Evaluation of titanium alloy thread quality during cutting

This article concerns a new method of assessing the thread cutting process and the quality of the formed thread using the method of optical observation of the workpiece during machining. A series of digital images of the thread profile was taken in transmitted light for each tool infeed. Such images, obtained with high resolution for three angular positions, were binarized, with the space between ridges taken in successive infeeds identified as “void”, and its projection was then parameterized. Two of these parameters, area of void and aspect ratio, were used as indicators of the technological quality of the thread. The suitability of the selected parameters for technological description of the thread was verified using the example of titanium alloy thread turning under ambient and cryogenic conditions.