An experimental study of abrasive waterjet machining of Ti-6Al-4V

This paper presents an experimental study on abrasive waterjet (AWJ) machining of the most commonly used titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V. Two types of machining operations, i.e. drilling (or piercing) and slotting, were conducted. For the drilling experiments, the influences of water pressure and drilling time were investigated. It was found that both the hole depth and diameter increased as drilling time increased but in a decreasing rate. An increase in the water pressure increased both the hole depth and the hole diameter. For the slot cutting, the influence of water pressure and the traverse speed were investigated. A slower traverse speed resulted in a deeper depth of cut. The kerf showed a taper shape with a wider entry on top, and the width decreased as jet cut into the material. At the bottom of the kerf, a pocket was generated. The variation of the depth of cut became insignificant when the traverse speed was increased.