A study on the machinability of a Ti49.6Ni50.4 shape memory alloy

The machinability of a Ti49.6Ni50.4 shape memory alloy (SMA) has been studi ed by using a mechanical cutting test. There is a wide hardened layer in fr ont of the cutting edge of the Ti49.6Ni50.4 SMA which comes from the effect s of strain hardening and cyclic hardening. Meanwhile, Ti49.6Ni50.4 fragmen ts can adhere on the diamond blade. The longer the cutting time, the more a dhesion the Ti49.6Ni50.4 fragments have. These features cause the Ti49.6Ni5 0.4 SMA to exhibit more difficult cutting characteristics than 18-8 stainle ss steel and Ti50Al50 alloy. From the viewpoint of cutting energy, the effe ct of applied load is more important than that of cutting speed and there i s an optimal cutting load for the cutting of Ti49.6Ni50.4 SMA. (C) 1999 Els evier Science B.V. All rights reserved.