Questions with Bernie McConnell

1) What new, innovative technologies has Greenleaf introduced to increase productivity when machining aerospace components?

Earlier this year, Greenleaf launched the XSYTIN^®-360 line of solid ceramic end mills. We took our successful XSYTIN^®-1 phase-toughened ceramic material, already very well known throughout the aerospace industry, and used that as the base material for XSYTIN-360. Our ceramic material, unique cutting geometry, and edge prep combination provides up to 10x the productivity and tremendous cost savings compared to carbide end mills. As new materials and new machines require faster cutting parameters in a more abrasive environment, XSYTIN-360 is the answer.

Greenleaf also recently introduced G-9610, a titanium turning grade that uses a unique coating process that provides a very smooth, lubricious coating. Coupled with a sub-micron substrate, it offers increased performance in the semi-finish and finish turning of titanium alloys. This additional carbide grade provides aerospace customers with a new weapon that will offer marked improvements in productivity.

These ceramic end mills can be run in a broad range of workpiece materials including high-temperature alloys, hardened steels, ductile cast irons, and compacted graphite iron. Applications such as periphery milling, slotting, pocketing, ramping, and profiling are common for these end mills. The toughness of the XSYTIN-1 material allows the end mills to have a much broader speed-and-feed operating range, allowing them to run on various machining centers with increased productivity. These are extremely versatile tools that change the game when it comes to overall value in high-performance end milling.

In heat-resistant super alloys (HRSA), these ceramic end mills typically run between 1,300 surface feet per minute (sfm) and 2,000sfm, compared to traditional carbide end mills that run 150sfm to 200sfm. In certain milling applications, we can feed these end mills in the range of 0.0014 inches per tooth (ipt) to 0.0044ipt, which significantly increases material removal rates. There are tremendous opportunities to improve productivity and reduce tool consumption with XSYTIN-360.

G-9610 was designed for semi-finish and finish turning applications in titanium alloys. Many components in aircraft engines use titanium because of its high strength and low weight, but this material can cause issues when manufacturing these components. G-9610 has proven to be more resistant to build-up edge, chemical and abrasive wear, and loss of hardness at high temperatures – common issues when machining titanium alloys. This grade also performs well in the finish turning of nickel- and cobalt-based HRSA materials.

5) What are the G-9610 operating parameters?

Titanium machining capabilities vary by the phase and alloy. G-9610 can be applied at speeds from 195sfm in semi-finishing beta or near-beta alloys to 360sfm in alpha phase alloys. In alpha-beta alloys such as Ti-6Al-4V, this grade is capable of semi-finishing at 230sfm and finishing at 295sfm. When G-9610 is applied with high-pressure coolant, these speeds can be increased by an additional 20%.

For more information:
greenleafcorporation.com