Investigation of the micro-milling process of thin-wall features of aluminum alloy 1100

Thin-wall geometrical features are observed in many mechanical components, including micro-components such as blades of a micro-impeller and the walls of a micro-channel. Although several papers have already presented research studies regarding thin-wall development, there is still a lack of information regarding how thin a wall could be produced via micro-milling processes. This paper investigates thin-wall quality in terms of the shape and dimension, the problems faced by micro-milling technology in producing thin-wall features, and the feasibility of producing thin-wall components using a micro-milling process aluminum alloy 1100 (AA110). The minimum wall thickness of 11.71 μm was successfully machined in good condition. The actual deviation of the wall thickness, including the tool dimension incompatibility, was in the range of −4.69 to 3.48 μm. A 16-blade micro-impeller with average blade thickness of 11.96 μm was manufactured. Among the 16 blades, four cloven blades, nine deflected blades, and three blades were in good condition.