Machining science is aimed at defining both cutting tools and machining conditions based on economic performance and to maintain workpiece surface integrity. Currently, machinists face a wide offer of turning, milling, drilling, and threading tools. Tools present a lot of similarities and light differences between them, being the latter the concealed reasons for a better or worse performance on difficult-to-cut alloys machining. However machinists had not useful methods for detecting which key tool aspects implies the best performance. The classic and expensive 'test-trial' method results non-viable due to the market exponential increase, both in size and specialization. This paper brings up an indirect method for seeking common features in the group of those tools with the best performance on machining Inconel 718. The method is divided into five stages, namely: (a) raw testing of a basic operation with a lot of commercial solutions for the same operation; (b) filtering of results to reduce the feasible solutions to a few ones, studying the common features of successful cases; (c) testing of these feasible solutions aimed at choosing the best insert or tool (d); and finally (e) full testing concerning all workpiece surface integrity issues. The proposed method provides knowledge based on the distilling of results, identifying carbide grades, chipbreakers shapes, and other features for having the best tool performance. All surface integrity effects are checked for the best solution. This new point of view is the only way for improving the difficult-to-cut alloys machining, reaching technical conclusions with industrial interest. This paper shows the method applied on Inconel 718 turning, resulting in a carbide grade with 10% cobalt, submicron grain size (0.5–0.8 µm) and hardness around 1760 HV, coating TiAlN monolayer with 3.5 µm thickness, chipbreaker giving 19° of rake angle that becomes 13° real one after insert is clamped on toolholder. Cutting edge radius after coating was 48 µm approximately. Cutting speed was 70 m/min higher in comparison with that recommended in handbooks.

In this article, a new method for the rapid and economical production of 'nutless' bolted joins is presented, using a combination of two hole-making techniques, namely, form drilling and form tapping. The combined method achieves a quick way for the production of threaded holes on couples of dissimilar metal alloys, as it is the case of steels and aluminium alloys. After the simultaneous form drilling on the aluminium-steel pairs and followed by form tapping, a fastener can be introduced and screwed for achieving a tight bolted joint, without any necessity of nut. However, form drilling and threading are performed consecutively in the same machine tool, reducing the whole process time. The process parameters were studied for reducing the gap between surfaces and producing a good cup for making the posterior threading. Then, mechanical testing of several test pieces resulted in a similar behaviour than traditional bolted joints. Finally, corrosion tests were performed for a better understanding of the joint manufactured. In this way, savings in time and money are derived from the application of the approach. Target markets for the new approach are the light boilermaking industry in order to eliminate either welding beads or classical bolted joints using nuts.

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