Desempenho de diferentes materiais de ferramentas de corte no torneamento de acabamento da liga de titânio Ti-6Al-4V com a tecnologia de aplicação de fluido de corte à alta pressão

Abstract

This study investigated the machinability of Ti-6Al-4V alloy with newly developed cutting tools such as uncoated (T1 and T3) and coated (T2 and T4) cemented carbides, Polycrystalline Diamond (PCD) T5 and T6 inserts, Cubic Boron Nitride (CBN) T7,T8,T9 inserts, SiC Whiskers Reinforced Ceramic (T10) insert, and Al2O3 base (T11) and Si3N4 base nano-grain size ceramic (T12) inserts using various cooling environments such as high pressure coolant supplies at pressures of 7 MPa, 11 MPa and 20.3 MPa, argon enriched environment and conventional coolant flow at high speed machining conditions typical of finish turning operation. Tool life and failure modes, wear mechanisms, component forces generated, surface integrity, surface finish and chip form data were used to assess the performance of the different cutting tools and cooling environments investigated. PCD and carbide inserts gave the best performance, in terms of tool life, when machining Ti-6Al-4V alloy. In general coarser (T1 and T4) grain size carbides and PCD (T5) inserts gave the best overall performance in terms of lower wear rate hence longer tool life compared to finer grain (T2,T3 and T6) grades. Encouraging tool life can be achieved when machining with high pressure coolant supply relative to conventional coolant flow and in the presence of argon. Tool lives generally increased with increasing coolant pressure due to the ability of the high coolant pressure to reduce the tool-chip contact length/area and to lift the chip, thereby providing adequate lubrication at the tool-chip interface with consequent reduction in friction. Machining with T1, T4 and T10 inserts in presence of argon was only able to prevent chip ignition with no improvement in tool life, due probably to the suppression of the cooling and/or lubrication characteristics of argon gas when machining at cutting conditions investigated. Up to 8 fold improvement in tool life were achieved when machining with PCD inserts relative to carbide inserts under conventional coolant flow. All the grades of CBN inserts gave poor performance during machining due to accelerated nose wear and, in some cases, severe chipping of the cutting edge associated with a relatively high diffusion wear rate that tends to weaken the bond strength of the tool substrate. An increase in the CBN content tends to accelerate notch wear rate, consequently diminishing tool life under the cutting conditions investigated. Micron and nano-grain size ceramics did not demonstrate satisfactory performance in terms of tool wear rate and tool life, due to severe abrasive wear and chipping of the cutting edge, hence the poor machined surfaces generated. Nose wear was the dominating tool failure mode when machining with carbide, PCD and CBN (T7) inserts due to a reduction in tool-chip and tool-workpiece contact lengths and the consequent increase in both normal and shear stresses and temperature at the tool tip, while severe notching and chipping occurred when machining with CBN (T8 and T9) and micron grain size ceramics. Severe notching also occurred when machining with nano-grain ceramic inserts, often leading to catastrophic tool failure at speeds in excess of 110 m min-1. Machining with PCD tools gave lower cutting forces than carbides inserts. Surface roughness values generated with carbides, PCD and CBN inserts were generally within the 1.6 μm rejection criterion for finish machining and above 2 μm when machining with all grades of ceramics employed. Micrographs of the machined surfaces show that micro-pits are the main damage to the machined surfaces. Microhardness of the machined surfaces when machining with carbides varied randomly around the hardness values of the workpiece material prior to machining. Machining with PCD tools generally led to softening of machined surfaces. Increase in cutting speed generally led to increased hardness when machining with the larger grain size PCD (T5) tool using conventional coolant flow and with coolant pressures up to 11 MPa. No evidence of plastic deformation was observed on the machined surfaces and the surface integrity of the finish machined surfaces is generally in agreement with Rolls Royce CME 5043 specification.