The minimum web, or pocket floor, thickness in machined titanium alloy parts, such as aircraft spars, was traditionally limited to 0.100 " unless expensive backup tooling was fabricated to enable the normal tolerance of ±0.010 " to be held on thinner pocket floors, or chemical milling was performed instead. The limitation of 0.100 " often blocked efforts to decrease aircraft weight because of higher fixturing costs.
The objective of one study was to develop milling methods that would allow thinner webs to be machined to the required ±0.010 " tolerance without the need for backup tooling.
Testing was conducted in two phases. A milling process was developed to produce 0.060 "-thick webs within a ±0.010 " tolerance. The process was further refined to produce webs as thin as 0.040 " within the required tolerance without backup tooling. The process imparted the required surface finish of 125 μin. Ra or finer, and no tool chatter or unusual noise were noticed.
The sequence of operations began with roughing to within 0.250 " to 0.500 " of net thickness. If desired, the part thickness was measured after roughing. Then, finish milling to net thickness was performed, and the tool tabs were cut off during the final operation.
The cutter ramped at 4° from the outside edge of the pocket to the centerline. Work was performed from the pocket’s center to the outside walls to produce the net web thickness and fillet radius. Cutting speed was 150 sfm with a 0.004 ipt. Tool life was 45 minutes.
A test part with five pockets was machined and measured to evaluate machinability. Web thickness varied from 0.039 " to 0.046 " with no oil canning, or distortion, of the webs. More than 100 production spars were then produced with pockets similar to the test part, and the ±0.010 " tolerance was met in all cases for the pocket floors.
This same process helps to minimize warpage in other thin sections, such as splice plates. Even when the part is resting on a flat plate, which amounts to backup tooling, we achieved effective distortion control.
The process allowed designers to reduce weight by about 1 lb. per 100 sq. in. of web surface without the expense of backup tooling. It applies in those instances where thinner webs are of sufficient strength.
This process is needed because traditional milling spring passes are not effective when machining titanium alloys. Thin cleanup passes tend to push metal away from the cutter in the Z-axis direction, and they impart heat and surface stresses into the part. Leaving a heavy cut for last works because the pull of the cutter helix balances the push of the cutter. One of Boeing’s suppliers said he achieved superior dimensional results on titanium alloys by leaving plenty of material for the final milling pass on pocket floors. Cutter dullness could certainly upset the balance of forces. By not doing final spring passes, you can save time and produce a dimensionally better part.
Cutting from the pocket center first to the outside wall last leaves plenty of solid and rigid material next to the cutter at all times.
Milling thin flanges in titanium alloy parts, such as aircraft spars, is also difficult. With a minimum flange thickness of 0.060 ", the height-to-thickness ratio was limited to 20:1. To machine thinner flanges required expensive backup tooling or performing chemical milling. These limitations often blocked efforts to decrease aircraft weight.
The objective of another study was to develop methods that would allow thinner flanges to be machined to the required ±0.010 " tolerance without the need for backup tooling. Testing confirmed the original design limitations.
A new process allowed flanges as thin as 0.040 " with a ±0.010 " tolerance to be machined, convincing engineering to add a note to the drawing that would allow machine mismatches along the sides of the flanges. The process included roughing to within 0.5 " of net thickness, finish milling the top 0.5 " of the flange, stepping down in the Z-axis and milling the next 0.5 " of flange to net thickness and continuing to step down until the flange was completed. The cutter mismatch is then blended by manual sanding if needed.
The new process allows designers to reduce part weight. Fixturing costs are kept low because backup tooling is not required. CTE
About the Author: The late Edward F. Rossman, Ph.D., was an associate technical fellow in manufacturing R&D with Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Seattle. Rossman’s Shop Operations column is adapted from information in his book, “Creating and Maintaining a World-Class Machine Shop: A Guide to General and Titanium Machine Shop Practices,” published by Industrial Press Inc., New York. The publisher can be reached by calling (212) 889-6330 or visiting www.industrialpress.com.
Related Glossary Terms
- alloys
alloys
Substances having metallic properties and being composed of two or more chemical elements of which at least one is a metal.
- chatter
chatter
Condition of vibration involving the machine, workpiece and cutting tool. Once this condition arises, it is often self-sustaining until the problem is corrected. Chatter can be identified when lines or grooves appear at regular intervals in the workpiece. These lines or grooves are caused by the teeth of the cutter as they vibrate in and out of the workpiece and their spacing depends on the frequency of vibration.
- cutting speed
cutting speed
Tangential velocity on the surface of the tool or workpiece at the cutting interface. The formula for cutting speed (sfm) is tool diameter 5 0.26 5 spindle speed (rpm). The formula for feed per tooth (fpt) is table feed (ipm)/number of flutes/spindle speed (rpm). The formula for spindle speed (rpm) is cutting speed (sfm) 5 3.82/tool diameter. The formula for table feed (ipm) is feed per tooth (ftp) 5 number of tool flutes 5 spindle speed (rpm).
- fillet
fillet
Rounded corner or arc that blends together two intersecting curves or lines. In three dimensions, a fillet surface is a transition surface that blends together two surfaces.
- flat ( screw flat)
flat ( screw flat)
Flat surface machined into the shank of a cutting tool for enhanced holding of the tool.
- gang cutting ( milling)
gang cutting ( milling)
Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.
- inches per tooth ( ipt)
inches per tooth ( ipt)
Linear distance traveled by the cutter during the engagement of one tooth. Although the milling cutter is a multi-edge tool, it is the capacity of each individual cutting edge that sets the limit of the tool, defined as: ipt = ipm/number of effective teeth 5 rpm or ipt = ipr/number of effective teeth. Sometimes referred to as the chip load.
- machinability
machinability
The relative ease of machining metals and alloys.
- milling
milling
Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.
- tolerance
tolerance
Minimum and maximum amount a workpiece dimension is allowed to vary from a set standard and still be acceptable.
- web
web
On a rotating tool, the portion of the tool body that joins the lands. Web is thicker at the shank end, relative to the point end, providing maximum torsional strength.
