Tool Wear and Surface Integrity Analysis of Machined Heat Treated Selective Laser Melted Ti-6Al-4V

In this study, the tool wear and surface integrity during machining of wrought and Selective Laser Melted (SLM) titanium alloy (after heat treatment) are studied. Face turning trails were carried out on both the materials at different cutting speeds of 60,120 and 180 m/min. Cutting tools and machined specimens collected are characterized using scanning electron microscope, surface profiler and optical microscope to study the tool wear, machined surface quality and machining induced microstructural alterations. It was found that high cutting speeds lead to rapid tool wear during machining of SLM Ti-6Al-4V materials. Rapid tool wear observed at high cutting speeds in machining SLM Ti-6Al-4V resulted in damaging the surface integrity by 1) Deposition of chip/work material on the machined surface giving rise to higher surface roughness and 2) Increasing the depth of plastic deformation on the machined sub surface.