Cutting tool performance in turning of AL 7075-t651 aluminium alloy

• Main Authors: Daud @ Ab Aziz, Nur Sofwati, A. Raof, Natasha, Ghani, Abdul Rahman, Dahnel, Aishah Najiah, Mokhtar, Suhaily, Muhamad Khairussaleh, Nor Khairusshima
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: International Islamic University Malaysia 2020
• Subjects: T Technology (General); TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/87874/1/87874_CUTTING%20TOOL%20PERFORMANCE%20IN%20TURNING_article.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/87874/2/87874_CUTTING%20TOOL%20PERFORMANCE%20IN%20TURNING_scopus.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/87874/; https://journals.iium.edu.my/ejournal/index.php/iiumej/article/view/1227/745
• Institution: Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia

Recently, almost 70% of a commercial jetliner’s airframe is made of aluminium alloys. It is predicted that the application of aluminium alloy is to increase up to 65% by the year 2025. They are typically used because of their high strength to weight ratio. However, there are some drawbacks during machining aluminium alloy such as the adhesion wear and built-up edge (BUE) formation that can shorten tool life. As the tool wears, the machining performance, surface roughness, and cutting tool life are affected significantly. A lot of studies were conducted in order to minimize this critical issue. This project presents a study of the cutting tool performance of an uncoated carbide tool in dry turning operation on Al 7075-T651, in which the tool wear rate, volume of material removed, wear mechanism, and surface roughness were investigated. The machining tests were conducted on a CNC lathe machine to obtain the tool wear and surface roughness of the machined work piece. The average flank wear was measured using a digital microscope, whereas the wear mechanism was observed using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The average surface roughness (Ra) was measured using a surface roughness tester. The cutting time for this experiment was fixed at 40 minutes and all the results were analysed within this time range to evaluate the tool performance in the turning of Al 7075-T651. The results revealed that the tool performs better at low cutting speed, 250 m/min, by reducing the tool wear rate by 33%. The cutting speed of 250 m/min also contributed to 71% higher volume of material removed during the machining tests. The dominant type of wear found was flank wear, while the main principal of wear mechanism is adhesion. At higher cutting speed, the surface roughness was improved. Based on the results, it can be concluded that high cutting tool performance is achieved when low tool wear growth rate, high volume of material removal, and low surface roughness during turning operation are obtained.