Ultrasonic assisted electrolytic grinding of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract

Aiming at the development of a novel grinding technology for the high efficient machining of difficult to machine materials such as titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V, an ultrasonic assisted electrolytic grinding (UAEG) method was proposed. Firstly, an experimental apparatus was constructed by installing an electrolytic mechanism on an existing 3D CNC machine tool attached with an ultrasonic spindle. Then, after the performance test has been carried out for the constructed apparatus, UAEG experiments of Ti-6Al-4V specimen were conducted on the apparatus to investigate the effects of the ultrasonic vibration of grinding wheel and the electrolytic phenomenon on the grinding force and the work surface quality. The experimental results indicate that the ultrasonic assisted electrolytic grinding is greatly beneficial to the decrease in grinding force and the improvement in the work surface quality compared to conventional grinding.