Category: Material Titanium

Mastering the Diva: Essential Tips for Machining Titanium with Precision and Efficiency

8/21/2024

Essential Tips for Machining Titanium Carbide inserts

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:

High heat resistance (see diagram)
Chips not breaking
Titanium’s distinct tendency to stick to cutting tools
A low elastic modulus
(Ti6Al4V = 110 kN/mm2, steel Ck45 = 210 kN/mm2)

Let’s instead take a look at the manufacture of a threaded and grooved shaft made of the standard titanium alloy Ti6Al4V Grade 5/23, as is frequently used in medical technology. With a tensile strength of Rm = 990 N/mm2, yield strength of Re = 880 N/mm2, a hardness of between 330 and 380 on the Vickers hardness scale, and elongation at fracture A5d of approximately 18%, this titanium alloy is typically used for medical implants as well as aviation applications (3.7164) and industrial applications (3.7165). With six percent aluminum and four percent vanadium, and extra-low interstitial elements (ELIs), this alloy is highly biocompatible, inducing virtually no known allergic reactions.

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.

Essential Tips for Machining Titanium with Precision and Efficiency Carbide inserts

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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What's the Right Number of Flutes on a Carbide End Mill?

3/19/2024

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by Bernard Martin

What's the Right Number of Flutes on a Carbide End Mill?

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

Advantages: Single flute end mills are particularly effective for chip evacuation in soft materials, providing excellent clearance. They are also known for their efficient chip removal and reduced deflection, making them suitable for applications requiring high-speed machining and improved surface finishes. Ideal for Routing applications.
Disadvantages: Limited in terms of material removal rates, especially in harder materials. The reduced number of cutting edges may lead to increased heat generation.
Suitability: Ideal for softer materials (ISO P and some ISO M materials) where efficient chip evacuation is crucial, and high-speed machining is beneficial. Suited very well for T-1 through T-4 Aluminum (T is a temper designation that signifies thermally treated aluminum.)

2-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Higher chip clearance, making them ideal for softer materials; less prone to chip clogging.
Disadvantages: Potential reduction in tool life compared to higher flute counts.
Suitability: Best for softer materials (ISO P and some ISO M materials).

3-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Better harmonic balanced performance in terms of chip evacuation and tool rigidity. Suitable for a wide range of materials. As with any odd number of flutes you often have multiple flutes engaged in the cut at the same time.
Disadvantages: Slightly less chip clearance than 2-flute end mills.
Suitability: Versatile; suitable for a variety of materials (ISO P, M, K, N, S, H).

4-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Optimal balance between chip evacuation and tool stability. Higher material removal rates in tougher materials.
Disadvantages: May generate more heat compared to lower flute counts. Less harmonically stable when compared to 3 or 5 flute tools.
Suitability: Versatile; suitable for a wide range of materials (ISO P, M, K, N, S, H).

5-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Enhanced tool stability and surface finish. Ideal for finishing operations.
Disadvantages: Reduced chip clearance in some scenarios.
Suitability: Suitable for finishing operations in a variety of materials (ISO P, M, K, N, S).

6-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Excellent tool stability, reducing deflection and vibration. Well-suited for high-speed machining and finishing.
Disadvantages: Limited chip clearance in certain cases.
Suitability: Ideal for finishing operations and high-speed machining (ISO P, M, S, H)

7-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Improved surface finish, particularly in finishing applications.
Disadvantages: Limited chip clearance.
Suitability: Specialized for finishing in softer materials (ISO P, M, S, H).

8-Flute End Mills

Advantages: High tool stability and reduced deflection. Suitable for finishing and profiling as well as in hard materials.
Disadvantages: Limited chip clearance.
Suitability: Ideal for finishing and profiling in softer materials (ISO P, M, S, H). Often used in High Efficiency Milling (HEM) of nickel-based superalloys.

0-Flute End Mills

Advantages: Exceptional surface finish and stability, especially beneficial for finishing operations.
Disadvantages: Limited chip clearance; potential for clogging.
Suitability: Specialized for finishing in softer materials (ISO P, M, S, H).

Advantages of Higher Flute Counts in
ISO 513 H (Hard Materials)

In ISO 513 H (Hard Materials), end mills with higher flute counts, such as 6, 8, or 10 flutes, demonstrate enhanced performance.

The increased number of cutting edges distributes the cutting forces more evenly, reducing the load on individual flutes and minimizing tool wear. This results in improved tool life and superior surface finish when machining challenging hard materials.

Additionally, the added stability provided by higher flute counts is advantageous in maintaining precision and achieving high-quality finishes in hard material applications.

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Tech Tips for Machining Hardened Materials with Ceramic and CeramiX

1/12/2021

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Machining Hardened Materials with Ceramic

Here are some simple quick tips when you are machining machining hard materials.

As material hardness goes up the SFM goes down.
Use the strongest possible insert shape to maximize insert strength.
Ceramic is a hard material therefore, the insert needs some edge preparation in order to withstand cutting forces and optimize performance.
Utilize positive geometries for close tolerances or thin-walled parts.
If multiple passes are required with one edge, vary the DOC to move the wear on the insert edge and improve tool life.
If you encounter chatter, increase your feed rate. Heavy chatter is often a sign of the tooling being above centerline or there is too much toolholder overhang. The machine, part and tooling set-up must be rigid.

When you're considering inserts from NTK Cutting Tools for hard turning, take a look at the grades and styles.

Light edge preps T styles ( T-land: T0425 & T0525)
Heavy edge preps: Z and S style ( T-land and honed edge: Z0820, Z0825, S0820, S0825) or J, P, and Q style (Double Chamfered and Honed edge: P4815, P8015, Q8015)

NTK hard Turning SFM Speed chart based upon material hardness

Hard Turning Speed SFM chart based upon a material's Shore Hardness.. As the hardness increases the SFM decreases.

Hard Turning IPR Feed Rate based upon ceramic insert nose radius and DOC

Some good rules of thumb for Hard Turning: The IPR Feed Rate is based upon ceramic insert nose radius and Depth of Cut (DOC)

Best choice of ceramic insert grades for use in hard turning from NTK

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Tough, Precise, and Fast —Carmex HBA carbide grade is available today for tomorrow’s materials

10/21/2020

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Carmex HBA Carbide Hard Threading inconcel titanium

As more applications require the use of super-hard alloys, manufacturers are demanding tooling that can deliver precision threads and high production in less time.

To meet these challenges, Carmex Precision Tools Ltd. has engineered carbide grade HBA — an extra-fine, submicron grade with high toughness for optimized performance on hardened steel Titanium and super alloys including Hastelloy, Inconel and Nickel base alloys up to 62 HRc.

Available for internal and external threading in both 60° and 55° partial profile, as well as ISO metric and UN, HBA delivers high wear and heat resistance and excellent edge stability. The unique combination of carbide substrate, coating type and edge conditions provide superior performance over extended tool life.

Case Study in Threading D2 at 53-56HRc

16mm (3/8" I.C.) LAYDOWN INSERT FOR ISO (METRIC) EXT-RH THREAD; PITCH: 01.50mm; GRADE: HBA

In a recent test involving an external right-hand thread:

Thread: M32x1.5 and a length of 65mm (2.56")
Material: D2 hardened steel @ 53-56 HRc,
Insert: 16 ER 1.5 ISO grade HBA
Results: Operated at 1772 IPM (45 m/min) at 28 passes produced 36 threads per corner.

Hard machining is increasingly becoming the rule rather than the exception in complex part production. Carmex HBA was engineered to meet the challenges inherent in threading hard materials while delivering high production and longer tool life.

Bring us your most challenging hard threading applications and lets try the new Carmex HBA engineered performance carbide .

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Tapping into your Saturday instead of milling around?

1/16/2019

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Over the years, many of our customers have come to us because they were regularly breaking taps.

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.

Carmex 2-56 thread mill

This meant that the holes had to go from a depth of .150" to .190". The 2-56UN thread’s major diameter was .086", and the drill diameter .070".

Repeatability was nearly impossible on his CNC equipment, and he literally came in every Saturday to tap the holes by hand. When he started talking with us, he was breaking his taps after only 20 holes — an extraordinarily short tool life.

By re-examining his technology, and switching to Carmex Precision thread milling, he was able to accomplish the threading of 683 holes with a single thread-mill on his CNC equipment.

Despite the number of passes, the wear factor between the first and the last holes could only be measured in tenths, and the customer was able to get the thread detail back to its original .150" full thread depth. Perhaps just as important, his Saturdays are now “tap-free.”

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Mastering the Diva: Essential Tips for Machining Titanium with Precision and Efficiency

Titanium is expensive – avoid waste

Evacuate heat from the cutting zone

Choose the right tools to increase service life

Find a tool manufacturer that offers advice and process support

What's the Right Number of Flutes on a Carbide End Mill?

Advantages of Higher Flute Counts in
ISO 513 H (Hard Materials)

Tech Tips for Machining Hardened Materials with Ceramic and CeramiX

Tough, Precise, and Fast —Carmex HBA carbide grade is available today for tomorrow’s materials

Case Study in Threading D2 at 53-56HRc

Tapping into your Saturday instead of milling around?

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Mastering the Diva: Essential Tips for Machining Titanium with Precision and Efficiency

Titanium is expensive – avoid waste

Evacuate heat from the cutting zone

Choose the right tools to increase service life

Find a tool manufacturer that offers advice and process support

What's the Right Number of Flutes on a Carbide End Mill?

​Advantages of Higher Flute Counts in​ISO 513 H (Hard Materials)

Tech Tips for Machining Hardened Materials with Ceramic and CeramiX

Tough, Precise, and Fast —Carmex HBA carbide grade is available today for tomorrow’s materials

Case Study in Threading D2 at 53-56HRc

Tapping into your Saturday instead of milling around?

Technical Support Blog

Authorship

Archives

Categories

AboutContactTOOLINGWORKHOLDINGEVENTSNEWSTECHNICAL

Find us on Instagram @nextgentool

Advantages of Higher Flute Counts in
ISO 513 H (Hard Materials)

About
Contact
TOOLING
WORKHOLDING
EVENTS
NEWS
TECHNICAL