Modeling and Experimental Investigation of Ultrasonic Vibration-Assisted Drilling Force for Titanium Alloy

To overcome the issues of excessive cutting force, poor chip segmentation, and premature tool wear during the drilling of Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy. This study established the cutting edge motion trajectory function and instantaneous dynamic cutting thickness equation for ultrasonic vibration-assisted drilling through kinematic analysis. Based on this, an analytical model of drilling force was formulated, integrating tool geometry, cutting radius scale effects, dynamic chip thickness, and drilling depth. In parallel, a finite element model was constructed to achieve visual simulation analysis of chip deformation and cutting force. Finally, the accuracy of the model was verified through experiments, with a comprehensive analysis performed on how cutting parameters affect thrust force. The findings indicate that the average absolute prediction errors of thrust force and torque between the analytical model and finite element simulations were 7.87% and 6.26%, respectively, confirming the model's capability to accurately capture instantaneous force and torque variations. Compared to traditional drilling methods, the application of ultrasonic vibration assistance resulted in reductions of 40.8% in thrust force and 41.7% in torque. The drilling force exhibited nonlinear growth as the spindle speed and feed rate were elevated, while it declined with greater vibration frequency and amplitude as drilling depth increased. Furthermore, the combined effect of optimized vibration parameters enhanced chip fragmentation, producing short discontinuous chips and effectively preventing entanglement. Overall, this research provides a theoretical and practical foundation for optimizing ultrasonic vibration-assisted drilling and improving precision hole making in titanium alloys.