Study on the removal mechanism and milling quality of helical milling hole of SiCp/Al composites

SiCp/Al composites have been widely used in the aviation field due to their excellent properties such as high strength and good wear resistance, but there are still some problems in their hole-making, such as unclear helical milling removal mechanism and poor hole quality. In this paper, the removal mechanism of SiCp/Al composites in helical milling was analyzed by finite element simulation and a three-factor four-level single-factor test. Then, the effect of process parameters on the surface quality of the hole wall is analyzed by a single-factor test. Finally, the formation mechanism of orifice damage and the influence of process parameters on the quality of the orifice edge are analyzed. The results show that in the helical milling process of SiCp/Al composites, the SiC particles are mainly broken and some fall off. Partial tearing of the aluminum matrix occurs. The quality of the hole wall and orifice becomes better with the increase of spindle speed, and worse with the increase of pitch. The revolution speed has a negative effect on the surface quality of the hole wall and a positive effect on the outlet quality. After the spindle speed increased from 500 r/min to 2000 r/min, the surface roughness decreased by 17.13 %. The surface roughness increased by 68.86 % when the pitch increased from 0.1 mm to 0.4 mm. The surface roughness increased by 9.1 % when the spindle speed increased from 30 r/min to 60 r/min. This paper can provide an important reference for SiCp/Al composites with high efficiency and low damage.