Influence of Micro-Textured Carbide Tools on Ti-Grade-9 Alloy Turning: Machinability Assessment and Multi-Response Hybrid Optimization

Titanium-grade 9 (Ti-3Al-2.5V) is a lightweight alloy with high strength and corrosion resistance; however, its low thermal conductivity and chemical reactivity make machining challenging, resulting in high cutting temperature, high tool wear, poor surface quality, and high energy consumption. This study investigates the influence of laser-induced micro-textured carbide tools on the machinability of titanium-grade-9 alloy during CNC turning. Micro-textures were fabricated using a fiber laser machine on the rake and flank faces of the cutting tool. The experiments were designed using an L18 orthogonal array with four control factors, namely tool type (Tt), cutting speed (v), feed (f), and depth of cut (d). The tool type factor comprised three configurations: untextured tool (T1), grooved texture on both rake and flank face (T2), and dotted texture on the rake face combined with grooved texture on the flank face (T3). The machinability and texture tools performance were analyzed using results of surface roughness, cutting temperature, tool wear, and cutting-power consumption. T2 exhibited the best performance, while abrasion and adhesion were the most dominant forms of wear identified. CRITIC-MARCOS optimization identified tool type T2, a cutting speed of 80 m/min, a feed of 0.06 mm/rev, and a depth of cut of 0.2 mm as optimal parameters.