Conquering Titanium

High Performance Machining

-A novel marketing approach

Dr. Bert P. Erdel
January 2018

Striving for ever higher productivity, better cost-effectiveness and consistent high quality parts are the pre-dominant paradigms on the production floors. Today’s manufacturing networks machine parts made from advanced materials, that are very difficult to machine. However, corporate demands to machine these parts with high performance in Cost-Quality-Time. Titanium certainly is the most sought after advanced metal and its future within Aerospace has long begun. But…

Did you know?

Titanium was called the “Metal of the GODS” way into the 19th century when a German scientist gave it the name titanium, derived from the titans of the Greek mythology. According to the script, the titans wreaked havoc all around until Zeus, the Greek GOD, eventually defeated them.

Did you know?

Found abundantly in the earth’s crust, titanium is the 4th most widely used structural metal. It is a transition metal that is mostly alloyed with other metals.
The processing of titanium is: extraction for feedstock-purification-sponge production-alloy creation-pre-shaping (intermediate milling of billets,ingots,bars)- part machining.

Did you know?

There are 39 different titanium alloys. The alloy material are mostly molybdenum, vanadium, chromium, aluminum with varying contents depending on the usage. The molecular structure can be alpha, beta or gamma phase depending on the application. Titanium’s appeal are its properties of strength, light weight, temperature – and corrosion resistance as well as its non-affinity to composites as multi-material.

Did you know?

Titanium doesn’t like to be machined. Its poor thermal conductivity, strong alloying tendency, chemical reactivity and strength have been a detriment to any productive and economical chip-making machining with acceptable tool life.

Well… up to this point.

Now it is feasible to produce titanium parts with High Performance in cost, quality, time.

How is that possible?

The answer is KYOCERA SGS: Z5-HPR

Just like Zeus, the Greek GOD, defeated the titans, so do our innovative milling tools titanium alloys.

Advanced design and engineering criteria, specifically for successful roughing and finishing of titanium, the Z5-HPR series feature optimized fluting, geometries, carbide grades and coatings. Now it is possible to machine with robustness, predictability and consistency with heretofore un-heard of elevated cutting data.

As a result, customers report productivity increases of 25% and higher creating true value downstream during the entire manufacturing process.

What is KYOCERA SGS all about?

It’s not just about cutting tools,

It’s about precision and accuracy
It’s about solving machining problems
It’s about technology-based knowledge
It’s about industry leadership
It’s about optimizing processes
It’s about meeting affordability
It’s about securing competitiveness
It’s about true customer commitment

And yes, it will always be about cutting tools…

What is titanium’s future?

Recently published forecasts from major Aerospace OEMs stress an ongoing upward growth of titanium usage for the next two decades.

Aerospace represents an annual output volume of 130 million of titanium parts and accounts for 45% of the total titanium market, of which 60% is in the United States.

Titanium will continue to be expensive as raw material. However, productive, economic part-machining down the manufacturing line more than offsets the initial high cost for titanium. In fact, if machined with High Performance cutting tools, titanium offers the creation of exceptional value on the production floor.

KYOCERA SGS: Z5-HPR has the answer-talk to us…

We will optimize your process and assist you in your quest for cost-effective, high productive, quality part-machining-always…

Also refer to our Top Twelve criteria– a suggestion of the holistic approach to Advanced Machining Processes.