Study of the effect of oxygen level on tool wear in machining Ti-6Al-4V

During machining, tools and work pieces are exposed to high thermomechanical loads. Consequently, it is known that oxidation wear is determined by the choice of tool and workpiece combination. However, machining in an oxygen-free atmosphere, is not known. For this purpose, a method was developed to investigate the influence of oxygen in an XHV adequate atmosphere. The investigations show a significant influence of the oxygen content on the mechanical loads and the surface integrity of the workpiece when machining Ti-6Al-4 V with uncoated cemented carbide. Machining in an oxygen-free atmosphere resulted in significantly less tool wear, which increased the tool life by 170%.