Nomad Made: Custom Titanium Multi Tool

Titanium!
Ive been wanting to design my own Titanium Mutli Tool for awhile,
Over the last couple months Ive been working on some designs,
Last week I finally could no longer resist testing out the design.
Its time to cut some Titanium with the Nomad.


Here is the final part: Ti Fighting Frog v2

My Hand tool was designed for a 1/16 cutter.
Next, all I needed was some material.
I ordered a 6" x 6" x .125" square sheet of Grade 2 Titanium from McMaster - Carr.

I used the blue fixturing wax to secure the Titanium to the Spoil board.
You need coolant when machining Ti, so I used some of the Synhtetic Coolant we use in the Haas.
Its been really busy here at the Shop, so I needed to be able to walk away instead of babysitting the job with the syringe in hand.
What I did was create a pool for he coolant, I used a hot glue gun to build up a little wall around my work area right on the titanium sheet.

Coolant Pool made with a Hot Glue wall and my syringe of Synthetic coolant.

V1 and V2 of the Ti Fighting Frog cut from Grade 2 titanium sheet.

Close up of the Ti Fighting Frog Tool, I used the 3M wheel to bring the hand to a chisel point.

Heres the Details:
Feeds and Speeds for Machining Grade 2 Titanium:
Endmill: Carbide 1/16
Spindle: 10k RPM
Feed: 2 ipm - (also tested at 2.5)
Plunge: 1 ipm
Depth of Cut: .01" - (.015" for the impatient)

Totally worth the 1 hour it took to cut.

I have attached my V1 fighting frog file, and the 2 Titanium Tool path settings I used.

ti frog v1.mcf (22.4 KB) titanium 063.tps (2.1 KB) FAST titanium 063.tps (2.1 KB)


Happy Friday!
Hope every one has a safe Holiday weekend.

9 Likes

This is great I never would have thought the nomad could cut titanium but I’m happy to see it can. So here’s a stupid question, how can it cut titanium but not steel or carbon steel? Is it the type of titanium?

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Travis, from what I’ve read, titanium is 56% as dense as steel.

  1. Titanium is a nonpoisonous and biologically inert metal.

  2. Steel is stronger, but has a more fatigue life than titanium.

  3. Steel can shatter, whereas titanium can withstand high and low temperatures.

  4. Steel is magnetic and corrosive when compared to titanium that is nonmagnetic and anti corrosive.

  5. Steel is preferred when strength is needed in a hard material, and titanium is preferred where a lightweight and strong material is required.

Read more: Difference Between Steel and Titanium | Difference Between | Steel vs Titanium http://www.differencebetween.net/object/difference-between-steel-and-titanium/#ixzz3ksuYEDfY

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Fitted with a Phillips bit in its belly, the Titanium Fighting Frog turns into a spinning top!

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Very, very cool.

Any ideas on what sort of tooling life one will get cutting titanium?

Does the tool need to be heat treated or anodized after cutting?

I used the same 2 flute 1/16 end mill (#112) to cut both of these titanium tool prototypes.
On the second cut I increased the DOC to. 015".
The edge finish was not as good on the second part.
I will probably reduce the DOC back to. 01" but keep the same tool to see if it’s the tool or the depth of cut that is affecting the edge finish.
As for the titanium tool, it work great as is, without any heat treatment.

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did you do something special to get the interior corners on the hex?

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Yes I did, in the CAD drawing above, if you look closely you’ll see the interior hex detail has enlarged radius corners to allow the 1/16 cutter to clear the desired corner geometry out completely.

Apollo, I’m still trying to get used to feeds and speeds and decided to get the GWizard Calculator. When I input the parameters for milling Titanium, I get different settings than yours. I would tend to believe experience more and since you have proof that your settings work. Would the feeds and speed settings I’m getting work also?.

Just for reference, here are your settings:

Thank you guys for keep inspiring us. I haven’t had the chance lately to continue experimenting. I miss it terribly!!.

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One thing that stands out is 1/16" is 0.0625 not .125

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Im Glad your as inspired I am, Titanium is such a cool material to be able to prototype with.
The Speeds and Feeds I have posted for Brass, Aluminum and Titanium are tested and proven, with a part to show as an example.
G wizard is a good place to start, and we are in contact with Bob at cnc cook book and his numbers will be updated to reflect the tested settings we have proven for these more difficult materials. As we continue to pioneer the possibilities of Desktop Machining Im sure these numbers will change a little…

This is ridiculously cool. Next experiment: try carving something 3D in Ti, like that skull you’ve done in other materials? (Is that file available somewhere, btw?)

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This is even cooler when you get to hold it in your hand. Adding Ti to the mix is super sweet.

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Titanium tool project update, the v2 prototype got a color change finish!


The process used is Similar to anodizing because it uses an anode and cathode in a liquid bath, but no dye is used. When anodizing titanium, the amount of voltage used defines the final color, and this finish has a unique characteristic of changing color due to temperature change, ranging from red to blue, hard to capture on camera completely. Raw grade 2 titanium for reference.

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