Machinability of Tungsten Alloy and Pure Tungsten

Tungsten heavy alloy is significantly more machinable than pure tungsten (>99.95%) as it relates to the surface finish, accuracy, and overall machining efficiency. A review on machining pure tungsten and tungsten alloy will be presented along with the results from preliminary drill testing. Alloying, grain morphology and coolant/lubricity are compared to the tool life, material removal rates and machining accuracy. Mechanical measurements of torque, directional forces and bending moments are compared against microstructural features alongside the evolution of the surface roughness and geometric accuracy of machined features. The initial investigation indicates a wide variation in machining performance thus this evaluation examines the influence of microstructure on machinability of tungsten and tungsten alloys.