Influence of ultrasonic vibration assistance on the surface integrity in turning of the aluminium alloy AA2017

The surface integrity of components considerably influences the reliability of technical systems. According to the application of the components, their surfaces have to meet different demands. Cutting processes with geometrically defined cutting edge are often used as final machining processes. They offer the opportunity to influence the surface integrity by means of the process kinematics, process parameters and tool geometry. In the case of realising a predefined surface integrity, for example the generation of microstructures, these machining processes reach their limits very fast. For this reason, the influence of ultrasonic vibration assistance in cutting is investigated with focus on achieved surface integrity. Different vibration directions of the tool are examined. This paper investigates the effect of ultrasonic vibration assistance on the surface integrity, obtained in turning processes. Several possibilities for generating predefined surface microstructures are identified. In turning with ultrasonic vibration assistance in the cutting direction, the mean cutting force is markedly reduced in comparison to conventional machining. The examinations show that turning with ultrasonic vibration assistance enables a specific setting of the surface integrity within a wide range. It is expected that the results can be applied to other, also difficult to machine materials.