Abstract
Tool wear is a significant issue for the application of micro end mills. This can be significantly improved by coating materials on tool surfaces. This paper investigates the effects of different coating materials on tool wear in the micro milling of Ti-6Al-4V. A series of cutting experiments were conducted. The tool wear and workpiece surface morphology were investigated by analyzing the wear of the end flank surface and the total cutting edge. It was found that, without coating, serious tool wear and breakage occurred easily during milling. However, AlTiN-based and AlCrN-based coatings could highly reduce cutting edge chipping and flank wear. Specifically, The AlCrN-based coated mill presented less fracture resistance. For TiN coated micro end mill, only slight cutting edge chipping occurred. Compared with other types of tools, the AlTiN-based coated micro end mill could maximize tool life, bringing about an integrated cutting edges with the smallest surface roughness. In short, the AlTiN-based coating material is recommended for the micro end mill in the machining of Ti-6Al-4V.
Highlights
Micro end milling has many advantages in high-accuracy and high-efficiency machining and is capable of machining small complex structures with various materials at micro- and meso-scales compared with other micro machining methods [1,2]
This paper aims to investigate the effects of different coating materials on cutting performance in the micro milling of Ti-6Al-4V
This paper investigates the effects of coating materials on the cutting performance of micro end mills
Summary
Micro end milling has many advantages in high-accuracy and high-efficiency machining and is capable of machining small complex structures with various materials at micro- and meso-scales compared with other micro machining methods [1,2]. Tool life is a significant issue for the application of micro end mills. Problems such as cutting edge chipping, abrasive wear, and fatigue fracture occur [3], especially in the machining of difficult-to-cut aerospace alloy Ti-6Al-4V, resulting in very short tool life. The hard coatings on cutting tools greatly helps to reduce tool wear and increase tool life. Applying hard coatings to micro end mills is a suitable method to extend tool life and improve the machining quality
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