Tool and tool holding is one of the key factors to ensure the success of titanium alloy machining

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Release Time :

2016-05-12

Titanium alloys have poor machinability and small processing windows. In addition to the tool itself, many other factors will also affect the machining of titanium alloys. To ensure successful titanium machining, there are four areas that require special attention: coolant pressure and flow, programming skills, machine tool must-haves, and tooling and clamping.

Tool and tool holding is one of the key factors to ensure the success of titanium alloy machining

1. Coolant pressure and flow

The first problem is coolant, which has a great impact when cutting titanium alloys. The advice available is simple: always use a lot of coolant when cutting titanium alloys and apply high pressure cooling (HPC) whenever possible.

When using high pressure cooling, tool life can be doubled compared to conventional pressure cooling. High pressure cooling more easily eliminates chip bonding and prevents tool damage caused by chip re-cutting.

2. Programming skills to ensure optimal toolpaths

It takes more time to develop a fully optimized machining program than to use the off-the-shelf canned cycles in a CAM system. If only one part is machined, the effect will not be worth the loss. But if the machining of this part is going to last for years, it pays to be the best from the start.

Optimized programming can increase productivity by 50%, while also achieving longer tool life and greater process security. Top programming priorities are stated below.

3. Requirements for machine tools

The machine tool itself, of course, has a huge impact on output. With different speed, power and torque requirements, machine tools must function properly in a wide range of applications.

4. Tool and tool holder

The fourth key factor is finding the balance between entering angle, number of teeth and optimum metal removal rate with the right tool. A selection of tools optimized for common titanium machining applications is given below.

Face milling:

Due to the small actual entering angle and chip thinning effect, round insert tools can provide the best productivity and tool life. The CoroMill 300 cuts very lightly. The internal coolant design and close pitch option make this tool the best choice for face milling of titanium alloys. CoroMill 300 is also well suited for helical interpolation milling and solid milling. The latest introduction is 20mm (metric) or 1.0 inch (imperial) diameter inserts and corresponding cutter bodies.

2D profiling and pocketing:

Long-edge end mills are high-performance tools with extremely high metal removal rates, specially developed for machining titanium alloys. The special axial positioning of the bottom of the blade prevents blade movement and achieves high metal removal rates safely and reliably. The tool cuts lightly and requires very little power. Each coolant port orifice is threaded for easy installation with small diameter nozzles suitable for high pressure cooling applications.

Plunge milling:

In stable conditions, feeding along the Z axis is not the preferred machining method. But conditions are not always stable, and plunge milling is a good choice for weak workpiece setups and large tool overhangs. In order to maintain higher productivity, it is important to be able to obtain a reasonable depth of cut. CoroMill 215 has a maximum depth of cut of 22mm (0.85 inches).

Semi-finishing and finishing:

For semi-finishing and finishing in deep pockets (with small corner radii and large bottom transition radii), long tools with necked shanks are required.

CoroMill 316 is a new product with a unique conical interface with an axial locating face and a radial locating cylindrical face at the tail, which provides excellent radial and axial repeatability and unique bending stiffness, which Making it the perfect tool for safe and reliable machining.