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Abstract
Aluminum metal matrix composites (MMCs) are extensively used in electronic, automobile, and aerospace industries, but the abrasive nature of their reinforcement inhibits their machining due to excessive tool wear and poor surface finish. This article presents turning of Al2124SiCp (45%wt) MMC using polycrystalline diamond (PCD) and cBN (cubic boron nitride) tools. Tool wear, wear mechanism, surface profile fractal dimension, and dimensional accuracy are investigated. Most research on surface profile is based on the roughness parameter Ra whose reliability largely depends on the instrument used and its resolution. This can be solved by characterization of rough surfaces using scale consistent parameter as profile fractal dimension. Results reveal that tool wear mechanisms observed were abrasion, adhesion, chipping, and fracture. On the type of wear, for PCD tool flank and crater wear were observed, while for cBN tools, only flank wear was observed. PCD tool produced the highest fractal dimension values followed by coated cBN, while uncoated cBN tool had the lowest values. On dimensional accuracy, it was observed that PCD has the lowest diameter error followed by coated cBN and finally uncoated cBN. It is concluded that in machining Al2124SiCp (45%wt) MMC, PCD tools are the best, followed by coated cBN, and finally uncoated cBN tools.