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Laser assisted machining of Ti10V2Fe3Al and Ti6Cr5Mo5V4Al β titanium alloys

Article  in  Advanced Materials Research · June 2014

DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.974.121

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Advanced Materials Research Vol. 974 (2014) pp 121-125
© (2014) Trans Tech Publications, Switzerland
doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.974.121

Laser Assisted Machining of Ti10V2Fe3Al and Ti6Cr5Mo5V4Al β

Titanium Alloys

R. A. Rahman Rashid1,4 a, S. Sun2 b, S. Palanisamy1,4 c and M. S. Dargusch3,4 d

1
Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria
3122, Australia
2
School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, RMIT University, Victoria 3083,
Australia
3
Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing, School of Mechanical and Mining
Engineering, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4072, Australia
4
Defence Materials Technology Centre, Victoria 3122, Australia
a
rrahmanrashid@swin.edu.au, bshoujin.sun@rmit.edu.au, cspalanisamy@swin.edu.au,
d
m.dargusch@uq.edu.au

Keywords: LAM, β titanium alloys, cutting temperature, cutting forces, chip formation

Abstract. In recent times, the market for the applications of titanium alloys, particularly β alloys, is
growing rapidly, calling for higher productivity. However, it is difficult to machine titanium alloys. A
number of research activities have been carried out in this area to improve the productivity of titanium
machining. Laser assisted machining is one technique which has been proposed to enhance the
machinability of various difficult-to-cut materials including titanium alloys. In this study, two β
titanium alloys, viz. Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al and Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al, were machined using laser assistance
and the results were compared with unassisted machining conditions. Their response to laser assisted
machining in terms of differences in the cutting forces, cutting temperature and chip formation are
reported. It was found that the Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al workpiece was much more difficult to machine
even with laser assistance.

Introduction
β titanium alloys are becoming attractive for a number of high-value added applications because of
their unique combination of mechanical properties. These alloys not only offer properties which make
them attractive for biomedical applications, but also offer the highest range of strengths, fracture
toughness and deep hardenability making them suitable for structural applications such as landing
gear and springs in aircraft [1]. However, the high strengths lead to high mechanical stresses on the
cutting tool during machining whereas their low thermal conductivity results in almost 80% of the
heat generated during cutting being transferred to the cutting tool. This limits the productivity of
titanium alloys [2-4].
Research work has been undertaken in various areas of machining such as different coolant
applications and understanding of the chip formation in order to improve the productivity of titanium
by enhancing its machining capability [5-7]. Laser-assisted machining (LAM) is one technology
being investigated that potentially may enhance the machinability of advanced engineering materials
such as titanium alloys. This technique involves the use of a laser beam as an external heat source in
order to locally soften the ‘hard-to-machine’ workpiece just prior to the machining operation [8].
Laser assisted machining of the Ti-6Al-4V α/β alloy has been investigated by Sun et al. [9] and
Dandekar et al. [10], where they report significant reductions in cutting forces. Similar studies carried
out on Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al and Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al β titanium alloys identified optimum cutting
regimes where significant reduction in the cutting forces are observed [11,12]. In this paper, a
comparative study is undertaken to differentiate the effects of laser pre-heating on the cutting forces,
cutting temperature and chip formation of Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al (Ti1023) and Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al
(Ti6554).

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122 Material and Manufacturing Technology V

Experimental details
Both the titanium workpieces were cast using vacuum arc remelting process into 620 mm diameter
ingots which were then forged in subsequent steps to 50 mm bars. The workpieces were then solution
heat treated and aged. The composition of both β alloys are listed below in Table 1.
Table 1: Chemical composition of Ti1023 and Ti6554 β titanium alloy workpieces
Al V Mo Cr Fe N C O Ti
Ti1023 3.20 10.23 - - 1.79 0.008 0.02 0.06 Bal
Ti6554 4.20 5.09 4.95 6.05 0.06 0.02 0.01 0.19 Bal

The machining of these two workpieces has been performed on a Hafco Metal Master AL540 lathe
under dry cutting conditions. An uncoated WC-Co cutting tool insert with rake angle 15°, angle of
inclination -6°, and entry angle 45° was used in this study. For LAM trials, a 2.5 kW Nd:YAG laser
was employed. The experimental setup is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Experimental setup for the machining trials [11]

The cutting trials were conducted at a constant feed rate of 0.19 mm/rev, 1 mm depth of cut, and
1200 W laser power. However, the cutting speeds were varied from 5-275 m/min for Ti1023 alloy and
9.5-200 m/min for Ti6554 alloy.

Results and Discussion

Cutting temperature. The cutting temperature was monitored using an FLIR A40 infrared thermal
camera and ThermaCam® software was used to analyze the videos captured during the machining
trials. The maximum cutting temperature observed during the cutting trials is shown in Figure 2.
A general trend in the cutting temperatures can be noticed from Figure 2 for both the β alloys.
There is an increase in the cutting temperature with an increase in the cutting speed during
conventional machining (CM) and a decrease in the cutting temperatures with an increase in speed
during LAM. It is also noticed that the difference in temperatures between LAM and CM trials
decreases with increasing cutting speeds with a difference of about 50-150°C beyond 100 m/min
speed. This can be attributed to very short dwell times at high speeds as reported by Rahman Rashid et
al. [13].

Cutting forces. The cutting forces recorded by the force transducer (provided by PCB Peizotronics,
Inc.) were analyzed using the software, Scope®. The averages of the main cutting forces within the
cutting regime were calculated and are presented in Figure 3.
It can be observed from Figure 3 that during CM, the main cutting forces for both the alloys show
similar trends; an increase in force with an increase in speed below a certain cutting speed, and
 Advanced Materials Research Vol. 974 123

beyond these speeds a decrease in force with a subsequent increase in speed. Similar observations for
other titanium alloys has been reported by Sun et al. [14,15] and for other materials such as steels by
Mathew and Oxley [16]. Therefore, the peak of the main cutting force curve represents equilibrium
between the strain hardening and the thermal softening phenomena. The cutting temperatures
corresponding to this equilibrium cutting speed is about 800 ºC for both alloys.

Figure 2: Cutting temperatures during machining Ti1023 and Ti6554 alloys with/without laser

Figure 3: Main cutting forces during machiing Ti1023 and Ti6554 alloys with/without laser

Also, the cutting forces observed during CM of Ti6554 were higher than that observed for Ti1023
alloy. These higher cutting forces and a lower equilibrium cutting speed might be due to the relative
difficulty of Ti6554 β alloy to plastically deform during cutting (i.e. at very strain rates of the order of
103-107 Hz [17]) when compared with Ti1023 alloy, albeit these two alloys have similar mechanical
properties at room temperature [11,12].
During LAM (Figure 3), the application of the external heat source results in cutting temperatures
higher than the temperature (800°C) observed at equilibrium cutting speed. Thus, the strain hardening
is always dominated by the thermal softening of the workpiece during LAM. Furthermore, the cutting
takes place at lower cutting forces when compared to unassisted machining of the alloys at all cutting
speeds investigated. This is due to the result of significant decrease in mechanical strengths of these β
alloys at high cutting temperatures generated during laser preheating.
124 Material and Manufacturing Technology V

During LAM of Ti1023, a steep increase in the main cutting forces with an increase in the cutting
speed up till 50 m/min can be noticed, whereas during LAM of Ti6554, a gradual decrease in the main
cutting forces within the same cutting speed range is observed. Interestingly, the cutting temperatures
(Figure 2) below a cutting speed of 50 m/min are significantly similar for both the alloys. For this
reason, the difference in the response of these β alloys can either be attributed to the difference in the
interaction of the workpiece materials with the cutting tools during LAM or to a difference in the
formation of the chips.
Beyond a cutting speed of 50 m/min, the cutting forces remain constant during the LAM of Ti1023
as shown in Figure 3. On the other hand, the main cutting force during the LAM of Ti6554 is almost
constant between 50-125 m/min, and then on decreases with further increase in the cutting speeds.
Rahman Rashid et al. [12] reported that this decrease in the cutting forces was due to the rapid
development of tool wear which causes a sudden increase in the feed forces. However, it is unclear as
to why there is a constant force region beyond 50 m/min cutting speed for Ti1023 and between 50-125
m/min speeds for Ti6554 during LAM, in spite of the fact that there is additional thermal energy
supplied by the laser beam.
Chip formation. When comparing the chips formed during LAM of Ti1023 beta titanium alloy
from a cutting speed of 10.2 m/min until 50.4 m/min, it was found that the chip thicknesses increased
with an increase in cutting speed. However, beyond a cutting speed of 50.4 m/min, it was observed
that there is an insignificant difference in the thicknesses of the chips. This can possibly be the
explanation for the difference in the main cutting force curves for the Ti1023 and Ti6554 alloys
during LAM for cutting speeds below 50 m/min.
There is a discernible difference in the chip formation for the Ti1023 alloy during LAM at varying
cutting speeds. At a cutting speed of 10.7 m/min, the chips form in small semi-circles, as if they are
broken at regular intervals to avoid the formation of a curl whereas as the cutting speed increases to
25.2 m/min, small helical curled chips are formed. As the cutting speed increases further, the chips are
formed in long helical curls, due to an increase in metal removal rate [18].
The chips formed during LAM of Ti6554 beta titanium alloy are different to that of the Ti1023
chips. It can be noticed that at a cutting speed of 9.5 m/min, the chips are thick due to chip pile up.
However, as the cutting speed increases to 22.8 m/min, long semi-circular chips are formed. As the
cutting speed increases up to 53.8 m/min, the chips form in small helical curls, and with further
increases in cutting speed, longer helical curled chips are formed.

Conclusion
A detailed investigation of the cutting characteristics of two β titanium alloys, Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al and
Ti-6Cr-5Mo-5V-4Al during machining with and without laser assistance has been conducted. It was
found that Ti1023 workpiece responded to laser assisted machining better than the Ti6554 workpiece.
The differences in the machinabilities of these workpieces can be attributed to either the poor
machinability of the Ti6554 workpiece at high strain rates when compared with the Ti1023
workpiece, or severe interaction between the workpiece-tool-chip interfaces for the Ti6554 alloy than
compared with Ti1023 alloy.

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Defence Materials Technology Centre
(DMTC) and the Queensland Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing
(AMPAM). The DMTC was established and is supported under the Australian Government’s
Defence Future Capability Technology Centres Programme.
 Advanced Materials Research Vol. 974 125

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