AVIC Xi'an Aircraft NC Processing Factory Zheng Xiaowei
The advancement of high-speed and high-performance cutting technology has significantly elevated the standards of aircraft manufacturing. This innovation plays a vital role in efficiently, accurately, and cost-effectively machining challenging materials like titanium alloys. High-efficiency titanium alloy cutting is a complex process that requires not only advanced machine tools and cutting instruments but also optimized cutting parameters, suitable tool-material combinations, and effective cooling and lubrication systems. These elements are essential for ensuring stable and reliable processing.
Currently, high-speed and high-performance cutting is a major focus for research and development in industrialized nations, particularly in Europe and the United States. According to a 2001 military aircraft cost estimation report by the Rand Corporation, high-performance cutting of difficult-to-machine materials like titanium alloys was identified as one of the core technologies in modern aircraft structural manufacturing.
Extensive research has been conducted globally on machine tools, cutting tools, cutting media, and cutting mechanisms for high-efficiency machining of aerospace materials such as titanium alloys. The development of high-speed cutting machines and tools has enabled more efficient processing of these tough materials. However, when it comes to typical aerospace titanium alloys, the main challenge remains the rapid increase in tool wear with higher cutting speeds, leading to increased costs, lower efficiency, and reduced yield. This directly impacts part quality and production speed.
To address these issues, researchers have explored various approaches, including increasing cutting speed limits, developing new tool materials, improving cooling and lubrication techniques, analyzing tool wear mechanisms, studying chip formation, optimizing cutting parameters, and conducting simulations. These efforts have led to the development of several promising new cutting technologies tailored for titanium alloys.
In experimental studies, Kitagawa and colleagues used K10 cemented carbide tools for milling at speeds ranging from 31.4 to 628 m/min and for intermittent or continuous turning between 30 and 300 m/min. While the maximum cutting speed reached 628 m/min in milling, it was limited to 200 m/min for continuous turning. During interrupted cutting, the temperature on the rake face was about 15% lower than during continuous cutting. This suggests that high-speed milling is more feasible than high-speed turning due to the intermittent heating of the cutter teeth, the cooling effect during non-cutting intervals, and the presence of a helix angle.
New tool materials, such as composite-coated carbides, ultra-fine grain carbides, and super-hard materials like polycrystalline diamond (PCD), polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (PCBN), and bonded cubic boron nitride (BCBN), have shown potential in high-speed milling of titanium alloys, with cutting speeds exceeding 200 m/min. However, these materials are often expensive and prone to breakage when machining difficult materials.
Research into new tool structures has aimed to reduce cutting vibration caused by rapid tool wear and high cutting forces, which can lead to tool failure and dimensional inaccuracies. Tools like variable helix angle end mills and misaligned waveform rake face cutters help suppress vibration, but their manufacturing processes are complex. Additionally, optimizing tool geometry to enhance performance remains an ongoing challenge. Innovations such as surface texture technology for reducing friction and wear are being explored to improve tool life and efficiency.
While many of these studies have driven progress in high-speed cutting technology, there are still significant scientific and technical challenges that require further investigation. For example, a deeper understanding of the thermo-mechanical coupling phenomenon during titanium alloy machining is needed. The impact of this coupling on tool wear patterns and mechanisms is still not fully understood. Additionally, the complex nature of metal cutting means that friction and wear problems at the cutting edge and tool-workpiece interface remain key challenges in the field.
Optimizing the combination of titanium alloy and tool materials under different cutting conditions, refining tool geometry, and developing new anti-friction and anti-wear technologies are crucial for improving efficiency and extending tool life in high-efficiency titanium alloy machining.
For more detailed information, you can refer to "Metal Processing Online Content" or "Metalworking (Cold Processing)" Issue 20, 2013.
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