Experimental Study on the Performance in Milling Operations of Inconel® 718 With TiN/TiAlN-Coated Tools

Abstract

The Inconel® 718 alloy presents superior mechanical properties, which is why it is considered a difficult-to-machine material. To improve the milling process performance, multilayer TiN/TiAlN-coated tools were deposited by Physical Vapor Deposition High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering. Moreover, a lacuna exists in the literature concerning the milling of Inconel® 718 and the selection of ideal machining parameters. Based on this, the surface roughness (Ra), the evolution of flank wear, wear mechanisms, and the tool lifespan were analyzed. The parameters varied in the process were cutting speed (Vc), feed per tooth (fz), and cutting length (Lcut). It was possible to verify the influence of the cutting length on the aspects evaluated and to observe that the cutting speed has a great impact, since the higher this parameter, the greater the roughness and wear obtained, and the shorter the tool life. The primary degradation mechanisms were as follows: abrasive, followed by material adhesion, with the onset of built-up edge development.