Abstract
Among the various types of metal matrix composites, SiC particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (SiCp/Al) are finding increasing applications in many industrial fields such as aerospace, automotive, and electronics. However, SiCp/Al composites are considered as difficult-to-cut materials due to the hard ceramic reinforcement, which causes severe machinability degradation by increasing cutting tool wear, cutting force, etc. To improve the machinability of SiCp/Al composites, many techniques including conventional and nonconventional machining processes have been employed. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the machining performance of SiCp/Al composites using conventional machining, i.e., turning, milling, drilling, and grinding, and using nonconventional machining, namely electrical discharge machining (EDM), powder mixed EDM, wire EDM, electrochemical machining, and newly developed high-efficiency machining technologies, e.g., blasting erosion arc machining. This research not only presents an overview of the machining aspects of SiCp/Al composites using various processing technologies but also establishes optimization parameters as reference of industry applications.
Highlights
Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are prepared by combining a metallic matrix with hard ceramic reinforcements
Ding et al [88] studied the machining performance of SiC particle-reinforced aluminum matrix composites (SiCp/Al) composites with various types of polycrystalline cubic boron nitride (CBN) and polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tools; they explained that the adhesion property of the tool and the work material had a major influence on the surface finish
The results showed that the main tool wear was abrasion on the flank face, and the TiC-based cermet tool was not suitable for machining SiCp/Al composites with higher volume fractions and larger particles due to the heavy abrasive nature of the reinforcement
Summary
Metal matrix composites (MMCs) are prepared by combining a metallic matrix with hard ceramic reinforcements. With the combined advantages of aluminum matrix materials and SiC reinforcement, SiCp/Al MMCs have been certified and are steadily advancing owing to their excellent properties such as high strength, low density, and high wear resistance. They are widely used in the automobile and aircraft industries, structural applications, and many other systems [5]. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the machining investigation of SiCp/Al with high-SiC fractions, such as 50%, 56% and 65% (volume fraction) Both conventional and nonconventional machining methods have been adopted for the processing of SiCp/Al matrix composites. Besides EDM, wire EDM, and electrochemical machining (ECM), there are some other nonconventional machining technologies that have been adopted for improving the machining of SiCp/Al matrix composites, e.g., the newly developed arc discharge
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