Victor Songmene

An Experimental Study of Dust Generation During Dry Drilling of Pre-Cooled and Pre-Heated Workpiece Materials

Abstract The generation of fine dust during dry machining is a serious problem both for the environment and for workers. During machining, the fine dust particles generated remain suspended in the air for long periods, during they can be inhaled by workers. The quantity of dust generated is influenced by factors such as material type and heat treatment condition, temperature, and the associated chip formation mode. The aim of this work is to discover how these parameters influence dust generation during dry machining, which could lead to the control of dust production in the future. The materials tested are the wrought 6061 and foundry A356 aluminum alloys and 70-30 brass. It is found that pre-cooling a workpiece material leads to changes in chip formation, in the reduction of cutting forces, and hence in a reduction in fine dust generation by at least 70%, depending on the materials and cutting conditions used. Also, pre-heating the workpiece increases chip ductility and dust production levels.

Machining and Machinability of Aluminum Alloys

The use of materials with low specific weight is an effective way of reducing the weight of structures. Aluminum alloys are among the most commonly used lightweight metallic materials as they offer a number of different interesting mechanical and thermal properties. In addition, they are relatively easy to shape metals, especially in material removal processes, such as machining. In fact, aluminum alloys as a class are considered as the family of materials offering the highest levels of machinability, as compared to other families of lightweight metals such as titanium and magnesium alloys. This machinability quantifies the machining performance, and may be defined for a specific application by various criteria, such as tool life, surface finish, chip evacuation, material removal rate and machine-tool power. It has been shown that chemical composition, structural defects and alloying elements significantly influence machinability [W Konig et al., 1983]. Thus, with similar chemical compositions, the machinability of alloys can be improved by different treatments. Heat treatments, which increase hardness, will reduce the built-up edge (BUE) tendency during machining [M. Tash et al., 2006]. In the case of dry machining, the major problems encountered are the BUE at low cutting speeds and sticking at high cutting speeds, hence the need for special tool geometries [P. Roy et al., 2008]. It has been shown that high levels of Magnesium (Mg) increase the cutting forces at the same level of hardness [M. Tash et al., 2006], while a low percentage of Copper (Cu) in aluminum alloy 319 decreases the cutting force. Similarly, it has been found that heat treatment of 6061, especially aging, influences the forces only at low cutting speeds, while at high speeds, the influence is negligible because of the low temperature rise seen in the cutting zone [Demir H et al., 2008]. Cutting force is just one among several parameters to be considered for a full assessment of the machinability of metallic alloys, with the others being the tool life, the surface finish, the cutting energy and the chip formation mode. Aluminum alloys are classified under two classes: cast alloys and wrought alloys. Furthermore, they can be classified according to the specification of the alloying elements involved, such as strain-hardenable alloys and heat-treatable alloys. Most wrought aluminum alloys have excellent machinability. While cast alloys containing copper, magnesium or zinc as the main alloying elements can cause some machining difficulties, the use of small tool rake angles can however improve machinability. Alloys having silicon as the main alloying element involve larger tool rake angles, lower speeds and feeds, making

Surface Finish and Residual Stresses Induced by Orthogonal Dry Machining of AA7075-T651

The surface finish was extensively studied in usual machining processes (turning, milling, and drilling). For these processes, the surface finish is strongly influenced by the cutting feed and the tool nose radius. However, a basic understanding of tool/surface finish interaction and residual stress generation has been lacking. This paper aims to investigate the surface finish and residual stresses under the orthogonal cutting since it can provide this information by avoiding the effect of the tool nose radius. The orthogonal machining of AA7075-T651 alloy through a series of cutting experiments was performed under dry conditions. Surface finish was studied using height and amplitude distribution roughness parameters. SEM and EDS were used to analyze surface damage and built-up edge (BUE) formation. An analysis of the surface topography showed that the surface roughness was sensitive to changes in cutting parameters. It was found that the formation of BUE and the interaction between the tool edge and the iron-rich intermetallic particles play a determinant role in controlling the surface finish during dry orthogonal machining of the AA7075-T651 alloy. Hoop stress was predominantly compressive on the surface and tended to be tensile with increased cutting speed. The reverse occurred for the surface axial stress. The smaller the cutting feed, the greater is the effect of cutting speed on both axial and hoop stresses. By controlling the cutting speed and feed, it is possible to generate a benchmark residual stress state and good surface finish using dry machining.

Robotic High Speed Machining of Aluminum Alloys

The robotic machining is one of the most versatile manufacturing technologies. Its emerging helped to reduce the machining cost of complex parts. However, its application is sometimes limited due to the low rigidity of the robot. This low stiffness leads to high level of vibrations that limit the quality and the precision of the machined parts. In the present study, the vibration response of a robotic machining system was investigated. To do so, a new method based on the variation of spindle speed was introduced for machining operation and a new process stability criterion (CS) based on acceleration energy distribution and force signal was proposed for analysis. With the proposed method the vibrations and the cutting force signals were collected and analyzed to find a reliable dynamic stability machining domain. The proposed criterion and method were validated using data obtained during high speed robotic machining of 7075-T6 blocks. It was found that the ratio of the periodic energy on the total energy (either vibrations or cutting forces) is a good indicator for defining the degree of stability of the machining process. Besides, it was observed that the spindle speed with the highest ratio stability criterion is the one that has the highest probability to generate the best surface finish. The proposed method is rapid and permits to avoid trial-error tests during robot programming.

An Investigation of Machining-Induced Residual Stresses and Microstructure of Induction-Hardened AISI 4340 Steel

Excessive induction hardening treatment may result in deep-hardened layers, combined with tensile or low compressive residual stresses. This can be detrimental to the performance of mechanical parts. However, a judicious selection of the finishing process that possibly follows the surface treatment may overcome this inconvenience. In this paper, hard machining tests were performed to investigate the residual stresses and microstructure alteration induced by the machining of induction heat-treated AISI 4340 steel (58–60 HRC). The authors demonstrate the capacity of the machining process to enhance the surface integrity of induction heat-treated parts. It is shown how cutting conditions can affect the residual stress distribution and surface microstructure. On the one hand, when the cutting speed increases, the residual stresses tend to become tensile at the surface; and on the other hand, more compressive stresses are induced when the feed rate is increased. A microstructural analysis shows the formation of a thin white layer less than 2 µm and severe plastic deformations beneath the machined surface.

A comprehensive analysis of cutting forces during routing of multilayer carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates:

Analyzing cutting forces during detouring of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates at high cutting speeds is problematic as the recorded signal can be distorted due to resonance of the measuring system. In addition, excessive tool wear can render signal interpretation difficult. In the present study, a fully controlled experimental protocol is used to investigate the instantaneous cutting forces when milling carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminates in a bid to avoid signal distortion and limit the tool wear effect. A polycrystalline diamond tool was selected for the experiments in order to limit the effect of tool wear on the recorded signals. The fiber orientation influences principally the cutting force amplitude, which varies nonlinearly with the feed. Based on this experimental data, a high-order mechanistic force model in terms of feed per tooth was proposed to predict the cutting forces. The tooth-to-tooth run-out was measured and included in the model, and the model was validated for different feeds, speeds, and number of plies. A good consistency between simulated and measured forces was observed. For the proposed model, the estimation error was approximately ±12.5%.

Factors governing burr formation during high-speed slot milling of wrought aluminum alloys

Burr formation and edge finishing are research topics with high relevance to industrial applications. To remove burrs, however, a secondary operation known as deburring is usually required. Deburring is more complex and costly when dealing with milled parts, because multiple burrs form at different locations with various sizes. Therefore, proper selection of process parameters to minimize the burr size is strongly recommended. Therefore, this requires an understanding of milling burr formation mechanism and the governing cutting parameters on milling burrs. In this article, a multilevel experimental study is arranged to investigate the effects of machining conditions, tooling and workpiece materials on burr size (height and thickness). Statistical tools are then used to determine the dominant cutting parameters on burr size and to effectively prescribe an operational window to control and minimize burr formation. It was found that optimum setting levels of process parameters to minimize each burr are different. The analysis of results shows the significant effects of cutting tool, feed per tooth and depth of cut on slot milling burrs.

Machinability and Machining of Titanium Alloys: A Review

This chapter reviews the main difficulties impairing the machinability of titanium alloys. The overview of machinability of titanium alloys is presented with respect to the following performance criteria: cutting tool wear/tool life, cutting forces, chip formation, and surface integrity attributes, mainly surface roughness. Thereafter, the effects of various lubrication and cooling methods in machining titanium alloys is also discussed. Furthermore, a case study on the metallic particle emission when machining Ti-6A1-4V is also presented.

Milling burr formation, modeling and control: A review

Because of global competition, manufacturing industries today must provide high-quality products on time to remain competitive. High-quality mechanical parts include those with better surface finish and texture, dimension and form accuracies, reduced residual stress and burr-free. Burr formation is one of the most common and undesirable phenomenon occurring in machining operations, which reduces assembly and machined part quality. To remove burrs, a secondary operation known as deburring is required for post-processing and edge finishing operations. Since deburring is costly and considered a non-value-added process, the goal is desired to eliminate burrs or reduce the effort required to remove them. Because of non-uniform chip thickness, tool runout and complex interactive effects between cutting process parameters, milling burr formation is a very complex mechanism. Therefore, research and close attention are still needed in order to minimize and control milling burr formation. In this article, a review of burr formation and characterization is presented, along with burr formation modeling and control. An overview of factors governing milling burr formation is also presented.

Analysys and Optimization of Exit Burr Size and Surface Roughness in Milling Using Desireability Function

The burr formation mechanism and surface quality highly depend on machining conditions. Improper selection of cutting parameters may cause tremendous manufacturing cost and low product quality. Proper selection of cutting parameters which simultaneously minimize burr size and surface roughness is therefore very important, as that would reduce the part finishing cost. This article aims to present an experimental study to evaluate parameters affecting the exit burr size (thickness and height) and surface roughness during milling of 6601-T6 aluminum alloy. Desirability function, Di(x), is then proposed for multiple response optimization. Optimum setting levels of process parameters are determined for simultaneous minimization of surface roughness and exit burr thickness and height. It was found that the changes in feed per tooth and tool geometry and coating have significant effects on variation of Di(x).Copyright