Tool wear characteristics of binderless CBN tools used in high-speed milling of titanium alloys

Titanium alloys are difficult-to-cut materials, and the performance of conventional tools is poor when used to machine them. In this paper, a new tool material, which is binderless cubic boron nitride (BCBN), is used for high-speed milling of a widely used titanium alloy Ti–6Al–4V. The performance and the wear mechanism of the tool have been investigated when slot milling this alloy. This type of tool manifests longer tool life at high cutting speeds. Analyses based on the SEM and EDX suggest that adhesion of workpiece, attrition and diffusion–dissolution are the main wear mechanisms of the BCBN tool when used in high-speed milling of Ti–6Al–4V.