Process exploration of lapping TC4 Ti alloy with spherical fixed abrasive head

TC4 titanium alloy is a typical difficult-to-process material, which has problems such as difficult cutting and easy surface burn. The lapping experiments of TC4 Ti alloy were carried out using self-designed spherical fixed abrasive head as the lapping tool. In order to optimize the lapping process, the effect of different abrasives and lapping processes on material removal rate and surface quality of TC4 titanium alloy were investigated, and the mechanism of material removal was analyzed. The abrasive of 20 to 30 μm SiC is found to has the best lapping effect, and the optimal processes are lapping speed 2 000 r/min, lapping angle 30°, lapping time 10 s. Under the conditions, the material removal rate is 22.2 mg/min and surface roughness R_a is 0.7 μm. The requirements on both material removal efficiency and surface quality are satisified.