Preliminary Study on Deep-Hole Drilling Gamma Titanium Aluminide

gamma-titanium aluminide are considered as a potential light weight material. gamma-titanium aluminide alloy has the advantages of high temperature resistance, high performance of anti-oxidation effect, low-density, high specific strength and rigidity etc. This material is suitable to be applied in aeronautics, astronautics and automobile industry. But high hardness, brittleness and mechanical strength make it hard to process. This problem is more acute in deep hole drilling. In this paper, we have analyzed the cutting performance of gamma- titanium aluminide and designed a deep-hole drill with three different tool materials. The experimental result shows: (1) YG8 cemented carbide is the appropriate tool material for drilling gamma-titanium aluminide. (2) Small rake angle of external edge (gamma(o)=-1 degrees) and big clearance angle of external edge (alpha(o)=10 similar to 12 degrees) should be chosen. (3) Best wear results are obtained when oil is utilized as cutting fluid.