Investigation of surface roughness and tool wear in milling of aluminum alloy by nano cutting fluid

In this thesis, the effect of cutting parameters on the workpiece surface roughness and tool wear was investigated in end milling of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy using CNC milling machine. The experiments were carried out using full factorial experimental design method. The experiments were performed under different cooling methods (dry, minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) and nano cutting fluid) and different milling parameters (cutting speed and feed rate) using HSS and solid carbide end mill tools. The surface roughness was measured using Mitutoyo SJ-201 surface tester. The tool wear was measured using Mitutoyo optical microscope. The results obtained from the experiments show that both the surface roughness and the tool wear increased with the increasing feed rate and cutting speed. While the highest surface roughness and tool wear occurred in dry machining, the lowest surface roughness and tool wear obtained in machining with the nano cutting fluid. The optimum cutting performance was obtained using the nano cutting fluid and carbide cutting tool.