edited by Bernard Martin Anyone who has ever machined the superalloy titanium knows that it can be a real diva, requiring special care and attention. Chips that won’t break, heat that won’t dissipate, and built-up edges are some of the common ways in which titanium puts up a fight during machining. However, titanium’s remarkable properties make it a favorite in aviation, motorsport, and medical technology, so it is worth learning how to machine it properly. You never know when a renowned sports car manufacturer will need to place an order for titanium screws. Whether or not the chemist Martin Heinrich Klapproth named the titanium element after the deities from Greek mythology because of its god-like properties is unclear. But the fact is that its properties make it a superalloy. Extremely tension-proof, very light, and outstandingly resistant to corrosion, titanium offers something other materials and alloys don’t. Titanium is antimagnetic, biocompatible, and resistant to even the most aggressive media. This expensive material is becoming popular in more fields and applications. It’s no secret to the engineers at Bugatti, who use many titanium parts in their work. Titanium is expensive – avoid waste Machining titanium is an investment, as it costs about three to five times more than tool steel. So logically, you want to avoid waste. The careful selection of a suitable cutting tool is only the first step. Manufacturing precision turned parts made of titanium, which are frequently needed in aviation and spaceflight, the chemical industry, vehicle construction, and medical technology, requires tools that are suited to machining this particular material, allowing for the most stubborn titanium alloys to be machined as needed. But this diva of the materials world can do a number on your cutting tools due to:
Evacuate heat from the cutting zone This requires a high-quality surface finish, reliable process safety, and controlled chip removal, all while keeping process times short despite potentially high rates of chip removal. You might assume that most of the heat generated in the turning process is evacuated via the chips, but this isn’t so. Since titanium is a poor thermal conductor, the heat cannot be alleviated from the cutting zone via the chips. And at temperatures of 1200°C and higher in the cutting zone, the cutting tool can quickly sustain heat-related damage. The easiest things you can do to prevent too much heat from building up are to feed coolant directly to the cutting zone, reduce the cutting force by using a sharp cutting edge, and adjust the cutting speed to suit the process at hand. Choose the right tools to increase service life Real improvements are made by selecting the correct cutting tool. Since the heat must be evacuated via the cutting edge and the coolant, not via the chips, as is the case with steel, a small portion of the cutting edge must withstand extremely high thermal and mechanical stress. The cutting pressure is reduced by using ground, high-positive indexable inserts with polished flutes, if necessary, with the appropriate coating, minimizing friction in the chip removal process. These three parameters help prevent heat from being produced in machining. If only a little bit of the heat is reduced further through optimal coolant flow, the cutting edge will have a longer service life. Or the cutting speed (Vc) can be increased again to improve productivity. So far, so good. But since this diva’s chips don’t like to break, you may face other difficulties. An endless chip could wind itself around the workpiece, your tool, or the machine chuck and pose a hazard to the machine or your safety. It could help to change the direction of rotation and turn the cutting edge around if the machine’s design allows it. If the cutting edge is pointing downward, chips will fall freely to the ground and no longer pose a danger. However, when working with demanding roughing applications and less-than-stable machinery, you will have to check whether the cutting action allows the chips to be directed towards the machine bed. Once the chips have left the work zone, they can no longer disrupt the process. Find a tool manufacturer that offers advice and process support If you want to make sure that you choose the right tool for titanium machining, turn to a manufacturer. Some go above and beyond, offering advice based on specific application experience in addition to supplying the cutting tool itself.
ARNO USA is a tool manufacturer that has been around since 1941. In addition to manufacturing one of the largest selections of high-positive indexable inserts, it employs many experienced application consultants who would be happy to share their knowledge to ensure that customers’ manufacturing processes run smoothly. Its high-positive indexable inserts are sharp enough to keep cutting force to a minimum, and their optional rounded edges ensure excellent stability. Expedient high-tech coatings make them well-equipped against the poor thermal conductivity of this tricky material. Negative indexable inserts with EX, NFT, NMT, and NMT1 geometries provide an affordable, reliable solution for more basic machining and roughing. Arno’s positive indexable inserts with geometries PSF and PMT1 are ideal for machining superalloys. All of these inserts are highly resistant to notch wear and heat when machining tough material. Unique geometries ensure exceptional chip control and process safety. Dedicated titanium machining experts and ARNO customers are well prepared.
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The number of flutes on a carbide end mill significantly influences its performance across various machining applications. How many flutes do you need? The simple answer: It depends. Obviously there are a quite a number of other factors that impact an end mills performance such as helix angel, edge prep, gullet depth and radius. We can't tackle everything in this article, but hopefully this helps you get a better understanding of why there are different numbers of flutes on end mills. Below is an overview of the advantages and disadvantages associated with end mills featuring different flute counts, along with recommendations for materials based on ISO 513 categories (P, M, K, N, S, H) Single Flute End Mills
2-Flute End Mills
3-Flute End Mills
4-Flute End Mills
5-Flute End Mills
6-Flute End Mills
7-Flute End Mills
8-Flute End Mills
0-Flute End Mills
Advantages of Higher Flute Counts in |
One case involved a shop owner who was machining a critical part for a radar component. Made of TiAl 64V titanium, the part required 683 blind holes. Because of the tapping operation, his customer had to allow a tap deviance of .040" in depth to allow for the thread clearance. |
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