Machining medical grade titanium alloys using nonabrasive nanolayered cutting tools

The difficulty in machining titanium alloys has led to the development of new cutting tools with tailored surface coatings to exceed the demands placed on these tools by machining new titanium alloys. The biocompatibility of titanium and its alloys has naturally spawned the development of "medical grade" titanium and its alloys. The difficulty in machining them is related to their metallurgical microstructure and heat treatment and has made recent developments in cutting tool technology applicable to the machining of medical grade materials. This chapter focuses on the use of recently developed nanostructured coatings on cutting tools that are less abrasive than uncoated tools and are generally compatible with heat treated and nonheated titanium and its alloys. The chapter will also explain the nature of the microstructural challenges to be overcome and the types of products machined for use in the human body. The chapter will conclude with an economic analysis of each coating and will explain which coating manufacturing engineers should select for a particular application. © 2015 Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved