Development of New Electro Deposited Diamond Tool and Its Compulsory Cooling System for High Speed Grinding of Titanium and Nickel Alloys

Abstract

Recently titanium alloys and nickel alloys have become eminent for making aeronautic and astronautic parts. Since both nickel alloys and titanium alloys have a very small thermal conductivity, the being used tool will suffer from a huge damage by heat generated during grinding process. Therefore, there is a requirement for a durable tool with excellent cooling capacity. In this research, a new electro-deposited diamond tool for high speed grinding of nickel alloys and titanium alloys was developed and evaluated. The new tool is a cup shaped end mill, its body is made from copper (due to its superior heat conduction characteristics) and the platting layer for bonding the diamond grains # 120 is nickel. The cooling system is an advancement of the former used heat pipe. Water is supplied from outside through a thin tube, that is integrated in the tool body. Thereby the effect of water evaporation, featuring a very large cooling capacity, could be applied. The assayed materials were Ti 6 A 14 V and Inconel 718. The grinding conditions were investigated by some preexperiments. It is concluded from the results that ; (1) The cooling capacity of the new tool using water evaporation is very effective to maintain the grinding potential of electro-deposited diamond tools, (2) The new tool is effective for high speed grinding of nickel alloys and titanium alloys, (3) The new tool and compulsory cooling system are economical and eco-friendly.