Affiliation:
1. Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs
2. Purdue University
3. RMIT University
4. Swinburne University of Technology
Abstract
Removal rates for machining titanium alloys are an order of magnitude slower than those for aluminum. The high strength and hardness coupled with the relatively low elastic modulus and poor thermal conductivity of titanium contribute to the slow speeds and feeds that are required to machine titanium with acceptable tool life.
Titanium has extremely attractive properties for air vehicles ranging from excellent corrosion resistance to good compatibility with graphite reinforced composites and very good damage tolerance characteristics. At current Buy to Fly ratios, the F-35 Program will consume as much as seven million pounds of titanium a year at rate production. This figure is nearly double that of the F-22 Program, which has a much higher titanium content. As much as 50% of the final cost of titanium parts can be attributed to machining. Specifically, in this task, we are working to improve the material removal rate of titanium to reduce cost.
Lockheed Martin is evaluating the potential to use lasers to heat the material ahead of the tool to reduce its strength. Coupled with other technologies that can improve the tool life and prevent the titanium material from welding to the tool, there is hope for a practical solution using similar milling machines to those which exist today, if not a simple retro-fit option.
This presentation will present the current progress of this project and its potential impact to the Joint Strike Fighter.
Publisher
Trans Tech Publications, Ltd.
Subject
Mechanical Engineering,Mechanics of Materials,Condensed Matter Physics,General Materials Science
Cited by
6 articles.
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1. Tool wear investigation in drilling titanium alloy;IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering;2019-05-01
2. Laser Assisted Machining : Current Status and Future Scope;Laser-Assisted Fabrication of Materials;2012-11-04
3. Machining of coarse grained and ultra fine grained titanium;Journal of Materials Science;2012-02-23
4. Experimental investigation of cutting forces and tool wear during laser-assisted milling of Ti-6Al-4V alloy;Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B: Journal of Engineering Manufacture;2011-09
5. Thermally enhanced machining of hard-to-machine materials—A review;International Journal of Machine Tools and Manufacture;2010-08