Dynamics of chip formation during orthogonal cutting of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V

Polished and etched disks of titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V were machined in a series of continuous and interrupted orthogonal cutting tests on a specially adapted lathe. A high-speed imaging system with a microscope lens and strobed copper-vapour laser illumination system enabled direct observation of the chip formation zone at a recording rate of 24,000 frames/s. The chip formation cycle was recorded for cutting speeds from 4 to 140 m/min. Segmented chips were observed throughout. Image analysis of the recorded video sequences examined the resulting chip segment geometry, the segmentation frequency and the critical strain required to initiate shear band formation.