Analysis of the influence of cutting parameters on surface roughness and cutting forces in high speed face milling of Al/SiC MMC

In recent years, the newly developed composite materials, such as Metal Matrix Composite (MMC), have been widely used. As MMCs have increasing applications, the investigations of their machining properties have become justifiable. Furthermore, high-speed machining processes are utilized to increase the productivity. In this study, the influence of high speed cutting parameters on the surface roughness and cutting forces of machined AL/SiC composite has been investigated. The cutting speed up to 2500 m min−1, CO2 cryogenic coolant and AL/SiC MMC consisting 15% silicon carbide were used. Design of experiment method using 5-level central composite design was also used. Results show that using CO2 cryogenic coolant increases cutting forces 3%–8%, but improves the surface roughness by 19%–23%. The appropriate surface roughness is achieved in the presence of coolant while cutting speed is more than 1800 m min−1, the feed rate is less than particle size per a tooth, and depth of cut is between 1 to 1.1 mm.