TC4 titanium alloy has been widely used in aviation and aerospace industry because of its excellent comprehensive mechanical properties. However
the high plasticity and low thermal conductivity of TC4 lead to pronounced tool-chip adhesion
which is a key factor restricting the improvement of its milling performance. In this paper
a longitudinal-bending hybrid ultrasonic vibration assisted milling method is proposed to improve the milling performance of TC4
through the reduction of tool-chip adhesion accompanied by the controllable intermittent cutting realized by individually controlling the amplitude and phase of longitudinal and bending ultrasonic vibration of the cutting tool. Firstly
the kinematics principle of longitudinal-bending hybrid ultrasonic vibration assisted milling is analyzed theoretically. Based on this
the longitudinal-bending hybrid ultrasonic vibration tool is designed and manufactured. After assembly of the vibration tool with the high-speed spindle
the radial runout of the milling tool is less than 20μm. Then
a three-axis linkage equipment of longitudinal-bending hybrid ultrasonic vibration assisted milling is established
with which the vibration-assisted milling experiments of TC4 are carried out
and the experimental results are characterized and analyzed. The experimental results show that the applying of longitudinal-bending hybrid ultrasonic vibration to conventional milling effectively reduces the cutting force
the burr generation and the tool wear
while improving the surface machining quality
which demonstrate the feasibility of applying the longitudinal-bending hybrid ultrasonic vibration assisted milling in improving the milling performance of TC4 titanium alloy.