Servicing aircraft engines sometimes requires manufacturing only a single piece of a given part. Manufacturing a turbine disc using traditional methods is uneconomical. It is necessary to use a different machining method recommended for small lot production. One of the proposed methods is WEDM (wire electrical discharge machining). The article presents the results of the research on finishing WEDM of Inconel 718 turbine disc fir tree slots. The influence of infeed, mean gap voltage, peak current, pulse off-time, and discharge energy on the shape accuracy, surface roughness, microcracks, and the white layer thickness were determined. Mathematical models were developed based on the DoE (Design of Experiment) analysis. The statistical significance of the models was verified with the ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) test. The machining parameters control methods that allow achieving the required shape accuracy, surface roughness, and surface layer condition were presented. The obtained surface roughness was Ra = 0.84 μm, the shape accuracy of the slot in the normal-to-feed direction was Δd = 0.009 μm, the profile shape accuracy was Δr = 0.033 μm, and the thickness of recast (white) layer was approximately 5 μm.

Titanium alloys, particularly Ti-6Al-4V, are widely used in many industries due to their high strength, low density, and corrosion resistance. However, machining these materials is challenging due to high strength at elevated temperatures, low thermal conductivity, and high chemical reactivity. This study investigates Recurrence Plot (RP) and Recurrence Quantification Analysis (RQA) to analyze tool wear during the finish turning of Ti-6Al-4V. The tests were conducted under Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL). Three inserts (two coated, one uncoated) were tested, and tool life was evaluated based on material removal volume. The issue of tool exploitation and process reliability is crucial, as it directly impacts machining performance. Results show that the uncoated insert outperformed the coated ones. RQA parameters indicated a stable-to-unstable transition in coated inserts but not in the uncoated insert. This suggests that recurrence analysis can monitor cutting dynamics in coated insert machining, but further research is needed for uncoated tools. This paper’s novelty lies in applying RP and RQA to diagnose tool wear in titanium alloy machining under MQL conditions, a method not previously explored in this context.

Titanium alloys are included in the group of difficult-to-cut materials. The use of different methods to reduce the temperature of the machining zone is one of the factors influencing the performance of the machining. The most commonly used method is flood cooling. On the basis of recent...

Inconel 718 alloy is characterised by high strength and corrosion resistance and remains stable at high temperatures, so it is widely used in the energy and aerospace industries. However, machining this material is difficult due to its high strength, hardness, and high specific force coefficient exceeding 3000 MPa. Turning of the Inconel 718 alloy can be carried out with negative and positive inserts. Therefore, the impacts of the insert geometry on the turning process of Inconel 718, cutting force components, and surface roughness were studied. Three positive and three negative insert geometries were tested. It was shown that the key influence on the active components of the cutting force is the effective rake angle. The surface roughness, on the other hand, depends mainly on the cutting-edge radius. It has been shown that the negative insert geometry with γ = 6° and r_n=22 μm provides a 30% lower cutting force than the positive inserts and the same surface roughness. The developed models of the cutting force components proved that when cutting with positive inserts, a higher specific cutting force occurs for the Inconel 718 alloy than for the negative insert. It was shown that technological parameters had a very similar effect on the cutting force components and surface roughness parameters regardless of the blade geometry. It was proven that the use of positive inserts makes sense only for depths of cut no greater than the size of the corner radius.

The use of the minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) method during machining leads to the reduced consumption of cooling and lubricating liquids, thus contributing to sustainable machining. To improve the properties of liquids used under MQL conditions, they are enriched with various types of micro- and nanoparticles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the addition of graphite micropowder (GMP) on tool life, cutting force components, and selected surface roughness parameters during the finish turning of the Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy under MQL conditions. The addition of 0.6 wt% of GMP to the base liquid in machining under MQL conditions leads to an extension of tool life by 7% and 96% compared to machining with a liquid without the addition of GMP and dry machining, respectively. Mathematical models of the cutting force components and surface roughness parameters were developed, taking into account the change in cutting speed and feed. It was found that the use of a liquid with the addition of GMP extends the range of cutting parameters for which the shape of chips obtained is acceptable in terms of work safety. The novelty of this study lies in the use of a cutting fluid composed of bis(2-ethylhexyl) adipate and diester, enriched with graphite micropowder, which has not been extensively investigated for machining titanium alloys under MQL conditions.

For the critical aero-engine parts it’s important to understand influence of cutting tools, cutting parameters, tool ware etc. on near surface condition which highly affect fatigue strength and at the same part life-time. New material implemented for the latest designs of aero-engines parts...