New cooling approach and tool life improvement in cryogenic machining of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V

Titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V, a difficult-to-machine material because of its extremely short tool life, has been a major subject for cryogenic machining research. However, the approaches reported in past publications are inherently flawed. This study reviews how the temperature affects Ti-6Al-4V properties, and compares different cryogenic cooling strategies. Based on these findings, a new economical cryogenic cooling approach is proposed. Using a minimum amount of liquid nitrogen (LN2), this innovation features a specially designed micro-nozzle. Formed between the chip breaker and the tool rake face, the nozzle lifts the chip and injects focused LN2 into the chip-tool interface at the point of highest temperature. As the nitrogen evaporates, a nitrogen cushion formed by evaporating nitrogen lowers the coefficient of friction between the chip and the tool. An auxiliary mini-nozzle that sprays LN2 onto the flank at the cutting edge further reduces the cutting temperature. The study finds that the combination of these two micro-nozzles provides the most effective cooling while using the lowest LN2 flow rate. Improving the position of the nozzle/chip breaker further enhances the performance. Our cryogenic machining tests show that tool life increases up to five times the state-of the-art emulsion cooling, outperforming other machining approaches. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.