Turning and Drilling Machinability of Recycled Aluminum Alloys

Abstract

A great deal of effort and research has been dedicated to recycled aluminum alloys, mainly to recycling processes and to the mechanical properties of recomposed parts; however, very limited work has been oriented towards the machinability of recycled aluminum materials. Recycled and recomposed aluminum parts sometimes need machining to obtain the final usable part shape and for assembly purposes. The acceptability of using recycled materials in design and engineering applications depends not only on their mechanical properties, but also on their machinability. This paper investigates the machinability of recycled aluminum alloys based on surface finish, cutting forces and chip formation. Two recycled foundry aluminum alloys were used: one from aluminum can covers and another from aluminum chips produced during machining. The machining operations investigated included turning and drilling under dry and wet conditions. The two tested recycled aluminum alloys showed different machinability behaviors and different part quality characteristics, suggesting that it would be desirable to consider separating aluminum wastes and chips considered for recycling by origin or type prior to melting and recasting.