Comparison between the machinability of different titanium alloys (Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–6Al–7Nb) employing the multi-objective optimization

Abstract

Titanium and its alloys are amongst the most important metallic materials used by many industries, such as those pertaining to the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical sectors. This is due to the reliability and functionality of titanium components, in addition to their high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. Thus, titanium and its alloys are of great importance to the challenging operations of these sectors. The manufacturing of titanium requires great accuracy to ensure that resulting products meet quality requirements, due to its difficult machinability. In this study, the cutting forces and surface roughness of the turning were analysed to compare different titanium alloys, Ti–6Al–4V and Ti–6Al–7Nb, with CVD-coated and uncoated inserts. The effect of control factors on the response variables was measured using ANOVA. Response surface methodology was applied to the creation of a model of responses and to a bi-objective optimization process via the normalized normal constraint method. The Pareto-optimal sets of both alloys were achieved, which may be applied to practical situations to achieve optimal results for these responses. The models and optimization results confirmed the similarity of machinability values between the Ti–6Al–4 V and Ti–6Al–7Nb alloys. The uncoated inserts yielded the best surface roughness and cutting force results when used with both titanium alloys.