Surface Integrity of LM6 Aluminum Metal Matrix Composite when Machined with High Speed Steel and Uncoated Carbide Cutting Tools

Metal matrix composite (MMC) is a combination of two or more materials in a metal matrix, and is being widely used nowadays due to its excellent properties. This paper presents the surface integrity of LM6 aluminum MMC when machined with two different cutting tools; high speed steel (HSS) and uncoated carbide. The experiments were carried out with a constant cutting speed, feed rate and axial depth of cut, but differ in the radial depth of cut under dry cutting conditions. Results indicated that machining LM6 with uncoated carbide cutting tools provides a lower surface roughness and fine surface profile compared to HSS cutting tools, due to its edge stability. A lower radial depth of cut produced a fine surface finish and vice versa. Most of the machined surface was dominated by the feed mark effect due to path overlap from the cutting tool. This study is expected to provide a database of suitable cutting tools and cutting parameters for machining MMC based materials.