Study on progressive wear of machine reamer while reaming Al6061/SIC composite

The present study deals with reaming of Al6061/SiC metal matrix composite. For the fabrication of the composite, stir casting technique was used. In the castings, 5 and 10 weight percentages of Silicon Carbide (SiC) 23μm size was used as the reinforcing material. The tensile and hardness tests carried out on the specimen indicated that it increased with the addition of SiC. The images from scanning electron microscope showed the fair distribution of reinforcement. After drilling 7.8 mm diameter holes, reaming was performed with 8mm diameter straight fluted HSS reamer under dry condition at cutting speeds of 18 and 24 m/min and feed rates of 0.2 and 0.4 mm/rev. Torque required for reaming was measured using 4 component Drill tool Kistler dynamometer 9272A. The estimation of progressive wear of the reamer was undertaken using a profile projector. With the introduction of SiC as reinforcement, the wear rate of the reamer increased as the reinforcement was highly abrasive in nature. The performance of HSS machine reamer was evaluated in terms of reaming torque, tool wear and surface roughness of the hole.