Machinability of A356 cast alloys under the effect of artificial aging treatment and lubrication modes

Abstract

This article discuss the effects of heat treatment and lubrication modes on the machinability of A356 alloy (Al–Si–Mg), the alloy is studied as-received, with solution heat-treated alloy (SHT) as well as with solution heat-treated and then aged at 155 °C, 180 °C, and 220 °C. In the course of machinability evaluation, several criteria including cutting force, surface roughness, tool wears, and burr analysis (chip) were studied. The results and analysis in this work indicated that selected machinability criteria are important and necessary to effectively evaluate the machinability of A356 alloys. Machinability of both materials and tool was estimated in terms of cutting force, chip thickness ratio and burr formation, flank wear, and roughness. The effects of different cutting parameters (cutting speed and feed rate) and lubrication modes (dry, mist, and wet) on the machinability of A356 cast alloy were also examined. The influence of heat treatments on the burr formation and surface quality was clearly revealed by the experimental results. Experimental work revealed that cutting forces were influenced significantly by aging and cutting speed. However, the different aging at 155 °C, 180 °C, 220 °C and the cutting speed significantly affected the machinability of A356 cast alloy. The results obtained show that for better drilling performance in terms of surface quality occurs at high feed rate, dry drilling, and artificial aging at T6.