Hot Ultrasonically Assisted Turning of β-Ti Alloy

Ultrasonically assisted turning (UAT) is an advanced machining technique, in which vibration with frequency in excess of 20 kHz is superimposed on the cutting tool's movement. This novel machining technique has been shown to result in a multi-fold reduction in cutting forces with a concomitant improvement in surface finish in processing of modern alloys. Hot machining, in which a metallic workpiece material is softened by the application of an external heat source, was used in the past to reduce cutting forces in the processing of hard-to-cut materials. In this work, a new hybrid machining technique called Hot Ultrasonically Assisted Turning (HUAT) is introduced for the machining of a β-Ti alloy. In this technique, UAT is combined with hot machining to achieve combined advantages of both techniques in machining of intractable alloys. The benefits of HUAT are demonstrated in terms of reduction in cutting forces and improvement in surface finish.