Aerospace alloys such as titanium alloys and superalloys are known as difficult-to-cut materials due to their advanced strength and low thermal conductivity, which leads to accumulation of high temperature in cutting zone while machining with conventional processes. In addition to these properties, chemical affinity of alloying elements results in an accelerated wear behavior in cutting tools by the effect of elevated cutting temperatures during machining operations. Continuous chip formation is another issue in machining of aerospace alloys because this deficiency results in different kinds of problems such as increased cutting forces, elevated cutting temperatures, poor surface quality, and excessive wear of cutting tools. In order to overcome these drawbacks, various strategies and techniques are adapted to material removal or metal cutting operations of difficult-to-cut materials. This chapter summarizes some of the advanced strategies i.e., assisted machining where vibration and heat assistance in conventional machining of aerospace alloys are mainly focused. As a recently developed cutting technique, hot vibration-assisted machining is also discussed for aerospace-grade alloys.

Click for details.