测理论，并将该理论应用于钻削力信号特征提取中，针对钻削过程特征矢量与钻头磨损之间具有较强的随机性和不确定性的特点，提出一种基于隐马尔可夫模型（HMM）的钻头磨损监测方法。实验结果表明，通过对钻削力信号进行多层小波包分解，提取各频段能量谱作为特征矢量可准确刻画工艺系统随钻头磨损的演化规律，利用HMM建立的各钻头磨损状态小波包能量谱的统计模型可有效跟踪钻头磨损的发展趋势，实现钻头磨损状态和寿命的监测。     

Vibrational wear of pipe-spacer pair in steam generator with lead coolant

The vibrational wear at the junctions of heat-exchanger pipe and spacer grids is studied experimentally, so as to confirm the shock resistance of hot-water generators in fast reactors with lead coolant. Endurance tests of tube and spacer samples are conducted. Metallographic and profilometric data on samples subjected to vibrational wear are presented. The wear mechanism is described. A preliminary estimate is obtained for the pipe life in the steam generator.     

非共轴螺旋后刀面微钻的五轴联动刃磨方法及其钻削性能研究

微细钻头的几何结构是影响刀具钻削性能和微孔加工质量的关键因素。非共轴螺旋面钻尖由连续的螺旋后刀面组成,相比平面钻尖能有效的提高刀具的刃磨效率及其钻削性能。针对非共轴螺旋面钻尖,推导后刀面形成过程中螺旋运动发生线的位置方程,建立了基于砂轮和钻头接触线的后刀面数学模型。根据六轴数控工具磨床的运动原理,提出非共轴螺旋后刀面五轴联动刃磨方法。分析砂轮与螺旋槽之间的相对运动关系,提出微细钻头螺旋槽的数控加工方法。进行非共轴螺旋后刀面微钻的刃磨试验,验证了该刃磨方法的可行性。进而采用制备出的具有相同几何结构参数的平面、锥面和非共轴螺旋面微细钻头进行不锈钢钻削试验,结果表明非共轴螺旋面和锥面微钻的钻削力、后刀面磨损明显小于平面微钻,并且非共轴螺旋后刀面微钻的横刃磨损程度小于平面和锥面微钻。研究证实了所提出的五轴联动刃磨方法可以有效地制备出较高钻削性能的非共轴螺旋后刀面微细钻头。     

发动机钻孔加工中钻头崩刃及断刀问题解析

对机加工中常见的钻头失效模式进行了总结和分析,从深孔加工、倾斜表面钻孔、钻孔的冷却与润滑等方面结合钻头使用的相关原则,对发动机生产领域的钻头失效的案例进行解析.钻头选择及使用时背离了这些基本原则往往会导致钻头的异常磨损、崩刃、断刀,钻头失效的解决需从这些基本原则入手和分析.     

Tool wear monitoring in drilling using force signals

Utilization of force signals to achieve on-line drill wear monitoring is presented in this paper. A series of experiments were conducted to study the effects of tool wear as well as other cutting parameters on the cutting force signals and to establish the relationship between force signals and tool wear as well as other cutting parameters when drilling copper alloy. These experiments involve four independent variables; spindle rotational speed ranging from 600 to 2400 rev min⁻¹, feed rate ranging from 60 to 200 mm min⁻¹, drill diameter ranging from 5 to 10 mm, and average flank wear ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 mm. A statistical analysis provided good correlation between average thrust and drill flank wear. The relationship between cutting force signals and cutting parameters as well as tool wear is then established. The relationship can then be used for on-line drill flank wear monitoring. Feasibility studies show that the use of force signal for on-line drill flank wear monitoring is feasible.     

Tool life evaluation of CFRP drilling with three kinds of drill

Serious tool wear in CFRP drilling is one of the key problems to be solved urgently. Firstly, a suitable indirect evaluation index of tool life is selected according to the literature. The critical delamination force was obtained by blind hole pushing experiment. Then, tool wear experiments were carried out with double point angle drill, stepped drill and reverse edge compound drill to analyze the variation rules of the thrust force, exit burr, exit delamination and tear with tool wear. Threshold values of exit delamination, tearing and critical thrust force were compared with each evaluation index one by one to study the causes of drills failure. The results indicated that the maximum tool wear position was the outer corner. Among the three types drills, the thrust force, delamination factor and burr angle of the reverse edge compound drill are smaller. The double point angle drill fails due to the excessive thrust force, while the stepped drill and the reverse edge compound drill fail due to the hole exit delamination exceeding the threshold. The number of drilled holes of the reverse edge compound drill is 100 % and 25 % higher than that of the double point angle drill and the stepped drill, respectively. Therefore, the reverse edge compound drill is suitable for drilling CFRP.