Grinding Titanium
Grinding Titanium
(OP)
Has anyone had any experience with grinding Titanium. I need to remove material on some very thin 6al-4v. We have tried milling but we are tearing the corners. If you can grind it, is there a recommended wheel, grit , coolant,etc. Thanks all.





RE: Grinding Titanium
Wheel Grinding
Selection of wheel, wheel speed, and fluid is important. For hard wheel grinding, vitrified bonded wheels are the most effective. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) wheels give good results when limited to grinding speeds of 10 m/s (2000 sfm) or less. Silicon carbide (SiC) wheels can be used at 20 to 30 m/s (4000 to 6000 sfm) if higher speeds are desirable. A feed of about 0.025 mm/pass (0.001 in./pass) is generally suitable for all wheels. Abrasive grit size of 60 to 80 and wheel hardness medium grades J to L are commonly used.
The workpiece can be flooded with standard grinding oils. Water-soluble nitrite amine solutions (rust inhibitors) also work well with aluminum oxide wheels. Silicon carbide wheels, however, operate best with sulfochlorinated grinding oils. Complete flooding of the workpiece minimizes the possibility of fire. A 10% solution of nitride rust inhibitor in water eliminates the risk of fire but is less effective than oil with SiC wheels. Water-soluble oils are also useful but are less effective.
RE: Grinding Titanium
Our grinding normally removes a total of about 0.010" of metal from the blanks.
RE: Grinding Titanium
here is a link to a TRIM Technical Bulletin on this subject that should provide additional background
http:
A.R. "Andy" Nelson
Engineering Consultant
anelson@arnengineering.com