Experimental investigation of tool wear and chip formation in cryogenic machining of titanium alloys

Titanium alloys are one of the most important design materials for the aircraft industry. The high strength-to-density-ratio and the compatibility with carbon fibre reinforced plastic are the reasons for a raising application in this field. The outstanding properties lead to challenging machining processes. High strength and low heat conductivity affect high mechanical and thermal loads for the cutting edge. Thus, the machining process is characterized by a rapid development of tool wear even at low cutting parameter. To reach a sufficient productivity it is necessary to dissipate the resulting heat from the cutting edge by a coolant. Therefore the cryogenic machining of two different titanium alloys is investigated in this work. The results point out the different behavior of the machining processes under cryogenic conditions because of the reduced thermal load for the cutting tool. According to this investigation, the cryogenic cooling with CO₂ enables an increase of the tool life in comparison to emulsion based cooling principles when machining the α+β-titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. The machining process of the high strength titanium alloy Ti-6Al-2Sn-4Zr-6Mo requires an additional lubrication realized by a minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) with oil. This combined cooling leads to a smoother chip underside and to slender shear bands between the different chip segments.