Navigating The Artistry Of Aluminum Machining

Aluminum has numerous beneficial physical properties, among them being that it is three times lighter than iron while also having a higher strength ratio. It’s also resistant to corrosion because of an aluminum-oxide layer on its exterior, and it offers good thermal conductivity and is relatively easy to machine.

Rick Crabtree, product solution manager for aluminum at Sandvik Coromant in Mebane, North Carolina, described those properties during a June 27 webinar titled “Navigating the Artistry of Aluminum Machining.” The webinar allowed Crabtree to address the rising demand for aluminum components, the corresponding challenges shops face when machining aluminum, and the cutting tools available to overcome those challenges.

Sandvik Coromant offers a range of cutting tools to effectively machine aluminum, including drills, milling tools and boring bars, according to Crabtree. For example, the M5R90 is a cartridge-based PCD cutter for roughing to semi-finishing in shoulder milling operations of automotive aluminum components, such as cylinder blocks, cylinder heads and transmission housings. The PCD tips are brazed in a steel cartridge, which allows axial adjustments. “We can run to 5 μm on axial runout, and radial runout we can achieve 50 μm.”

In addition, the PCD tips can be reground up to three times to prolong tool life, Crabtree said, emphasizing the need to rebalance a cutter after reconditioning the cartridge. “If they’re balanced, then we are less likely to hurt our machine spindle, and, in our instance, our balancing screws are in the side, and we can adjust those to create an even balance.”