Assessment of the machinability of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using the wear map approach

The high strength to density ratio of titanium alloys coupled with excellent corrosion resistance even at elevated temperatures make them ideal for aerospace applications. Moreover, the biocompatibility of titanium also enables its widespread use in the biomedical and food processing industries. However, the difficulty in machining titanium and its alloys along with the high cost of its extraction from ore form presents a major economic constraint. In the context of machining economics, the wear map approach is very useful in identifying the most suitable machining parameters over a feedrate–cutting velocity plane. To date, wear maps have only been prepared for the machining of ferrous alloys. In this article, a review of the machinability of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is presented with emphasis on comparing the wear performance of various tool materials. In addition, a new wear map for Ti-6Al-4V alloy is presented based on unified turning tests using H13A grade carbide inserts. This wear map can be used as a guide in the selection of cutting variables that ensure the least tool wear rates. This article contrasts the occurrence of a safety zone in the case of machining steels to that of an avoidance zone for Ti-6Al-4V alloy.     

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.     

Evaluation of performance of nanofluid using multiwalled carbon nanotubes for machining of Ti–6AL–4V

Machining of titanium alloys generate very high temperature in the cutting zone. This results in rapid tool wear and poor surface properties. Therefore, improvement in cutting performance in machining of titanium alloys is very much dependent on effectiveness of the cooling strategies applied. In the present work, performance of nanofluid using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) dispersed in distilled water and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as surfactant is evaluated for turning operation on Ti–6Al–4V workpieces. Turning operations were carried out under three different conditions – dry, with conventional cutting fluid and with nanofluid. Nanofluid application was limited to 1 L/h and it was applied at the tool tip through gravity feed. Various machining responses like cutting force, surface finish and tool wear were analyzed while turning at optimum cutting parameters as 150 m/min, 0.1 mm/rev and 1 mm depth of cut. Later on, machining performance of nanofluid is confirmed at low cutting speed of 90 m/min. Nanofluid outperformed conventional cutting fluid with 34% reduction in tool wear, average 28% drop in cutting forces and 7% decrease in surface roughness at cutting speed of 150 m/min.     

Minimal quantity lubrication-MQL in grinding of Ti–6Al–4V titanium alloy

Titanium and its alloys are attractive materials due to their unique high strength–weight ratio that is maintained at elevated temperatures and their exceptional corrosion resistance. The major application of titanium has been in the aerospace industry. On the other hand, titanium and its alloys are notorious for their poor thermal properties and are classified as difficult-to-machine materials. The problems that arise during grinding of titanium alloys are attributed to the high specific energy and high grinding zone temperature. Significant progress has been made in dry and semidry machining recently, and minimal quantity lubrication (MQL) machining in particular has been accepted as a successful semidry application because of its environmentally friendly characteristics. A number of studies have shown that MQL machining can show satisfactory performance in practical machining operations. However, there has been few investigation of MQL grinding of special alloys like titanium alloys and the cutting fluids to be used in MQL grinding of these alloys. In this study, vegetable and synthetic esters oil are compared on the basis of the surface quality properties that would be suitable for MQL applications. The cutting performance of fluids is also evaluated using conventional wet (fluid) grinding of Ti–6Al–4V. As a result, synthetic ester oil is found to be optimal cutting fluids for MQL grinding of Ti–6Al–4V.     

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.     

Serrated chip formation mechanism analysis for machining of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V based on thermal property

Based on the software ABAQUS/Explicit, a finite element (FE) model for orthogonal cutting was established. The FE model was validated by comparing the cutting forces and serrated degree of chips obtained by orthogonal cutting experiments under the cutting speeds 40, 80, 120, and 160 m/min. Based on the developed FE model, the influence of thermal conductivity on the degree of chip segmentation and the adiabatic shear localization were investigated. Furthermore, the plot contours on undeformed shape of cutting simulation was used to investigate the temperature distribution, and the high temperature zone was identified, which can help enhance the understanding of the serrated chip formation. Finally, cracks located in the adjacent segments of chips were observed. The results show that with the increase in thermal conductivity, the degree of adiabatic shear decreases. It can be concluded that the poor thermal conduction performance should be primarily responsible for the formation of serrated chips during machining Ti-6Al-4V alloy. Due to the high temperature at contact surface between cutting tool and workpiece, the increasing of cutting speed facilitates the formation of serrated chips during machining.     

Effect of microstructure and cutting speed on machining behavior of Ti6Al4V alloy

Machining of aerospace and biomedical grade titanium alloys has always been a challenge because of their low conductivity and elastic modulus. Different machining methods and parameters have been adopted for high precision machining of titanium alloys. Machining of titanium alloys can be improved by microstructure optimization. The present study focuses on the effect of microstructure on machinability of Ti6Al4V alloys at different cutting speeds. Samples were subjected to different annealing conditions resulting in different grain sizes and local micro-strains (misorientation). Cutting forces were significantly reduced after annealing; consequently, sub-surface residual stresses were reduced. Deformation twinning was also observed on samples annealed at a higher temperature due to larger grain size. Initial strain free grains and deformation twinning during machining reduces the cutting force at higher cutting speed.     

Complex phenomena study in dielectric fluid from gap during the W-EDM processing in ultrasonic field

Titanium alloys have been widely used in the aerospace industry due to its outstanding properties. However, the poor thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity impair titanium alloys machinability in conventional machining, which make it to be one of the typical difficult-to-machine materials. Electrical discharge machining (EDM) becomes the best alternative to machine titanium alloys. This paper focuses on investigating surface integrity of low-speed wire electrical discharge machining (LS-WEDM) in machining Ti-6Al-4V (TC4) by multiple cuts namely one main cut (MC) followed by trim cuts (TC). The machining parameter levels of multiple cuts and offsets were modified aimed at TC4 material, and the surface roughness of 0.67 μm was obtained after one MC and three TC. In addition, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the surface microstructure, which is characterized by an uneven fusing structure, spherical droplets, irregular droplets, craters, cracks, and micro-void; Moreover, it can be observed that cracks usually began with the edge of micro-voids, and the debris on the machined surface were deformed fragments due to the low thermal conductivity makes TC4 material be ejected or solidified before completely melting. Furthermore, the foreign elements of Cu and Zn were detected in the white layer by energy dispersive spectrograph (EDS) integrated in SEM; it also can be found that the crater edge has more Cu and Zn elements than crater center. The white layers were predominantly nonuniform and discontinuous due to poor penetration hardening of TC4 material. After the third TC, the white layer has become more continuous and the thickness was reduced to 2.7 μm, which was nearly invisible. The hardness of the white layer was almost the same as the base material. Finally, the blueviolet film was observed on the TC4 workpiece surface due to the electrolysis making the surface oxidation. By using X-ray diffraction (XRD), it is confirmed that TiO₂, Ti₂O₃, and TiO existed in the oxidation film. The technique and knowledge that this study proposed could provide a significant contribution to electrical discharge machining surface improvement.     

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.     

Finite element modeling of machining of hydrogenated Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The present study is undertaken to investigate the effect of hydrogen on the cutting performance of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by FEM. Mechanical behaviors of hydrogenated Ti-6Al-4V alloy are studied at elevated temperatures and high strain rates with split Hopkinson pressure bar. The Johnson–Cook model was developed combined with quasi-static experimental data. A numerical model is developed to simulate the cutting process. The results of the experiments and simulations agreed well. The results demonstrate that the presence of hydrogen has a significant effect on the cutting forces and temperature, and the cutting forces and temperature increase first and then decreased gradually with the increasing of hydrogen contents. The simulation results show that titanium alloys with 0.3% hydrogen have better machinability at high cutting speed.     

Effect of modifier elements on machinability of Al-20%Mg2Si metal matrix composite during dry turning

The principle aim of this study was to observe the effect of machining parameters as well as the separate additions of 0.4 wt% bismuth, 0.01 wt% strontium, and 0.8 wt% antimony on the machinability of Al-20%Mg₂Si in situ metal matrix composite. Microstructure alteration, surface roughness, main cutting force, and chip morphology were taken into account as indices to examine the effect of modifiers and machinability during dry turning. It was found that the additives modify the Mg₂Si_P particles by changing the particle shape from coarse primary to polygonal shape and decrease the particle size and aspect ratio as well as increase the particle density. Results show that the modified work-pieces present adequate machinability with respect to cutting force and surface roughness. The smaller reinforcements enable lower surface roughness values to be obtained even if they are pulled out, fractured, or elongated. In addition, the modified work-pieces encourage lower surface roughness values in comparison with unmodified work-piece due to less built-up-edge formation. A scenario for surface roughness of Al-Mg₂Si composite with respect to the size and aspect ratio of reinforcement particles is proposed in this study.     

Effect of the cutting condition and the reinforcement phase on the thermal load of the workpiece when dry turning aluminum metal matrix composites

Aluminum metal matrix composites (Al-MMCs) are two-phase high-performance materials. The reinforcement of aluminum alloys enhances the properties of the composite material but leads to poor machinability. The required mechanical work for machining is mostly dissipated into heat. Considerable generated quantities of heat are therefore expected when machining Al-MMCs due to the poor machinability of these composite materials. The machine tool, the tool, and the workpiece are thus subjected to a thermal load, which decreases the accuracy of machining. The thermal load increases moreover when dry turning due to the missing heat convection through the cutting fluid. It is therefore necessary to investigate the effect of the reinforcement phase and the cutting condition used on the thermal load of the workpiece in dry turning. Therefore, composites with different reinforcement phases and the non-reinforced aluminum matrix were used as the workpiece materials. The reinforcement differs regarding the volume percent and the average size of the silicon carbide particulate reinforcements. The results revealed that the thermal load and the thermal expansion of the workpiece are significantly affected by the cutting condition used and the reinforcement phase. High cutting speeds and feeds and moderate depths of cut need to be used in order to decrease the thermal load of the workpiece. The Al-MMC workpieces are subjected to greater thermal loads than the workpieces of the non-reinforced alloy. However, better machining accuracies were achieved in dry turning the Al-MMCs.     

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.     

How cryogenic techniques help in machining of nickel alloys? A review

Nickel alloys are extensively used in aerospace, automotive, marine, nuclear, petro-chemical and food processing industries due to properties like high strength, resistance to heat, resistance to corrosion, etc. However, machining of these alloys pose many challenges in machining such as: work hardening, high temperatures at the cutting zone, rapid tool wear, reduced tool-life, etc. Attempts are made to overcome these challenges by using various cryogenic techniques. This paper, therefore discusses different techniques such as cryogenic cooling, cryogenic treatment of tool and simultaneous use of cryogenic cooling of tool and heating of workpiece (hybrid technique) and their effects on machinability of Nickel alloys with the help of indicators like tool-life, surface roughness, residual stresses, etc. It is concluded that cryogenic techniques are helpful in improving the machining performance by way of improvement in tool-life and surface quality. This happens due to better cooling by cryogen and improved tool properties after cryogenic treatment. However, based on the published works, it is not possible to decide about the following: correct amount of cryogen required for cooling, appropriate cryogenic tool treatment cycle to be used and the best parameters for machining of Nickel alloys. Therefore, future research should focus on these aspects.     

An experimental study of process variables in turning operations of Ti–6Al–4V and Cr–Co spherical prostheses

Ti–6Al–4V and Cr–Co alloys are extensively used in manufacturing prostheses due to their biocompatibility, high strength-to-weight ratio and high resistance to corrosion and wear. However, machining operations involving Ti–6Al–4V and Cr–Co alloys face a series of difficulties related to their low machinability which complicate the process of controlling the quality levels required in these parts. The main objective of this paper is to study the influence of cutting parameters, machine tool control accuracy and metrology procedures on surface roughness parameters and form errors in contouring operations of Ti–6Al–4V and Cr–Co workpieces. The machining performance of the two biocompatible materials is compared, focusing the study on part quality at low feed per revolution and the stochastic nature of plastic deformations at this regime. The results showed a better surface roughness control for Ti–6Al–4V, whereas for Cr–Co alloys, the performance presents high variability. In the case of form errors (sphericity), contouring errors and metrology procedures are important factors to be considered for quality assurance. In addition, the study analyses the correlation of the machining performance with different sensor signals acquired from a low cost non-intrusive multi-sensor, showing a high correlation of signals from acoustic emission sensors and accelerometers in the machining of spherical features on Ti–6Al–4V parts. The findings of this research work can be taken into account when designing prostheses components and planning their manufacturing processes.     

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.     

Properties of Dispersion of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes as Cutting Fluid

This article presents the results of experiments performed to evaluate properties of dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) in water with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a dispersant. Different samples of varying concentrations of MWCNTs were prepared for the analysis and properties including thermal conductivity, pH value, viscosity, wettability, etc., were evaluated. These properties were compared with the properties of conventional cutting fluid, which was taken as a mix of water and mineral oil. It was found that the thermal conductivity of the MWCNT dispersion was higher than the conventional cutting fluid by about 42%. There was a decrease in contact angle by about 70%. Thus, dispersing MWCNTs in water with SDS increases the thermal conductivity and wettability of fluid. The pH value of fluid with 0.2 vol% MWCNTs was found to be 8.4. It thus reduced the corrosive nature of water. Nanoparticles of MWCNTs did not have much influence on the viscosity of the base fluid. Thus, the use of MWCNTs in water with SDS appeared to result in a better cutting fluid for machining than conventional cutting fluid.     

高硅铝合金切削性能的试验研究

由于Al-Si合金比重小、强度高、导热性好和便于回收利用等优点,广泛应用于飞机、汽车和电子科技等行业产品中。因其切削加工过程中易发生刀屑粘结、刀具磨损严重和划伤已加工表面等问题,难以获得良好的表面质量和较高的加工精度。为研究高硅铝合金的切削性能,本文以切削力和切削温度为研究对象,采用正交试验法试验,分析切削速度、进给量、铣削宽度和背吃刀量对铣削力和温度的影响。通过本研究,期望改善生产中刀具磨损严重和加工表面质量差的状况。     

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.     

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.