Chip morphology and hole surface texture in the drilling of cast Aluminum alloys

Abstract The effects of cutting fluid and other process variables on chip morphology when drilling cast aluminium alloys are investigated. The effects of workpiece material, speed, feed, hole depth, cutting-fluid presence and percentage oil concentration, workpiece temperature, drill type and drill overhang are studied using statistically-designed experiments. The measured responses of the experiments are the size and the shape of the generated chips. The effect of chip size on hole surface finish is also examined. The results show that the significant variables affecting chip size include the feed, material, drill type and to a lesser extent, cutting-fluid presence and drill speed. The drilled hole surface is shown to be correlated to chip size.