Integration of On-Machine Measurements in the Force Modeling for Machining of Advanced Nickel-Based Superalloys

Nickel-based superalloys are specially designed for applications where high strength, creep resistance, and oxidation resistance are critical at high temperatures. Many of their applications are the hot gas sections of turbo-machinery (e.g. jet engines and gas turbines). With greater demands on the performance and efficiency of these types of machines, the firing temperatures are reaching higher levels and nickel-based superalloys are being utilized more because of their excellent mechanical qualities at extreme temperatures. However, the properties that make them attractive for these applications present difficult challenges for the manufacture, particularly machining, of the components that are made from these materials. Considering the extreme environment that these components operate in, part quality, in particular surface quality, is paramount. The damage and stresses introduced to the surfaces of these components during manufacture needs to be well understood and controlled in order to ensure that premature component and machine failures do not occur. With improved process models and on-machine measurement capabilities, the in-process cutting forces and temperatures can be better understood and therefore subsurface damage can be better controlled. Since cutting forces and temperatures are direct contributors to subsurface damage, better control of these aspects would then lead to better control of subsurface damage. This paper discusses the use of on-machine touch probes to measure wear on milling tools and using those measurements to update a mechanistic force model for more accurate prediction of the cutting forces incurred during the milling of nickel-based superalloys.