Physical phenomena of titanium machining

The cutting force of titanium alloy processing is only slightly higher than that of steel with the same hardness, but the physical phenomenon of processing titanium alloy is much more complicated than that of processing steel, which makes titanium alloy processing face huge difficulties.

The thermal conductivity of most titanium alloys is very low, only 1/7 of steel and 1/16 of aluminum. Therefore, the heat generated in the process of cutting Grade 9 Ti3Al2.5V Titanium Tubes will not be quickly transferred to the workpiece or taken away by the chips, but will accumulate in the cutting area, and the temperature generated can be as high as 1 000 °C or more, which will cause the cutting edge of the tool to rapidly wear, chip and crack. A built-up edge is created, which quickly causes a worn edge, which in turn generates more heat in the cutting area, further reducing tool life.

The high temperatures generated during the cutting process also destroy the surface integrity of the titanium alloy parts, resulting in a decrease in the geometric accuracy of the parts and work hardening that severely reduces their fatigue strength.

The elasticity of titanium alloys may be beneficial for part performance, but during cutting, the elastic deformation of the workpiece is an important cause of vibration. The cutting pressure causes the "elastic" workpiece to move away from the tool and bounce so that the friction between the tool and the workpiece is greater than the cutting action. The friction process also generates heat, aggravating the problem of poor thermal conductivity of titanium alloys. This problem is even more serious when machining thin-walled or ring-shaped parts that are prone to deformation. It is not an easy task to machine thin-walled titanium alloy parts to the expected dimensional accuracy. Because when the workpiece material is pushed away by the tool, the local deformation of the thin wall has exceeded the elastic range and plastic deformation occurs, and the material strength and hardness of the cutting point increase significantly.