Some methods in precision machining of titanium alloy
Aerospace industry material requirements for precision machining of titanium alloy We all understand that aerospace precision machining demands are extremely stringent, both to satisfy special aircraft equipment specifications as well as mitigate any environmental impacts of aerospace operations. Due to this specific environmental impact, general market materials cannot meet their needs; special materials will eventually need to be manufactured instead. Today I would like to introduce one commonly used material - titanium alloy - especially within aerospace. Why this material has become more prevalent is rooted within its characteristics.
Titanium alloy has a low specific gravity, determined by its small mass; high strength and thermal strength determined by hardness; it resists seawater corrosion as well as acid and alkali corrosion, with excellent physical and mechanical properties suitable for almost any environment. Furthermore, deformation coefficient is extremely small. Titanium has become widely utilized across industries such as aerospace, aviation, shipping, petroleum chemistry chemical as well as other fields.
Titanium alloy's unique properties distinguish it from ordinary material, creating difficulty for precision processing by mechanical processing factories, who do not know how best to approach titanium alloy processing projects. Therefore, following our discussions with some titanium alloy processing customers we have collected some tips in order to make titanium alloy processing simpler for everyone involved!
As titanium alloy deformation coefficient is relatively small, cutting temperature is high, tool tip stress is high and hardening of machinery serious; tools easily wear or collapse edge during cutting processes making quality assurance difficult to ensure. How should this process take place then?
However, they can also serve to increase productivity levels within any organisation by way of increased staff productivity. Titanium alloy cutting requires low cutting force, easy machining hardening, and can produce good surface finishes with little tool wear or tool durability issues; however, due to low thermal conductivity and cutting temperature levels. Therefore, tool wear increases significantly and tool durability decreases significantly; to maximize tool longevity it should be equipped with chemical affinity tools with high thermal conductivity, strength, small grain size tungsten cobalt carbide tools such as YG8/YG3 etc. Chip breaking can be an arduous task in titanium alloy processing, particularly pure titanium processing. To address this difficulty and meet its intended goal of chip breaking, the cutting part can be sharpened into a full-arc chip roll groove which has shallow front ends but deep back ends, narrow front and wide rear sections so that chips can easily discharged outward without becoming lodged on workpiece surfaces and leaving scratches behind.
Reducing cutting speed should not be excessive; use titanium alloy special cutting fluid cooling in processing can improve tool durability; select a reasonable feed rate.
Drilling processing is widely utilized; titanium alloy drilling, however, presents special difficulties that often result in burnt tools or broken drills. The primary causes for this phenomenon include improper sharpening of drill bits; untimely chip removal; inadequate cooling; and lack of rigidity in the system itself. Based on the diameter of your drill bit, grind narrow horizontal edges (usually 0.5mm in width) so as to reduce both axial force and resistance vibration. At an approximate distance of 5-8mm from the tip of the drill bit, its edge belt should be narrowly ground leaving approximately 0.5mm, to facilitate chip discharge from its tip. Geometry must be maintained correctly and cutting edges symmetrical in order to prevent the drill from cutting only on one side, with all cutting force focused in one spot, leading to premature wear-and-tear and possible chipping due to slipperiness. Keep the cutting edge sharp at all times. As soon as it becomes blunt, stop drilling immediately and resharpen your drill - otherwise, forceful cutting with an un-sharpened drill will cause friction-related burnout that results in its eventual scrapping. At the same time, the hardened layer of the workpiece will thicken further, making it more challenging to re-drill and sharpen in future. According to the drilling depth, the length of the drill bit should be reduced as much as possible and its core should be thickened to enhance rigidity and prevent its shake from leading to chipping. Studies have proven that length of ph15 drill bit lasts 150 longer than long 195's lifespan; thus highlighting how important length selection can be.
After the above two commonly used processing to see, titanium alloy processing is also relatively difficult, but after a very good processing or can be processed to produce good precision parts, aerospace equipment titanium alloy parts.
