Titanium has been thought of as quite hard to machine because of its characteristics and attributes. When machining titanium bars and other titanium materials, a substantial amount of the original form tends to be chipped away. The entire process is definitely complicated and costly, and various industries continue to find means to maximize the efficiency of titanium machining.
What attributes of titanium influence its machinability?
Being considered to be difficult to machine, titanium has chemical, mechanical, and physical attributes that can explain why it is so.
Titanium has a high tendency to alloy or react chemically with the materials present in cutting tools when done in particular operating temperatures. As a result, smearing, welding, and galling may occur and result to damage to the cutting tools used.
Some machining strategies can cause surface damage to the titanium material due to the metal’s fatigue properties. Therefore, proper care has to be observed when implementing processes, such as grinding, to prevent loss of surface stability.
As a poor heat conductor, titanium keeps the heat generated when cutting concentrated on the cutting tool being used. So, the tool’s edge, face, and other parts end up ruined.
What are the types of machining techniques?
Machining refers to all types of processes that involve the removal and cutting of metal. It includes milling, boring, turning, tapping, gas cutting, shaping, grinding, shaving, gear hobbing, planning, broaching, reaming, sawing, shaving, tapping, and drilling.
What are the parameters involved in titanium machining?
Like other alloy systems, the parameters involved in titanium machining to ensure high efficiency are as follows:
- Forces
- Tool life
- Cutting tools
- Cutting fluids
- Power requirements
To maximize the titanium resources on hand, it is important to cause a decrease temperature when doing the machining processes. This can be achieved by using low cutting speeds and generous volumes of cutting fluids, maintaining high feed rates, and sharpening cutting tools and replacing them the moment they manifest early signs of wear.