Relationship between cutting conditions and chips morphology during milling of aluminium Al-2050

Abstract

In the aeronautical field, some parts are forged and consequently some fibers orientation occurs. However, the thin walls are hard to get with forging method. Consequently, some machining operations are done to get a thin wall and reduce the weight of part. However, because of the size of part of the volume of chips can be significant. The ratio between the final weight of part and the final weight of chips is approximately 80 %. To improve the economical and the environmental sustainability, a method consists of recycling directly the chip after machining operations. However, studies show a great impact of different points on chip recyclability like chip thickness, chip roughness, or chip density. Consequently, control of the chip morphology is a first point in ensuring a good recyclability. This article concerns the relationship between the cutting conditions, the cutting tool geometries, the lubricant conditions, and the chips morphology. This analysis is decomposed on several points: chip length, chip morphology, chip thickness, and the chip formation. The observations show also a strong influence of cutting conditions on chip morphology where an increase of cutting conditions reduces drastically the chip size. Concerning the chip formation, because the chip is produced during milling where the uncut chip thickness varies, the chip microstructure is then affected.