No one questions the versatility of aluminum. Those who use it exclaim about its portability, durability, pleasing appearance and corrosion resistance. They also talk about its cost – low in comparison to other materials. Overall, it is very attractive to many manufacturers. This is also true when it comes to fabrication methods including aluminum machining.
Aluminum Machinability
When a machinist plans to produce a product using a specific metal, the question should always arise. Is this metal machinable? It is of primary importance. Failure to recognize this can result in the botching of an order or even catastrophic error.
When looking at the task ahead, the machinist must take into consideration the following:
The intent of the work
The grade of metal – These will always affect the ability of a machinist to perform on metal, as well as the result
The physical properties of the metal
Any potential interaction between the process and the workpiece/metal
In other words, the machinist must be skilled enough to recognize the overall machinability of the metal – knowing exactly what actions will produce the right reactions from the aluminum machining process.
When it specifically comes to aluminum, while it is easy to machine than certain other metals, specific grades are more machinable than others are. Among those that rank as excellent are alloys 2011. They are definitely preferable to those with machinability such as are represented by alloys 2024, 5052, 6063 and 7075 with “fair” machinability. Alloys 1100, 3003 and 6061 are in the middle with “good” machinability.
Aluminum Machining
While aluminum cutting may raise questions of concern, aluminum machining generally does not. If machinists carefully select the best alloys for the job, they can produce a component that will represent the best the metal alloy has to offer. If they fail to take into consideration such factors as grade, the result could be disastrous.
