Titanium Cutting Simplified

The University of Sheffield (U.K.) Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Boeing are developing simulation tools that can create new automated manufacturing processes, with the aim of automating the selection of cutting parameters for producing titanium components.

“The problem manufacturers have when machining material such as titanium is that the material properties can vary from one batch to the next and require new cutting parameters,” said Jeremy Oakley, University of Sheffield professor of statistics. “However, you wouldn’t necessarily know [these material properties] have changed until identified in the quality checks of finished components.”

File image of a titanium impeller test part. AMRC conducted physical cutting trials on batches of titanium alloys with different properties. Image courtesy Wikipedia Commons.

The variation in material batches affects dimensional accuracy, surface finish and tool life, the researchers reported. Observing the cutting process and manually stopping the machine to check on the cutting tool can be costly and often relies on the experience of the machine operator.

The AMRC conducted cutting trials on batches of titanium alloys with different properties and performed orthogonal, peripheral climb milling to collect data, such as temperature, cutting forces and vibration. A finite element (FE) model that replicated the machining process was also used to extract the same data through simulations of the process.