Mechanical and Thermal Behavior for Machining Ti-6Al-4V With AlMgB14 and WC-Co Tools

Abstract

Many tool materials dissolve, diffuse, and/or react with titanium due to the high temperatures at the tool/workpiece interface. Potential next generation tool materials that would improve the machining of titanium and eliminate the contamination of the work piece are being developed. One material, Aluminum Boride (AlMgB14), is the basis of the research presented in this paper. Specimens of the newly developed tool material, AlMgB14 were fabricated into a standard tool geometry. This tool material was compared with a standard WC-Co tool material to machine a Ti-6Al-4V workpiece. During orthogonal cutting, thermal and force measurements were made using both types of tool material. The measurements are compared with finite element simulations. This paper shows higher chip temperatures are obtained with AlMgB14 and this material demonstrates benefits associated with tool thermal conductivity, including improved chip segmentation, smaller cutting and thrust forces. Nevertheless, a weakness of AlMgB14 is its fracture toughness, which needs to be improved for better performance in an industrial environment.