Tool wear analysis and improvement of cutting conditions using the high-pressure water-jet assistance when machining the Ti17 titanium alloy

• Tool life can be multiplied by 9 using the high-pressure water-jet assistance.
• Productivity can be increased by approximately 30% at the pressure of 100 bar.
• The increase of the cutting speed reduces the effectiveness of the water jet assistance.

This paper presents experimental results concerning the machinability of the titanium alloy Ti17 with and without high-pressure water jet assistance (HPWJA) using uncoated WC/Co tools. For this purpose, the influence of the cutting speed and the water jet pressure on the evolution of tool wear and cutting forces have been investigated. The cutting speed has been varied between 50 m/min and 100 m/min and the water jet pressure has been varied from 50 bar to 250 bar. The optimum water jet pressure has been determined, leading to an increase in tool life of approximately 9 times. Compared to conventional lubrication, an increase of about 30% in productivity can be obtained.