An Experimental and Numerical Approach to Study the Performance of Modified Perforated Cutting Tools on Machining of Ti–6Al–4V Alloy

Abstract

In this research, the main aim is to reduce the unfavorable effects that occurred during machining of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy by perforating the rake face and the flank face of the cutting insert. The main novelty in this research is that machining of Ti–6Al–4V alloy with the micro-hole textured insert helps in the improvement of tribological properties and also reduces cutting temperature at chip–tool interface with proper lubricating effect. To validate the micro-hole textured tools, it is compared with conventionally available insert. The deformation of Ti–6Al–4V alloy with modified cutting inserts was simulated, considering tool as rigid body and workpiece as elasto-plastic material. DEFORM 3D software was used for the simulation of the machining process with the updated Lagrangian formulation. To predict the cutting temperature and chip morphology, the thermo-mechanical analysis was applied using Johnson–Cook material model for the machining process. The turning of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy was carried out with the modified polycrystalline diamond (PCD) cutting inserts (Design 1 and Design 2) and commercially available PCD insert (normal insert). Coconut oil was used as a micro-pool lubricant during the machining process under minimum quantity lubrication environment. In the present work, the turning performance characteristics such as cutting temperature, cutting vibration, tool wear, chip morphology and surface integrity were measured during machining of the Ti–6Al–4V alloy. The experimental results of cutting temperature and chip morphology were validated with the simulation results with better accuracy. The machining results of Design 2 cutting insert showed maximum reduction of 30%, 38%, 45% and 35% in cutting temperature, cutting vibration, tool wear and surface roughness, respectively, when compared with machining under normal insert and Design 1 cutting insert. It is also evident from the results that machining with Design 2 cutting insert significantly improved the process performance of the product quality at higher feed rates.