TITANIUM MACHINING
W
AeroDef Panel Targets Star Wars Technology
hile titanium machining is critical for aerospace and defense today, what will A&D parts manufac- turing look like tomorrow? Look no further than
your favorite Star Wars and Star Trek movie. From robots that assist pilots, as R2D2 did for Luke Skywalker, or “di- rected energy” that allowed the Star Fleet crew to set their phasers to stun, or hypersonic space travel like the “warp speed” of the good starship Enterprise, tomorrow’s A&D technology may look eerily familiar. Those technologies will be part of “The Next 100 Years of Air Force Manufacturing Technology,” a panel to be held March 7 at AeroDef Manu- facturing at the Fort Worth (TX) Convention Center. Hypersonic technology that allows missiles to fly faster than Mach 5 is close to reality. “The US Air Force is looking for game changers—things that can make for an unfair fight in our favor,” said John D. Russell, technical director, Manufacturing and Industrial Technologies Division, Air Force Research Laboratory, and moderator of the AeroDef panel discussion. Hypersonics is one of those game changers. “There is talk of standing up a new program to acquire a hypersonic cruise missile by 2020,” said Russell. “Be- yond that, by 2050 we’d like to evolve from cruise missiles
on tool entry and exit, he said. “You don’t want a 0° lead angle where you are smacking straight into the part, going from no force to full force on the cutting edge and the reverse on exiting the part. You want to feed in and out with a 45° lead angle or use chamfers.”
For cutting titanium and high-temperature alloys, Mitsubishi Materials’ VQ Smart Miracle endmills have an (Al,Cr) N coat- ing developed with “Hyper Arc Activation” technology. The addition of chromium makes the coating ideal for titanium. “It incorporates features like a variable angle helix in the cutting edge to prevent chatter,” said Kinnemann. “The gullet shape, in conjunction with a smooth, ZERO µ surface, helps curl and form the chip more efficiently. Through-coolant holes target the cutting edge.” He noted that the company’s iMX exchangeable head endmill series, also for titanium and other alloys, offers a wide range of geometries with 4, 6 and 12-flute options. To successfully tap titanium alloys, speed recommenda-
tions are critical and will result in tap failure and/or shortened tap life if not followed, according to Mark Hatch, product director at Emuge Corp. (West Boylston, MA). “We recom-
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to high-flying UAVs that collect intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance data, and ultimately have a hyperson- ic manned vehicle that provides quick access to space.” Heat-resistant materials and the supplier base that makes them will be crucial to that effort, Russell noted. “Because of the high heat, you need to look at exotic materials, and the more exotic the material, the smaller the industrial base,” he said. “The question becomes how do we make sure suppliers have the capability to make some- thing at all, and then determine if they are able to make it in mass quantities.” Directed energy involves creating an energy-based weapon. “It’s about size, weight and power; how do you shrink something down to fit in a pod on an airplane yet has adequate power to damage the target?” said Russell. In addition to electronics, required technologies include optical coatings, thermal management, and materials. Autonomy focuses on how robots can help pilots fly planes and help manufacturers create more efficient pro- cesses. “One focus is how a computer can assist pilots, like R2D2 did for Luke Skywalker,” said Russell. “It’s also about how to eliminate the cage around the robot on the factory floor so that it can augment what a human is doing.”
mend a tapping speed of 10–13 sfm [3–4 m/min], both turn- ing into the tapped hole and exiting out of the tapped hole.” Emuge has two taps for cutting threads in titanium.
Through-hole applications use the Emuge Rekord C-Ti series tap, with an 8–10° left-hand spiral flute designed for right-hand cutting in through holes. It has a 4-5 thread chamfer as well as face rake and relief characteristics. Blind-hole applications use the Emuge Rekord D-Ti, with a 10-15° right-hand spiral flute designed for right-hand threads. It has a 2-3 thread chamfer in addition to face rake and relief characteristics. “Our C-Ti and D-Ti taps have new High Relief Geometry (HRG), which increases space between the friction surfaces for enhanced lubrication and reduced torque load in both for- ward and reverse direction,” said Hatch. “HRG counteracts the high compressive forces produced by the extreme elastic memory of titanium.”
Remaining Challenges
While machining titanium is easier than it was 10 years ago, challenges remain, according to DMG Mori’s Wallace.
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