In this paper, drilling machinability of aluminum-silicon binary alloys is discussed.
Factors and conditions of the experiments were as follows.
Five kinds of alloys were used for the speciments; their silicon contents were, 12, 16, 19, 22, and 25%, respectively. The tools used for experiments were 2 kinds of drills of the standard type, the diameters of which were 8 and 10 mm. Most of the thicknesses of specimens were 15mm for 10mm drill and 8, 12, 15, and 16mm for 8mm drill. Experiments were carried out under dry condition.
The results obtained by the experiments were as follows.
1. An approximately linear relation was found between the cutting force and the feed. It showed a tendency that the adhesion of chips to the drill and the generation of heat by the friction between material and tool were more violent with the less content of silicon in the material.
2. Burrs were more brittle and their mechanical strength was lower with the increase of silicon content in the material. Generally speaking, the burrs were easy to be removed.
3. The cutting force was increased in proportion to the thickness of specimen. This tendency was more evidently observed for the material of less silicon content.
4. The chips were brittle and likely to form fragments in the material of high silicon content. Whereas, in the material of low silicon content, they were so ductile and viscous that they often curled up around the drill.
5. The lowering of cutting efficiency of a tool after drilling many holes was more obviously observed in the material of less silicon content and for lower cutting speed.
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