Testing Geometric Precision and Surface Roughness of Titanium Alloy Thin-Walled Elements Processed with Milling

Many branches of industry aim to minimize the weight of the structure. This can be achieved by selecting a low-density construction material or by making thin-walled structures. The specificity of the aerospace industry requires a combination of these two methods of manufacturing the structure. During machining of thin-walled components, there are a number of problems associated with the reduced rigidity. The main problems include issues with obtaining the required accuracy and assumed quality of the machined surface. One of the causes of these difficulties may include the occurrence of vibrations of thin-walled elements while machining. The paper presents the results of geometric accuracy and surface roughness after the milling process of thin-walled elements using various machining strategies. Titanium alloy Ti6Al4V samples were used for studies. The tests were carried out on a three-axis machining centre using four strategies for making walls with the same dimensions. Fixed cutting technological parameters included: cutting speed v_c, feeding rate v_f, milling width a_e. The variation was based on the application of cutting depths specific for the axial strategies. A significant impact of the machining strategy was shown on the geometric accuracy and quality of the processed surface.