Feasibility of Cryogenic Cooling in Finishing Turning of Acetabular Cups Made of Additive Manufactured Ti6Al4V

Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques are more and more employed in the biomedical industry to produce surgical implants made of Ti6Al4V alloy. After the AM process, some finishing machining operations are still required to obtain the final product geometry. In recent years, cryogenic cooling has been adopted to improve the Ti6Al4V poor machinability, but mainly in rough machining operations. This paper investigates the feasibility of cryogenic cooling when finishing turning AM acetabular cups made of Electron Beam Melted (EBM) Ti6Al4V, focusing on the obtainable surface integrity and geometrical quality, compared to dry cutting. Experimental outcomes highlight that cryogenic cooling is feasible for short turning lengths to limit tool holder contractions.