Simulation analysis of titanium alloy micro-drilling based on thermo-mechanical coupling

With the increasing demand for high precision micro parts in machining field, the development of micro hole drilling technology, especially the finite element simulation technology is rapidly promoted. However, there are many limitations in the simulation of micro-drilling, such as element size, computational efficiency, chip forming, etc. In the present work, a finite element software, Abaqus has been used to simulate the thermal-mechanical coupling micro-drilling process of titanium alloy material, and the key technologies, such as twist bit modeling, material constitutive model, chip separation criterion and element division, were investigated. Through simulation, it was found that with the increase of rotational speed and the decrease of feed speed, chip shape gradually fragmented, in addition, thrust force and torque diminished. Since chip shape, thrust force and torque are important factors affecting drilling quality and tool life, the work could offer important guiding significance for cutting parameter optimization.