Machining of Ti-6Al-4V ELI Alloy: A brief review

Abstract

Ti-6Al-4V ELI has similar properties as of Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5) except it has higher ductility as well as improved fracture toughness. It has the ability to withstand high temperature without losing properties, highly corrosion endurance and high strength to weight ratio. So it’s widely applicable in biomedical implants, aerospace industry, military application, automobile component and high pressure cryogenic vessels. During the machining of the titanium alloys, a lot of machining difficulty occurs due to its hardness, chemical reaction take place between tool and machine workpiece, high amount of heat generated at cutting zone. Cutting speed and cutting feed are predominant factors for cutting tool wear as well as the finished quality of the surface. Mainly flank wear (adhesion), notch wear and crater wear (diffusion) are identified during the machining. Cutting temperature indirectly influenced the surface quality of machined surface and tool wear. The high cutting speed with low feed rate is a most favourable combination for cutting force. For cutting insert, performance tool coating plays a significant role and coated inserts performed better than the uncoated tool at various cutting conditions. Machining under minimum quality lubrication is more favourable than flooded and dry scenario.