The State of the Art in Machining Additively Manufactured Titanium Alloy Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract

Titanium alloys are extensively used in various industries due to their excellent corrosion resistance and outstanding mechanical properties. However, titanium alloys are difficult to machine due to their low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity with tool materials. In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of titanium components produced by additive manufacturing (AM) for a range of high-value applications in aerospace, biomedical, and automotive industries. The machining of additively manufactured titanium alloys presents additional machining challenges as the alloys exhibit unique properties compared to their wrought counterparts, including increased anisotropy, strength, and hardness. The associated higher cutting forces, higher temperatures, accelerated tool wear, and decreased machinability lead to an expensive and unsustainable machining process. The challenges in machining additively manufactured titanium alloys are not comprehensively documented in the literature, and this paper aims to address this limitation. A review is presented on the machining characteristics of titanium alloys produced by different AM techniques, focusing on the effects of anisotropy, porosity, and post-processing treatment of additively manufactured Ti-6Al-4V, the most commonly used AM titanium alloy. The mechanisms resulting in different machining performance and quality are analysed, including the influence of a hybrid manufacturing approach combining AM with conventional methods. Based on the review of the latest developments, a future outlook for machining additively manufactured titanium alloys is presented.

Corrosion and Tribological Studies on Additively Manufactured Gyroid Ti-6Al-4V with Varied Porosity Percentage for Orthopaedic Application

“…Since sample C has thicker struts than samples A and B, it is structurally more stable with regard to the point of contact. Due to this circumstance, sample C has a lower wear rate than the other two samples in the lubrication condition (27) .…”

Surface Quality and Material Removal Rate in Fabricating Microtexture on Tungsten Carbide via Femtosecond Laser

“…Tungsten carbide (WC) tools are the most widely used cutters in different metal-cutting processes [ 1 , 2 ] due to their exceptional mechanical properties such as high hardness, good abrasive resistance, and heat endurance [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. However, with the advance of material engineering and additive manufacturing technology, many new alloys are being developed, and the high temperatures [ 6 ] and dynamic loads [ 7 , 8 , 9 ] in cutting these advanced alloys lead to severe adhesive–abrasive wear on the tool surface [ 10 , 11 ]. Therefore, new surface treatments of tungsten carbide tools are required to enhance their performance.…”

Experimental Investigations of Using Aluminum Oxide (Al2O3) and Nano-Graphene Powder in the Electrical Discharge Machining of Titanium Alloy

“…Owing to excellent properties like higher resistance to corrosion, light weight, and biocompatibility, Ti6Al4V is one of the most used titanium alloys in various sectors [1,2]. Thus, Ti6Al4V is largely used in various automotive parts, aerospace components, biomedical devices, and several other sectors, such as the oil and gas, marine, energy, and infrastructure sectors [3][4][5].…”