Fundamental cutting properties in end-milling of tial alloy

Nickel based heat-resistant alloy such as the Inconel has generally been used as the jet-plane engine parts. In contrast, recently, a newly-developed TiAl alloy has been decided to use as the alternative material in the low-pressure turbine parts. TiAl alloy has the excellent properties that the specific weight is proximately half and the high temperature strength is the same level or exceed that of Inconel. Although TiAl alloy is predicted to represent the difficult-to-cut properties, even the fundamental properties such as the cutting force, the chip formation and the tool wear are almost not reported. In this study, the experiments in the end-milling of TiAl alloy were carried out in order to examine the fundamental cutting properties or the machinability. By the end-milling experiments, the machinability of TiAl alloy and Titanium alloy (Ti-6Al-4V) was compared. As a result, it is found in the end-milling of TiAl alloy that the cutting force and the tool wear are larger than that of Ti-6Al-4V and the discontinuous or brittle chips were formed.