EFFECT OF MILLING STRATEGY AND TOOL GEOMETRY ON MACHINING COST WHEN CUTTING TITANIUM ALLOYS

Abstract

The growing demands on aerospace manufacturers to cut more difficult-to-machine materials at increasing material removal rates require that manufacturers enhance their machining capability. This requires a better understanding of the effects of milling strategies and tool geometries on cutting performance. Ti6Al4V is the most widely-used titanium alloy in the aerospace industry, due to its unique combination of properties. These properties also make the alloy very challenging to machine. Complex aerospace geometries necessitate large material removal, and are therefore generally associated with high manufacturing costs. To investigate the effect of milling strategy and tool geometry on cutting performance, the new constant engagement milling strategy was firstly compared with a conventional approach. Thereafter, a component was milled with different cutting tool geometries. Cost savings of more than 40% were realised by using a constant engagement angle milling strategy. A reduction of 38% in machining time was achieved by using tools with a land on the rake side of the cutting edge. These incremental improvements made it possible to enhance the overall performance of the cutting process.