The Grinding of Titanium Alloys

Abstract

Abstract When titanium is ground under conventional conditions the rate of wheel wear is abnormally high and the finish produced is poor. Improvement in surface finish accompanies a decrease in wheel-wear rate. A study of the influence of a wide variety of operating and grinding-wheel variables reveals the most important quantities to be grinding-wheel speed, type of abrasive, and grinding fluid. When a wheel speed of 1500 to 2000 fpm is used with a suitable fluid and a white-aluminum-oxide wheel of conventional hardness, grain size, and bonding, greatly improved results are obtained. All of the observations that have been made can be explained in terms of the assumption that bonding between titanium chips and abrasive grains is of major importance. While most of the experiments and discussion are centered around the surface-grinding operation, cylindrical grinding and the cut-off operations also are considered.