Effect of cryogenic assistance on hole shrinkage during Ti6Al4V drilling

This paper focuses on the impact of cryogenic assistance on the drilling of Ti6Al4V titanium alloy. It develops a relation between the phenomenon of hole shrinkage and measurements performed either during or after the machining operation. Indeed, because this phenomenon is apparently strongly associated with heat generation, which is the main issue in titanium alloy drilling, this work proposes to verify the effect of liquid nitrogen cooling on hole shrinkage, quantify it, and then relate it to these measurements. Specifically, the cutting forces and final hole geometry are analyzed and their variations are explained using the collected data on hole shrinkage.