Performance of coated- and uncoated-carbide tools when drilling titanium alloy—Ti–6Al4V

In this paper, the performance of uncoated-WC/Co and TiAlN–PVD coated-carbide twist drills were investigated when drilling titanium alloy, Ti–6Al4V. The effect of cutting speed on tool wear, tool life and surface finish of the hole when drilling using coolant were reported. Results showed that non-uniform flank wear, chipping and catastrophic failure were the dominant modes of tool failure for both coated- and uncoated-drills. It was found that...