Machinability Investigation in Dry Turning of Ti–6al–4v With a Novel Tib2-based Cermet Tool Using Response Surface Methodology

Abstract To ensure accuracy and improve the processing efficiency of Ti–6Al–4V alloys, dry turning experiment of Ti–6Al–4V was carried out using a novel TiB2-based cermet tool. The tool was reinforced by nanoscale VC additive and exhibited excellent hardness and fracture toughness.Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used in the experiment to verify andevaluatethe cutting performance ofTiB2-based cermet tool.The cutting forces and machined surface roughness (Ra) were selected as the optimization objective. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to find out the effective machining parameters on response factorsand demonstrate correctness of the models. It was found that theeffective factor on surface roughness was feed rate, while cutting depth significantly affected cutting forces.And the confirmation experiments showedthat the predicted values were in good agreement with experimental values. Based on the optimized cutting parameters, the tool life was measured and tool wear mechanismwasinvestigated. When the vc, apandfwere 100 mm/min, 0.16 mm, 0.1 mm/rev respectively for Ra optimization, the cutting length and tool lifecould reach to 3233 m and 29.4 min, respectively, due to the excellentwear resistance and stability of TiB2-based cermet tool at high cutting temperature. In this case, the main wear mechanism was adhesive wear and diffusion wear.