Enhancement of Dry Reciprocating Wear Resistance of Aluminium 6061 and Polyamide 66 through Burnishing

This study investigates the wear behaviour of burnished Aluminium 6061 (Al6061) and Polyamide 66 (PA66) surfaces subjected to dry linear reciprocating motion. Ball and roller burnishing were applied under varying speeds, feed rates, and burnishing depths. Surface roughness and hardness were measured, followed by tribological testing under dry reciprocating conditions, and surface morphology was analyzed using a metallurgical microscope. Results indicate that optimal surface enhancement for both materials occurs at a burnishing speed of 300 rpm, a feed rate of 0.16 mm/rev, and a burnishing depth of 1 mm. Under these conditions, ball burnishing achieved the greatest reduction in average roughness, with improvements of 90.5% for Al6061 and 35.3% for PA66, while roller burnishing produced modest hardness gains of 3.1% for Al6061 and 1.6% for PA66. Ball burnishing also yielded the most substantial decrease in specific wear rate, with reductions of 90.6% for Al6061 and 87% for PA66. These findings demonstrate that optimized burnishing parameters can markedly enhance the tribological performance of both metallic and polymeric components under dry reciprocating conditions, offering practical insights for improving component durability.