Comparative analysis of the cutting performances of SiAlON ceramic, cubic boron nitride and carbide cutting tools for titanium machining

Abstract The efficiency of machining operation is partly a function of the cutting parameters, such as the cutting speed, depth of cut and cutting feed rate. With an effective cutting performance of any cutting tool, manufacturing industries will remain competitive and hence strive to meet the dynamic service and functional requirements expected of the material. Hence, the purpose of this research is to experimentally perform a comparative analysis of the cutting performances of SiAlON, a ceramic alloy consisting of the elements: silicon, aluminium, oxygen and nitrogen; cubic boron nitride (CBN) and carbide cutting tools, during a titanium machining process. A face milling operation was performed on a computer numerical control (CNC) milling machine from these three different types of cutting tools, for the determination of the cutting forces, cutting temperatures, cutting vibrations produced and the surface roughness, achieved during the machining of titanium (Ti-6Aℓ-4 V) alloy. The response surface methodology was adopted for the possible combination of the cutting parameters for the determination of the practical experimental results of the cutting responses.