Titanium machining with new plasma boronized cutting tools

Abstract

Titanium is a commonly used material in various critical applications such as aerospace and biomedical applications. In this article, for the first time in the literature, development and implementation of a novel plasma boronizing process on Tungsten Carbide (WC) cutting tools is introduced. Plasma boronizing on WC tools is performed with gas combination of 10% BF3, 40% Argon and 50% H-2 at different temperatures and durations. Performance enhancements of plasma boronized WC tools on Titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) machining are investigated under various cutting conditions. It is found that new plasma boronizing of WC is a very cost effective solution for significantly increasing tool life in Titanium machining. (C) 2010 CIRP.