Some foreign cutting tool companies have experienced years of development and have relatively mature product processing solutions in many key areas, such as the automotive industry, energy industry, aerospace industry, medical industry and mold industry. Some domestic enterprises started late, but developed rapidly. Their products are gradually applied to various industries, and they can also provide excellent solutions for enterprises. The solutions for parts in different fields are described below.
(This article is selected from Chapter 10, Section 3, Aerospace Parts Processing Solutions of "Guidelines for Selection of CNC Tooling")
4. Walter's customized solutions for the aviation industry
The demand for titanium alloy materials in the aviation industry is growing day by day, and experts predict that it will increase by an average of 20% in the next five years. This will be a game-changer for fabs, as processing titanium alloys often requires long machine run times. Walter supports its customers in the aerospace industry with new tools and comprehensive component knowledge, with the aim of machining titanium components in an efficient, cost-effective and time-saving manner.
The aircraft manufacturing industry uses a large number of titanium alloys, especially high-stress components, and titanium alloy materials are widely used. Parts such as door frames, landing gear mounting brackets, and wing attachments typically have high machining volumes, requiring a significant amount of machining in the process that far exceeds machining of the finished part. This is mainly due to the large number of dimples in monolithic forgings. The wall or bottom surface of various deep and shallow dimples, 5-axis dimples, and rectangular dimples are often very thin, so it is difficult to mill, and strict requirements are placed on the processing technology of these components. Indexable inserts and solid carbide milling cutters can achieve a comprehensive trade-off. The focus is on process reliability, since these components are very expensive. At the same time, the cost pressure of the market has led to the demand for high processing performance and production efficiency.
Usually when machining titanium alloy materials, the material has a low thermal conductivity and is prone to vibrations, so a rigid machine concept and optimized cutting edge preparation are required.
The processing experts of Walter Aerospace Industry in Tübingen, Germany can provide customers with customized processes with the highest processing efficiency. The key here is to perfectly match the process to the machine type and capacity. For example, lower performance machine tools can be used to achieve maximum output. Simulate and verify the processing procedures before handover, so that users can know the efficiency, economy or reliability of processing.
1. Typical tests of aluminum alloys Since the aerospace industry has few real test parts directly available and no large-scale components, Walter's experts usually use ordinary parts to prove the performance of each generation of its tool products. This component is made of commercially available Ti6Al4V (3.7164) material. Walter experts design parts with a variety of typical dimple shapes that are identical or similar to those on the actual part. That is to say, the processing results can be transferred to each other.
The plan is a four-in-one tool: the M3255 tangential corn mill, the M4002 high-feed face mill (roughing operation), the Ti40 solid carbide face mill and the modular Ti50 interchangeable head ConeFit milling cutters (semi-finishing and finishing operations). This is a combination that might actually be needed in real life, for example when machining landing gear mounting brackets. They designed two kinds of solid carbide tool coatings and macro-grooves and micro-grooves specifically for titanium alloy machining. The M3255 and M4002 milling cutters feature indexable inserts made of Walter's new WSM45X cutting tool material. The most suitable coatings for ISO S and ISO M applications are CVD coatings, which are very strong.
The following example illustrates the machining rate and tool life when machining a pocket of a common part.
(1) M3255 tangent corn milling cutter (D=50mm, z=5) WSM45X.
Rough machining: Dimple 274mm×120mm×74mm, vc=40 m/min, fz=0.15 mm/z, ap=37.0mm (level 2), ae=30.0mm (concentric toolpath).
Results: The processing volume is 212cm3/min, and the service life of the tool: 70min (t/dimple: 14min).
(2) Ti50ConeFitPrototyp (D = 25mm, z = 5) solid carbide can replace the head. Semi-finishing and finishing: dimple 274mm×120mm×74mm, vc=90 m/min, fz=0.1mm/z, ap=16.0～22.0mm (variable), ae=3.7mm (semi-finishing), 0.3 mm (finishing).
Results: The processing volume is 33cm3/min, and the service life of the tool is 60 minutes (t/dimple: 14min).
(3) M4002 large feed face milling cutter (D=50mm, z=5) WSM45X.
Rough machining: Dimple 254mm×127mm×42mm, vc=60m/min, fz=0.7mm/z, ap=1.5mm, ae=50mm.
Result: Processing capacity 93cm3/min, tool life 40min (t/dimple: 10min)
CNC tool selection guide
"Guide to Selection of CNC Tools" is compiled by Metal Processing Magazine, Harbin University of Science and Technology, and published by Machinery Industry Press. It is positioned to guide the front-line technical staff of manufacturing companies on how to choose and use CNC tools reasonably. reference book.
This book introduces the selection points and typical examples of modern CNC tools such as turning tools, milling tools, and hole processing tools by category, integrating practicability, advancement and guidance. In the book, there is a chapter dedicated to the overall solution of cutting tools in typical industries, and a large number of practical application cases are introduced according to the processing characteristics of different industries. It can be directly used as a reference for enterprises to purchase and use CNC tools, and can also be used as a training and reference book for machining practitioners.
