Research on the Characteristics of Chips and Tool Flank Wear in High-speed Rotary Ultrasonic Elliptical Machining for Side Milling of Ti-6Al-4V

For the difficult-to-cut material titanium alloy, as the cutting speed increases in the traditional milling method, the cutting force and the cutting temperature increase rapidly, which deteriorate cutting conditions and accelerate tool wear resulting in premature tool failure and poor machining quality. The ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting technology is introduced into high-speed milling, and then the high-speed rotary ultrasonic elliptical machining for side milling (UEVM) of Ti-6Al-4V is carried out. The effects of high-speed ultrasonic elliptical vibration milling parameter matching on titanium alloy machining are studied from two aspects of chip characteristics and tool flank wear. Firstly, based on the kinematics of tool-work in high-speed ultrasonic elliptical vibration milling, the matching relationship between milling parameters and vibration parameters is derived. Then, the verification cutting tests with different parameter matching relationship are carried out by using the ultrasonic elliptical vibration milling device developed by our laboratory. The test results show that high-speed ultrasonic elliptical machining for side Milling can achieve separate-type cutting through reasonable matching of cutting parameters and vibration parameters, making it possible to apply the rotary ultrasonic elliptical vibration milling method in the high-speed range. Compared with common milling, the separate-type high-speed ultrasonic elliptical vibration milling can obtain finer chips and cutting heat is easy to be taken away; in addition, tool flank wear become more even and slowly due to better cutting condition, which can prolong the service life of milling tool and effectively increase production efficiency. © 2019 Journal of Mechanical Engineering.