Evaluation of tool wear in end milling of Ti-6A1-4V alloy using cutting force analysis - Relationship between cutting force and tool wear on various cutting conditions

Titanium alloys arc applied in various industrial applications due to their high specific strength and corrosion resistance. However, these alloys are well known as poor machinability materials, and tool life in end milling of these alloys was shorter than that of carbon steel. Severe tool wear may result in unacceptable precision and surface roughness of a workpiece. In order to reduce machining cost and improve quality of workpiece, monitoring or prediction of tool wear is one of the important techniques. The purpose of this study is to find out parameters to evaluate tool wear, and wc focused on cutting force at perpendicular to tool flank. End milling of Ti-6A1-4V alloy was carried out on various cutting conditions to examine influence of cutting force on tool wear. As a result, flank wear tend to be decreased with decreasing cutting force at perpendicular to tool flank. It was proposed that cutting force had a potential to become available parameters for evaluating tool wear in end milling of Ti-6A1-4V alloy.