FINISH MILLING STUDY OF Ti-6Al-4V PRODUCED BY LASER METAL DEPOSITION (LMD)

Abstract

Components produced and repaired by the Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) process require finishmachining steps in order to improve the poor geometrical tolerance of the functional surfaces. In this work, the LMD process was conducted to build up samples from Ti-6Al-4V powders. The effect of the face milling process on surface roughness of the Ti-6Al-4V parts was studied in different build directions. The effect of the heat treatment was also considered. Changes in roughness and micro-hardness were evaluated and compared in each condition. Cutting forces were also measured in order to evaluate loading characteristic on the cutting insert. The heat-treated sample shows lower cutting forces in comparison with the as-build material. Different values of the surface roughness of the machined parts were obtained as a consequence of the microstructure variation.

Machinability Analysis of Finish-Turning Operations for Ti6Al4V Tubes Fabricated by Selective Laser Melting

“…The roughness of the machined surfaces of the SLMed parts was lower, the reason being that higher hardness reduced the ductility, and thus limited lateral plastic flow of the peaks on the machined surface. In the study of Kallel et al [13], the machinability of Ti6Al4V fabricated by laser metal deposition (LMD) was investigated. A similar trend in the cutting force was found; there was a 10-40% increment of force when cutting the LMDed materials.…”