Machining of Titanium

[49078]

I remember being told in first year of university that Titanium was very difficult to machine. I was told the reason was because of the low thermal conductivity of the titanium caused the heat to be transferred into the cutting tool and therefore limiting the lifetime of the tool.

However, I just happened to see a list of thermal conductivity of various materials. Ti(non-alloyed) had a value of 17W/(m*K), alloyed Ti = 7W/(m*K), and I noticed SS304 had a thermal conductivity of 16W/(m*K).

I have never worked with Ti, and I expected the difference to be much greater than this if it was the cause of such problems machining. My question is simply, is this the cause of the difficulties machining Ti as I was told, or is there better explanation?

 

[metengr]

The following link has been used in this forum in the past. It provides access to an excellent handbook on design and fabrication of Ti alloys for industrial applications. Very useful information, and it should be able to answer your question on machining;

http://www.timet.com/Index2_content.html