Tool Life When Turning Gamma Titanium Aluminide Using Carbide with...

The paper details single point machining trials on alloy Ti-45Al-2Nb-Mn+0.8% vol. TiBn(sub2) using uncoated tungsten carbide (WC), TiN/TiCN coated WC, chemically vapour deposited (CVD) thin film diamond and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools. The effect of small depths of cut (0.1 and 0.05 mm) and high pressure cutting fluid application (65 bar) were investigated. Both reducing the depth of cut and increasing the cutting fluid pressure led to improvements in tool life. In addition, the high thermal conductivity of PCD produced an increase in tool life at 40 m/min cutting speed over that of uncoated WC when used with high pressure cutting fluid. Authors: Adrian C. Sharman, Richard C. Dewes, David K. Aspinwall, Paul Bowen, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, UK.