Progress of tool wear during machining of titanium

In a machining system of tool and workpiece the specific forces and temperatures generated are very high in the very small contact area between the tool and workpiece. This gives rise to a high tool wear due to thermal deformation and abrasive nature of the material.;In order to minimize the tool wear and improve the surface quality two things can be done either to provide a fresh edge to cut every time and/or to provide sufficient quantity of cutting fluid to take away the heat generated. This can be achieved with a self-propelled rotary tool with minimal amount of cutting fluid usage.;Rotary cutting tool is a cutting tool in form of a disk that rotates about its axis in a specially designed tool holder. Although numerous types of rotary tools are available as per the job requirements however all of them can be broadly classified in two categories: Driven and Self-Propelled. Both of these tools have specific advantages and disadvantages but self-propelled rotary tools are generally preferred over the later for simplicity in design.;In the current research work the performance of the self-propelled rotary tool during machining operation is studied and various parameters governing the cutting mechanism are monitored. The basic goal of the study is to test the functionality of the tool during machining titanium. For this purpose a number of tests were carried out while varying cutting parameters such as feed and speed. During these tests forces generated during cutting were recorded and analyzed. Surface roughness values of the machined parts were assessed. It was found that the recorded values are within the specified values by industry.;Finally and most importantly the modes of tool wear were analyzed under each cutting condition and the progress of tool wear was measured. During the tests no crater wear was reported and only flank wear was observed. As it was expected the tool wear was evenly distributed over the entire edge of the circular cutting tool.