DUCTILE-MODE MACHINING OF ALUMINA / ALUMINUM COMPOSITE

This paper reports research results on ductile-mode machining of an aluminum-based MMC reinforced with Al₂O₃ particles. Both polycrystalline diamond and single crystalline diamond cutting tools were used to ultra-precision machine the MMC at the depths of cut ranging from 0.4 µm to 1.6 µm. The critical depth of cut for performing ductile-mode turning of the MMC reinforced with Al₂O₃ particles was found to be 1 µm. At such depth of cut, there was almost no sub-surface damage except rare cracked particles. Besides the depth of cut, ductile-mode machining of the reinforcing particles was also affected by the orientation of the particles.