Milling of aluminium alloy with micro thin wall geometry

Micro thin-walled structures are widely used in microchannel cooler plates, micro pumps, micro molds and some biomedical applications. By using the micro milling technique, it is possible to produce such micro components with high accuracy and high speed. In the milling of thin wall geometry, cutting parameters, cutting strategy and tool geometry are the most important factors affecting wall deformation. In this study, milling of thin wall was performed using micro milling technique. Aluminum alloy was used in the study, and the effect of cutting parameters, tool geometry and cutting strategies on wall deformation in the wall increases for fz<1 µm/tooth. The feed rate at which the deformation is minimum is fz=1 µm/tooth. For fz> 1 µm/tooth, deformation increases with increasing feed rate. It was observed that thin wall deformation significantly increased at axial depth of cut greater than 200 µm. Increasing helix angle and the number of cutting edges also cause an increase in wall deformation. In the experiments, it was concluded that thin wall deformation occurred at least in shear strategy 1 (step assisted shear). It has been determined that deformation occurs less in thin walls where the opposite direction milling method is used.