Abstract
Machine tools are the main source of electric power consumption in industrial operations. Thus, in manufacturing, energy-efficient and cleaner production methods are preferred to mitigate production costs. Titanium alloys are known for their poor machinability and are generally characterized by low tool life, high energy consumption and poor surface quality due to its unique physical and mechanical properties. This research aims to evaluate the tool wear rate (R) and the specific cutting energy (SCE) at varying cutting conditions by developing tool wear and energy maps using unified cutting tests. Uncoated H13A tools were used during single point turning of Ti-6Al-4V alloy by employing Full Factorial Design of Experiments. Based on experimental data, comprehensive process maps were developed for monitoring wear and energy data. These maps showed regions of (low moderate and high) wear and specific energy consumption. It was observed that while machining Ti-6Al4V alloy the recommended cutting condition (V=100 m/min and f =0.16 mm/rev) enhances the tool life and reduces energy consumption together with high material removal rate. It was also deduced that instead of low speed, using a higher speed of 125 m/min will increase MRR by 127 % and SCE by 16 %, which is more feasible in a production environment. From tool-chip contact length and chip morphology analysis, a strong correlation indicated the reason behind the occurrence of various zones on the maps. It has been found that high wear and energy zone occurred due to the larger contact length and higher chip compression ratio when machining at high speed. The developed maps can be used to help the manufacturers achieve the economic and energy-efficient goal of machining.