SURFACE INTEGRITY OF HIGH-SPEED FACE MILLED Ti-6Al-4V ALLOY WITH PCD TOOLS

This study is focused on the machined surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools under wet milling condition. The surface integrity in terms of surface roughness, surface topography, microhardness, microstructure, and metallurgical alternations is investigated. The observations and conclusions are primarily focused on the effect of cutting speed (250–2,000 m/min) on the surface and subsurface of the machined Ti-6Al-4V. Experimental results show that machined surface integrity of Ti-6Al-4V alloy is sensitive to the variation of cutting speeds. Obvious machining (feed) marks can be found on the machined surfaces. Micro hardness examinations showed 5–20% hardening of the top machined surfaces than the bulk material. The analyses of microstructure and metallurgical alternations reveal that slight subsurface microstructure alteration such as plastic deformation on the subsurface and no phase transformation were observed. The evolution of crystallographic texture induced by the intense plastic deformation of the machined surface should be responsible for the modifications of the peak intensity radios in XRD patterns as well as higher peak broadening crystal structures.