There’s a revolution in titanium
machining for the aerospace industry.

Makino’s ADVANTiGE™ titanium machining technologies include advanced processes as well as equipment, enabling Makino T4 and T2 5-axis horizontal machining centers to achieve four times faster processing and four times longer tool life than conventional machining technologies.

Makino’s new T2 5-axis machining center is engineered and built to dramatically increase titanium milling efficiency for today’s aerospace applications.

Two of the most common challenges to milling productivity are tool/workpiece chatter and tool wear. The challenge for process engineers is to select the proper machining parameters to minimize both chatter and tool wear for the most efficient production of accurate parts.

The superior strength-to-weight ratios and corrosion resistance of titanium alloys have led to an increasing demand for titanium components in the aerospace and petroleum industries. But titanium’s strength, low thermal conductivity and high chemical reactivity also make it difficult to machine. Controlling cutting temperature is particularly critical to achieving high-performance titanium machining.

Two key benefits of Makino’s ADVANTiGE™ titanium machining technologies are capabilities to improve the typical roughing process through 5-axis roughing—often to the point where the semi-finish process can be eliminated—and to improve the typical finishing process through 5-axis contouring.

This presentation details four machining options, in addition to the T-Series, that Makino offers to address the unique needs of the titanium market.

Tool selection in the machining of titanium is unlike that of standard material processing. Based on the part geometries and specifications of the machining center, new considerations should be taken into account in choosing the most efficient tools for the job.

Highly efficient machining of titanium looks not just at the machine tool, but also machining conditions, such as tooling, tool paths, cutting speeds, depth of cut and temperatures in the cutting zone.

In this presentation, Makino and guest experts participate in a candid panel discussion focused on the latest advancements of titanium machining and how their current research has resulted in longer tool life and greater productivity.

Makino is helping companies reduce part costs by offering tooling, processing and equipment improvements with machines such as its new T2 and T4 5-axis horizontal machining centers.

Makino’s new T-Series 5-axis horizontal machining centers with ADVANTiGE™ technologies are built specifically for titanium aerospace parts such as edge frames, pylons and bulkheads as well as inconels, nickel-based alloys and additional materials that are difficult to machine. These technologies can provide manufacturers with four times the productivity and double the tool life of conventional titanium machining operations.

This presentation provides several detailed part machining examples, including a pylon spar, edge frame and frame component, as well as various cutting techniques that are being used to make the T4 machining center even more productive. Each of the before-and-after part samples illustrates the ability of ADVANTiGE to provide four times the productivity and double the tool life in titanium production, a feat so impressive you can only see to believe.

The ADVANTiGE high-pressure, high-flow coolant system delivers large volumes of high pressure coolant directly to the cutting zone for increased chip evacuation from multi-flute tools. The coolant system includes overhead shower, spindle nozzle, and through-spindle coolant for improved cooling, lubrication and chip evacuation in titanium parts.

By adjusting frictional forces based on low frequency vibration sensing, the ADVANTiGE Active Damping System avoids chatter and cutter damage resulting from structural resonance in real time. This vibration suppression enables deeper cuts, higher metal removal rates and reduced tool wear.

Every manufacturer has different constraints and every part has different features that impact machining capabilities. To break through past limitations of low metal removal and limited tool life, Makino has developed ADVANTiGE, a series of five technologies designed for improved spindle performance, coolant delivery, vibration damping, machine rigidity and cutting strategies.