On the turning of electron beam melted gamma-TiAl with coated and uncoated tools: A machinability analysis

Electron beam melting (EBM) is one of the promising technologies with the capability of producing complex near-net shapes from difficult to process materials such as titanium alloys. However, the parts produced from the EBM process suffer from the poor surface quality and machining is required to finish the EBM parts to achieve the necessary surface quality. Unlike the reported studies in the literature, the current study employs both uncoated, and PVD multi-coated (TiAlN/Al2O3/ZrCN) carbide inserts for the finishing of the electron beam melted gamma-TiAl (Ti-48Al-2Cr-2Nb) and compares the machinability performance to identify the suitable type of the tool and the corresponding machining conditions. The obtained results indicate that the performance of the uncoated inserts is far superior as compared to the coated inserts in terms of producing lower tool wear and cutting forces, improved surface finish and morphology, and less subsurface microstructural and hardness alterations. The poor performance of the coated inserts is due to the high-temperature accumulation at the tool-workpiece interface due to the thermal shielding effect of the coatings, leading to severe built-up layer formation resulting in cascading effect of higher cutting forces, tool wear and oxidation, and poor workpiece surface integrity.