The effect of cutting depth and cutting tool geometry on surface roughness and tool wear behavior in the machining of Al 6061 alloy

Purpose: Al 6061 alloy is used in many different areas in the manufacturing sector. However, in the majority of machinability studies in the literature, it was revealed that shear forces were examined, and surface roughness was investigated in a few studies. In addition, in most of these studies examining surface roughness, it is seen that constant cutting depth and uniform cutting tool are used. In this experimental study on machinability, it was aimed to investigate the effect of cutting depth and cutting tools with different geometrical properties on the roughness of the machined surface in the turning of Al 6061 aluminum alloy. Aluminum and its alloys constitute the metal group with the most usage area in the industry after steel. Theory and Methods: utting tools with cutting depths of 0.4 -0.8 -1.6 -2.4 mm and ISO codes, SNMA 120408 KR, KNUX 160405 R11, TNMG 160404, DCGT 11T308 ALU were used in the turning experiments. The experiments were carried out on a conventional lathe with a constant feed rate of 0.2 mm/rev and two different cutting speeds of 125 m/min and 250 m/min. Results: As a result of the experiments, each cutting tool exhibited different surface roughness values and the lowest roughness values were obtained with the SNMA 120408 KR coded cutting tool. As the depth of cut values decreased, the roughness of the surfaces decreased in general. However, in the SNMA 120408 KR coded tool, the opposite behavior was observed and the highest roughness value was obtained at 0.4 mm depth of cut. In the change of cutting speed, different surface roughness values were obtained according to the type of cutting tool. In the change of cutting speed, different surface roughness values were obtained according to the type of cutting tool. However, the expected decrease in roughness values did not occur with increasing cutting speed. DCGT coded tool used in aluminum processing could not outperform the other cutting tools in terms of surface roughness. Conclusion: When evaluated in terms of price and performance, it has been evaluated that the SNMA 120408 KR coded tools are more suitable and optimum solution than the other selected tools.