5 Different Types of Aluminum Machining

Machining is a subtractively manufactured process where the workpiece is removed and created into a product. Suitable for all metals and other substrate types. Lightweight material with lower hardness, corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity, excellent machinability, and stronger formability makes aluminum ideal for manufacturing.

Machining is a manufacturing process through which various materials of high strength-to-weight ratio are undergone to give desired products. While machining involves metal and non-metal materials, metal remains one of the most utilised materials during manufacturing.

One of the most widely used metals in machining is aluminium. This prevalent usage is due to its lighter weight, excellent formability, corrosion resistance, and lower material hardness than some other metals.

Aluminum CNC Machining

Aluminium has high-quality, excellent machinability in most the material and has become a popular material in manufacturing. This means that aluminum manufacturing competes aggressively, especially with its corrosion resistance properties and electrical conductivity.

Understanding essential components for aluminum tooling is critical to making competitive product lines for manufacturers to gain an advantage in the marketplace as abrasive machine toolmakers.

Machining is a broad term that acts as an umbrella over a group of processes that contribute to the production of different finished parts of any material. when we talk about aluminum parts in CNC machining, there are several techniques and methodologies through which the process is carried out. There are different types of low cost and high cost aluminum CNC machining processes which individually produce the results you see.

5 Types of Aluminum Machining

Type 1:Turning

When you think of turning any material, even with aluminum alloys, think of one key objective: diameter reduction. There are different parts to the metal production and manufacturing of alloys.

Different machining processes and procedures are employed to produce the different parts, most of which give varying results. Turning is one machined aluminum material removal process that gives a specific, much-needed result.

Turning in Machined aluminum Operations

Turning in machining aluminum alloys and metal manufacturing is one of the most common processes where machining operations are concerned. It utilizes a cutting tool and a rotating workpiece. During this process, cutting tools remove the outer material or layer of the workpiece while it rotates. The result is a reduction in the diameter to yield the desired dimension.

Turning for Aluminum Refining

Turning in machining aluminum alloys and metal manufacturing is one of the most common processes where machining operations are concerned. It utilizes a cutting tool and a rotating workpiece. During this process, cutting tools remove the outer material or layer of the workpiece while it rotates. The result is a reduction in the diameter to yield the desired dimension.

Using this range, a component is positioned in a chuck or turning fixture in a lathe/CNC machine. The component is then rotated at high speed on the aluminum machined parts.

A specialised cutting tool, manufactured from ceramic or carbide material, is traversed to the workpiece along various axes of movement. The tool removes any unwanted aluminum material from the inside or outside of the casting to create the desired shape, dimensions and features.

Turning describes specialised operations on internal and external procedures after casting aluminum. These include facing, drilling, boring, reaming, thread cutting, grooving, and knurling.

Type 2:Drilling

Drilling is one of the essential material machining processes in manufacturing aluminum. If you have ever seen a drill go to work, you can understand how vital this method is in aluminum matching and manufacturing.

The drilling range involves cutting, like most others but more peculiarly. The tool cuts holes into solid materials in a circular cross-section pattern while removing materials,, refining the machined aluminum parts into their desired shape, and part. While turning might be one of the most commonly machined processes for machining aluminum, drilling is easily the most prevalent.

Most parts produced, even with CNC machining, undergo drilling at one point or another. Where metal cutting is concerned, 75% of the total metal cutting comes from drilling operations. Since there is a ton of metal cutting involved in the aluminum parts machining procedure, it is no surprise that drilling is one of the types of aluminum machining

Drilling is done with a drilling machine containing some vital parts needed to complete the matching processes. A standard drill tool matching for drilling in aluminum machining essentially includes a base, pillar, arm, worktable, drill head, feed mechanism, spindle, drill jigs, chuck, electric motor, pully or gears.

Since aluminum is a soft metal with a fairly high strength to weight ratio, it is pretty easy to drill. However, during the drilling process in aluminum machining, it is essential to note that the low melting point of aluminum largely determines the type of drill to be used for the machined parts.

Type 3:Milling

Milling is a type of machined aluminum method that utilize a tool with several edge cutters run into components like a rock climbing machine. The cutters function in a rotary manner, and when they advance into a workpiece, they remove materials from the targeted surface area.

One of the perks of milling in machined aluminum is that it can go in varying directions thereby increasing its applications in machined aluminum parts production. WhenWhen an aluminium part requires a precise design or pattern, milling is one of the most commonly used methods to produce the parts as specified.

Gang milling in aluminum CNC Milling

It is effectively utilized, not only on a small scale, but also wide range, gang milling operations. It is also an efficient aluminum CNC milling method that can produce custom parts to a precise tolerance. Initially, milling operations are carried out on a piece of equipment known as the mill. That was, however, before the prevalence of cutting-edge CNC machining tools in the 1960s.

During this age, with much thanks to computer machining control, milling machines evolved into multifunctional machining centres. From here onward, they were further classified into horizontal and vertical machining centres. As a result, many tools can now carry out milling operations in aluminum machining and manufacturing. Milling could be done in two ways

Face

This involves a rotary cutting action commonly at the end corners and is used to cut flat surfaces into the components.

Peripheral

In this case, the cutting action occurs primarily along the circumference of the cutter giving the cutter and the surface area worked on the same shape. This method is most suited to cutting deep slots, threads, and gear teeth.

Types 4:Deep Hole Drilling

Deep hole drilling is an essential semi-invasive strain relief technique in mechanics. The technique involves drilling a reference hole through the component and accurately measuring its diameter before and after stress release by trepanning coaxially around it.

The differences between the measured diameters before and after stress release enable the original residual stresses to be calculated using elasticity theory.

One perk that comes with deep hole drilling is its versatility and quick turnaround time in manufacturing. It allows the manufacturing of a top-quality product in much less time. Deep hole drilling is a prevalent engineering activity widely used across various sectors, including the automotive parts material and the aerospace industry. It is also primarily utilised in the field of renewable energy as well as both small-scale and large-scale machined operations.

CNC machine and deep hole drilling in aluminum machining operations

Several challenges arise with using deep hole drilling for CNC machining procedures. While these challenges do not outweigh the benefits and applications of deep hole drilling in aluminum CNC machining, it does affect the quality of result obtained from the operation.

With the advent of computer machining control, a wholesome part of these challenges was resolved. The right CNC machining tools can easily overcome holes straightness in aerospace, surface finish, and tolerance size.

there are different deep hole drilling methods to implement in the CNC machining procedure of aluminum parts.

Gun drilling

This gun tool is a low-cost technique that can cut through ultra-deep solid materials, creating holes with a diameter-to-depth ratio of up to 600:1 with an excellent surface finish. It, however, produces smaller holes in the machined parts compared to the other methods.

BTA drilling

It works perfectly with materials that can’t produce rounded chips during CNC machining. BTA drilling is primarily used in renewable energy and aerospace.

Ejector Drilling

This drilling method is much faster than the gun drilling method, and the tool geometry utilizes a pair of high-strength concentric tubes. It also cuts straighter holes with a higher tolerance and high speeds.

Deep hole drilling is suitable for a wide range of CNC machining procedures.

Type 5 :Surface Finishing

Different shapes, sizes and patterns are required to come out with a certain degree of roughness during the processing of materials in general. The same applies to aluminium machines.

Regardless of the type of method used, it utilises the need for some finishing to smoothen out the roughness. While there are methods in aluminum CNC machining that give a clean surface, it still requires finishing as the product you get right after the machining process product. The product’s surface finishes need to be worked on to make it more suitable on a wide range.

In the metal machining processes, there is also a type of aluminium machining that focuses on surface finishings to smoothen out the resistance and rough edges.

Surface finishing refers to altering a metal’s surface, especially after machining alloys has is done. The surface finishing procedure involves removing, adding, or reshaping. It is a measure of the complete texture of a product’s surface that is defined by three characteristics of surface roughness, waviness, and lay

Surface finishing is a vital finishing manufacturing operation applied to certain types of workpieces. This process alters the surface appearance of a workpiece by performing different actions that can reshape, remove, or add to the machinability of the final product. some of these include

Bead/Sand Blasting

This utilizes a blast beam of abrasives against a workpiece with a pressurized air gun. It aids the removal and smoothening of some parts of the aluminum metal surface

Machine Finish

This is achieved by regulating the speed of the machining process while the workpiece is being worked on. As a result, the roughness value is less, producing a much smoother finish. Most machined finished surfaces would still undergo post-processing to improve the quality further

Others include anodizing and powder coating.

Conclusion

As a result of its many perks in the manufacturing process, aluminum is one of the most machined metals as the aluminium machining process is swift and efficient. Electrical conductivity, recyclability, and excellent corrosion resistance are other top perks of using aluminum for machining.

Worthy Hardware is a CNC manufacturing and sheet metal fabrication company,including CNC machining services,CNC milling services, CNC turning services, laser cutting services and stamping services.Call us +86-76989919645 or email us [email protected] for more discounts for your projects.

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