Title: Thermally-assisted end milling of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V using induction heating

Authors: Turnad Lenggo Ginta; A.K.M. Nurul Amin

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750, Ipoh, Malaysia ' Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering, International Islamic University Malaysia, P.O. Box 10, 50728, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract: Titanium and its alloys are considered as difficult-to-cut materials due to their inherent properties, such as low thermal conductivity, high cutting temperature, high chemical reactivity and strong adhesion between cutting tool and work material. This paper presents the benefits of thermally assisted machining on machinability improvement in end-milling of titanium alloy by utilising induction coil heating. The effect of online induction heating on the machinability (cutting force, tool life, vibration, and metal removal rate) are widely investigated. End milling tests were conducted on a vertical machining centre. Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V bar was used as the workpiece. Machining was performed with a 20 mm diameter end-mill tool holder fitted with a polycrystalline diamond (PCD) inserts. Flank wear was considered as the criterion for tool life and the wear was measured using a Hisomet II toolmaker's microscope. The tool life tests were conducted until the flank wear exceeded 0.30 mm. Cutting force measurements were conducted using Kistler rotating cutting forced dynamometer. Vibration during cutting was captured using an online vibration monitoring system. The results lead to conclusions that thermally assisted machining significantly increases the tool life, reduces the vibration and cutting force, and increase the metal removal rate.

Keywords: thermally-assisted machining; TAM; tool life; Ti-6Al-4V; cutting force; vibration; machinability; titanium alloys; end milling; induction coil heating; metal removal rate; MRR; tool wear.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMMM.2013.055737

International Journal of Machining and Machinability of Materials, 2013 Vol.14 No.2, pp.194 - 212

Received: 19 Apr 2012
Accepted: 21 Dec 2012
Published online: 26 Dec 2013 *

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