The milling machinabilities of titanium matrix composites were comprehensively evaluated to provide a theoretical basis for cutting parameter determination.Polycrystalline diamond(PCD)tools with different grain sizes and geometries,and carbide tools with and without coatings were used in the experiments.Milling forces,milling temperatures,tool lifetimes,tool wear,and machined surface integrities were investigated.The PCD tool required a primary cutting force 15%smaller than that of the carbide tool,while the uncoated carbide tool required a primary cutting force 10% higher than that of the TiAlN-coated tool.A cutting force of 300 Nper millimeter of the cutting edge(300N/mm)was measured.This caused excessive tool chipping.The cutting temperature of the PCD tool was 20%—30%lower than that of the carbide tool,while that of the TiAlN-coated tool was 12%lower than that of the uncoated carbide tool.The cutting temperatures produced when using water-based cooling and minimal quantity lubrication(MQL)were reduced by 100°C and 200°C,compared with those recorded with dry cutting,respectively.In general,the PCD tool lifetimes were 2—3 times longer than the carbide tool lifetimes.The roughness Raof the machined surface was less than 0.6μm,and the depth of the machined surface hardened layer was in the range of 0.15—0.25 mm for all of the PCD tools before a flank wear land of 0.2mm was reached.The PCD tool with a 0.8mm tool nose radius,0°rake angle,10°flank angle,and grain size of(30+2)μm exhibited the best cutting performance.For this specific tool,a lifetime of 16 min can be expected.
Chipping, adhesive wear, abrasive wear and crater wear are prevalent for both the polycrystalline diamond(PCD) and the carbide tools during high speed turning of TiC_p/TiB_w hybrid reinforced Ti-6Al-4V(TC4) matrix composite(TMCs). The combined effects of abrasive wear and diffusion wear caused the big crater on PCD and carbide tool rake face. Compared to the PCD, bigger size of crater was found on the carbide tool due to much higher cutting temperature and the violent chemical reaction between the Ti element in the workpiece and the WC in the tool.However, the marks of the abrasive wear looked much slighter or even could not be observed on the carbide tool especially when low levels of cutting parameters were used, which attributes to much lower hardness and smaller size of WC combined with more significant chemical degradation of carbide. When cutting TC4 using PCD tool, notch wear was the most significant wear pattern which was not found when cutting the TMCs. However, chipping, adhesive wear and crater wear were much milder when compared to the cutting of titanium matrix composite. Due to the absence of abrasive wear when cutting TC4, the generated titanium carbide on the PCD protected the tool from fast wear, which caused that the tool life for TC4 was 6–10 times longer than that for TMCs.
