Study on near dry machining of aluminum alloys

Series of orthogonal cutting tests of Aluminum alloys have been carried out to investigate the chip formation process and adhesion of the work material to the rake face of the cutting tool under near dry cutting conditions. Almost no adhesion of the work material was observed over a wide range of cutting speed tested when the Aluminum alloy was cut with the sintered diamond cutting tool. On the other hand, large amount of adhesion of the work material was observed at low cutting speeds, when cut with the carbide and DLC-coated tools. The amount of the adhered material is reduced with an increase in the cutting speed. The nominal coefficient of friction on the rake face increases almost in linear relation with the amount of adhesion. The chemical components of the adhered layer were analyzed by EDS and AES techniques.