Milling of high volume fraction SiCp/Al composites using PCD tools with different structures of tool edges and grain sizes

SiC particles (65 vol.%) reinforced aluminum matrix composites have a wide range of applications in the engineering field. However, PCD tools used for machining SiC particles reinforced-aluminum matrix (SiCp/Al) composite are easy to wear due to the fact that high-volume fraction SiCp/Al composite is a kind of difficult-to-machine materials. This paper focuses on tool wear and machined surface quality in precision milling high-volume fraction SiCp/Al composites using PCD tools with different grain sizes and geometrical structures of main cutting edges of PCD tools. The experimental setup was used to study the effect of contributing factors on tool wear and machined surface quality. And the influence factors mainly included the grain size, the geometrical structure of main cutting edges of PCD tools and cutting parameters, such as feed per tooth and axial depth of cut used in machining process. All the experiments were conducted on a high-speed five axis milling machine center, and the selected spindle speed was a constant value of 10,000 rpm. The obtained results indicated that the PCD tools with chamfered edge could greatly enhance the strength of cutting edge. The PCD tools with a grain size of 0.5-1 um exhibited a better wear resistance than that of 25 um. And increased feed rate and cutting depth resulted in an increase and decrease in the machined surface roughness. Compared with grain sizes, geometrical structures of main cutting edges had less significant influence on the machined surface quality.